Jay-jay's POV
"Hey! Hurry up!" the King shouted at me.
"Here I come! Here I come! You'd think—" I started to answer back while getting into his car.
This King of Snakes is such a pain! After dancing and singing in front of me, he suddenly turned all grumpy. What a nutcase!
We're on our way to Eman's restaurant because we're planning for the festival. Why Keifer was the one who picked me up—I have no idea. Yuri was the one who texted me, but Keifer showed up.
"Where's Yuri? I thought he was picking me up?" I asked him.
"I don't know! Do I look like Lost and Found to you?" he snapped.
So cranky! Worse than a girl on her period.
"Too many complaints!" I shot back.
"Tss." Ugh! There it is again—that annoying "Tss" sound. It's infuriating
I didn't speak the entire trip. Maybe this scolding Keifer will scold me again.
Maybe I have PMS.
Arriving at Resto de' Superhero---that's the name of Eman's restaurant---
as usual, they were eating again.
I immediately went to Ci-N and got some fries.
"That's mine..." He said and pushed the fries away.
"How greedy!"
Keifer approached Yuri who was at the front table. I looked around to see if we were complete. Denzel was also there and looked like he worked here.
He was wearing the same clothes as the crew. I haven't heard anything about his conversation with Grace yet. All we know is that he's working for Baby.
I just hope he and Grace get along.
Yuri stood in front so we fell silent to listen to what he had to say.
"We're going to talk about the Festival! First, the contestants! Second, the task we're being asked to do!"
Yuri explained and pushed a fairly large white board behind Eman.
He took the marker from the side and started writing.
"Monday..." Yuri started again and stopped writing. "...Monday is the parade, marking the beginning of the Festival! This is also the day where all the guests from different schools will arrive. The participating players in the program will also be introduced. Which means there will be no contest."
Under the word Monday, Yuri wrote 'No Contest!', but underneath it was 'Task!'.
Yuri faced us again. "...on task! Because next day there will be a contest for the Dance troops. Even if the participants don't join the task. They'll just take it back for the night."
Keifer suddenly stood up and approached Yuri.
"Unlike before, we will divide the duties into three groups. This is also better so that the others can rest." He motioned to Yuri.
Yuri started writing the time and name on the white board under the word 'Task!'.
"Patrol Duty will start by 7 pm and end by 7 am. First group, Calix,Rory, Eman, Kit, and Felix----7 pm to 11 pm. Second group, Ci-N, David, Yuri, me, Eren, and Jay-jay----11 pm to 3 am. The third group will be the rest of the class that I didn't mention. Garbage collecting will start when the program ends." Keifer explains.
Information overload!
Of all the things he said, I only understood one thing. I'm with them on Duty!----I don't think so.
"The set up for the next day is the same, except if you're in the contest for the following day! No need to attend the duty!" Yuri added before he stopped writing.
I don't understand anything. My head hurts! I'm crying.
Keifer sat down again with his arms crossed. Yuri explained everything again.
"Tuesday... Dance troops will be the contest! Do we have a representative?!" Yuri asked.
Ci-N raised her hand. "We... Me, Eren, Calix, David and Kit."
Yuri wrote down the names they mentioned. We are now in the Dance troops.
I raised my hand. "Is it okay if Ci-N is still in the Dance troops and Mr. Ganda?"
She only participated in two contests. Maybe later, what will Freya say.
"It's not stated in the rules. "That's probably okay." Ci-N replied.
I nodded. Yuri continued writing. Wednesday was her day.
"Battle of the band..." Yuri said and looked at Keifer. "...Are we the only ones here?"
Everyone fell silent for a moment. Keifer seemed to be thinking too. To be honest, I also wanted them to fight. I wanted to see them play.
"We don't have any other representatives... Just choose a proper song." Keifer replied.
Nice!
Yuri wrote their names. Can I request a song from them? I heard a song on the radio a while ago.
Yuri continued writing. Today is Thursday.
"Singing Contest... The ones with hidden talents are out." Yuri said.
We looked at each other. We didn't hear anyone singing with us.
Except for Ci-N who felt like she was giving a concert when she sang. That's why her voice was so good.
"You're the only one..." Keifer said to Yuri. "...you're singing, right?"
Yuri looked at me for a moment and then looked back at Keifer. I haven't heard him sing yet.
"S-okay.. just me." Yuri said and wrote her name.
We're on the last day. Friday where Mr. Ganda and Ms. Pogi are.
I feel like backing out!
"Like the first conversation. Ci-N is for Mr. Ganda and Jay-jay is for Ms. Pogi." Yuri explained. "...In the morning, the battle of each Year Level or same year but different sections. In the evening, the battle of the year level representative."
That means they'll fight twice. First, the fourth year's battle, then in the evening, the winners of the fourth year. The hard part is, they'll fight at the same year level and then if they win, they'll fight again.
Will I win? It's really hard.
"Have you prepared a saying and talent?" Eman asked us.
"Is there anything like that?" I asked.
"Yes, I have."
Ci-N raised her hand. "I already have... Do you want to hear it?" he was bragging.
We agreed. Ci-N stood up and prepared herself.
"I'm Ci-N Peralta representative of Section E! I believe in the saying... 'When the future is big, many want to taste it!'."
Wow! That's profound!
The heads shouted with matching applause. You idiots, can you tolerate it?
"That's inspiring! Shit!"
"My perspective on life has changed immediately!"
"Your beliefs make us cry!"
I just slapped my own face. What they were saying was confusing. I glared at Ci-N. "Are you serious? That's what you're really going to tell everyone?"
Ci-N smiled. "Yes, nam-----aray!"
I gave her a loud slap. This kid is really naughty.
"You Jay, you need to think of a saying too." Yuri told me.
I nodded even though I honestly couldn't think of anything. I'm sure I'll just ask Grandma, she's the one who knows a lot about that.
We talked about a lot more. We also needed to bring a sleeping bag. It's like camping.
They also said they'd bring a laptop so we could watch a movie. Some people just couldn't sleep. Some would also bring a handful of chutchirya. Some would also bring insect repellant.
After talking a lot, we got home in the afternoon. Yuri would be the one to drive me today. I stopped by the mini mart first. I wanted ice cream.
"I'll just be a minute. Are you here?" I told Yuri and he smiled back.
When I got inside, I immediately looked for ice cream because I saw ready to eat pasta. That's what I went for.
"Jay-jay?" Someone called me.
I looked at a man who looked like he was in his 40s and was standing near me. He was the only one looking at me as if he was surprised and recognizing me.
"I-it's you..." He said.
Who are you? You have the wrong number.
"How are you? The guy is big." He said.
"I-it's okay. W-who are you?" I asked him.
"You don't recognize me anymore? It's true." He said, which surprised me a bit.
I just shook my head and moved away from him a bit.
"W-don't be afraid. You know me, I was your mother's husband." He said.
Married?
"I-I'm sorry... I really don't recognize you.
"Oh." I said and took another step away.
"It's okay... But let me apologize to you. For everything I did when I was your mother's husband. I was still vicious, so when I see you, you're the one I talk to. Believe me, now that I have a child, I regret all of that." He explained as he continued to approach me.
I still slowly walked away from him. I was starting to get scared. I wasn't sure if what he was saying was true.
"If you still don't remember me, my name is Tony dela Cruz." He said as if he was waiting for me to meet him.
"I'm sorry... Not really. "I'm leaving." I said and quickly ran outside.
I heard someone call my name but I ignored it.
I kept running. All I knew was that I had to get away from that man. I didn't know him but my fear of him wouldn't go away. I stopped when I felt so tired. Suddenly, a car stopped in front of me.
It was Yuri!
I forgot that he was waiting for me. He got out of the car.
"Are you okay Jay? What happened to you? Why did you suddenly run?"
He asked one after another. I just shook my head and tried to stand up straight.
"Jay... You can tell me."
I looked him in the eye. I could feel him wanting to help me. "S-someone just came up to me, he said he was Mama's husband but.... But I don't remember him."