Jay-jay's POV
I feel like it's November 1 today, or maybe Holy Week. The atmosphere at school is so gloomy. I guess this is how it is after an exam. It's been like this for days.
But no one is sadder than me. The grief I feel cannot be replaced by anything. I feel like crying!
"Don't think about it, you're loved." Ci-N said.
I gave him a glare. "My test paper loves me?" I asked, annoyed.
That fool just smiled and made a peace sign. Brat! That won't work on me.
It's really frustrating. No one even woke me up before submitting the test paper. They only woke me up when it was time to go home.
I really feel like crying!
This is going to be so embarrassing. I just hope they don't post the grades. So annoying!
"Jay.." Ci-N called. "..do you want pancakes?"
Pancakes?
"Do you have some?" I asked.
"I do.. but only this." he said and pulled out two boxes of pancake mix.
I grimaced. Are we supposed to eat those pancakes uncooked?
Nice!
"You've got the guts to offer when it's not even cooked."
"Then let's cook it."
"Where would we---" I stopped.
Oh right, there's an electric frying pan here. I got up and went to the back. I peeked behind the metal sheet, plywood, and cardboard.
But I couldn't see it. Getting irritated, I just started removing them and throwing them anywhere. Dust flew up, making the pests stand up.
"Cough Jay! It's dusty!"
"What the heck?"
"Cough**Cough"
"Jay! Stop that!"
I ignored them and kept moving the boxes. Annoyed, the pests just left, leaving only a few of us.
"Here..." I said and grabbed the electric frying pan.
It was still in a box, looked like it had barely been used. Why do they even have this?
"Yay! We can cook now!" Ci-N said, clapping her hands.
I took it out of the box and inspected it. It was still in good shape, definitely usable.
"Find an outlet." I ordered.
That fool searched and found one in front, beside the blackboard.
I was about to plug it in when I suddenly remembered. The pancake mixture hadn't been prepared yet.
"How are we going to cook it? We don't have a bowl, water, or even something to mix with."
Ci-N didn't answer. He just took his bag and pulled out its contents. A bowl, eggs, a mixer, and a 1.5-liter bottle of water.
"Nice..." I whispered. "Where did you get all that?" I asked him.
"From home." he answered while opening the pancake mix.
"Wasn't your mom mad when you took those?"
She shook her head. "They didn't know."
"What? You stole them?"
"Kind of..."
I just stared at him while she mixed the batter.
I suddenly remembered what Rakki told me. About how Ci-N was accused of stealing. I wasn't thinking badly of him. My opinion of him hadn't changed either. I was just wondering why he didn't tell me the truth.
"Hey, what's that?" Eren asked as he snooped around what Ci-N was doing. "Give me some."
So greedy. It's not even cooked yet.
"Sure.. here, eat this." I said, pretending to hand him the bowl.
"Of course, after it's cooked." He replied.
I noticed Ci-N laughing at me.
"What?" I asked.
"You're so grumpy... You've been picking fights all day." he answered.
I just rolled my eyes at him. I really am grumpy. I was already preparing myself for embarrassment.
The other pests had gone back inside and gathered around what Ci-N was doing.
Here come the freeloaders.
"What's that?"
"Give us some."
"Give me..."
Are these people blind? They can see it's still being mixed. I was about to grab the bowl and shove it in their faces, but Ci-N moved it away.
"Oh... You're getting grumpy again."
"How can I not? Are they blind? It's still being mixed!"
The pests laughed.
"You're so grumpy, Jay... Do you have your period?" Kit asked.
I glared at him. "Yeah, I do! Want me to slap you with my pad?!"
The fools quickly backed away. Guess they got scared of my threat. I wasn't even on my period. The exam was the real reason for my mood.
"It's done.." Ci-N said and handed me the bowl.
I plugged in the electric frying pan. But something felt missing. I looked at Ci-N.
"Tell me you have a ladle."
Ci-N chuckled and pulled something from his bag. He handed me what I was asking for. Knowing these pests were greedy, I made the pancakes small.
Ci-N handed me a paper plate. "Put them here," he said as she pulled out a bottle of chocolate syrup.
Complete! This kid is awesome.
After cooking, we ended up with way more pancakes than I expected. They were just small, though.
"They're done," I said, placing the plate full of pancakes in front of Ci-N.
"Yehey!"
The idiots immediately swarmed in. I grabbed mine and got out of their reach.
I saw Keifer and Yuri looking at me. But I only looked at Yuri. I couldn't look at Keifer—my blood was boiling.
I sat down at my spot and quietly ate. Turns out, pancakes do help ease irritation.
I was taking my last bite when one of our classmates suddenly burst into the room, panting, and turned to us.
"T-the grades have been posted."
I froze. This is it! This is really it!
But I couldn't move. I'm not ready for this shit. I thought I was, but turns out I wasn't.
The starving idiots immediately started walking out, but I just sat there, staring into space.
"Aren't you going to check your grade?" Kit asked me.
"If I wanted to see my grade, I would've left already. The fact that I'm still here means I don't." I snapped.
Kit just laughed at me before walking away. Jerk!
Huhuhu… My soul is begging for mercy. I don't think I can show my face at school anymore.
Someone grabbed my arm and forced me to stand up. Keifer… again?
"What do you want now—"
"Just shut up!" he yelled at me.
I went silent. He dragged me toward the Main Building, right to the bulletin board where the students were crowding.
I don't want to be here! I tried to pull my arm away.
"Tss! Stop it!" he yelled again.
"Just check your grade yourself! You don't have to drag me along."
"You're already here… Might as well look!"
Keifer pushed his way through the crowd, still dragging me along. But because of the sheer number of people, we couldn't get close.
"Tss. GET OUT OF MY WAY!" he shouted angrily.
The students automatically moved aside and made way.
Nice!
Turns out this idiot is useful after all.
We got closer to the bulletin board and searched for Section E's list.
Since I was the only girl, my name was at the very bottom. But something was wrong.
Jasper Jean Mariano...............97.8
I even rubbed my eyes, thinking I might be seeing things. I traced the line with my finger, just in case the 97.8 was meant for another name and I just misread it.
It really is 97.8!
What happened? Why is it like this? Maybe it's a typo? Or maybe my brain got cooked when I had a fever, and I'm just imagining things?
I checked the other grades. These poor kids! Barely passing. The teachers must've forced some of these to be a 75. A few lucky ones had an 80, but they were rare. And then, there was someone who stood out—the one who always said "quack quack."
Yuri Hanamitchi...................99.9
Rich kid! Germs?! Turns out this guy is actually a genius.
I kept looking, and somehow, my eyes found Keifer's name on their own.
Mark Keifer Watson................99.8
Another germ. These guys are geniuses! How the hell did they get grades like this?
I looked for Ci-N's name.
Ci-N Peralta........................75.4
I need to talk to this kid! It's like his grade was barely pushed to passing. What the hell?
I went back to my own name. It's really 97.8! This is really my grade. What is happening in this world?
I turned around to face Keifer, but he was gone.
The students were starting to crowd the bulletin board again, shoving each other to get closer.
I left before I got crushed. I had to find Keifer—I needed to talk to him.
He was the one who submitted my test paper to Sir Alvin. Maybe he noticed something on it? Because I really didn't answer anything on the day of the exam. I even fell asleep! So how the hell did I get a 97.8?
I saw Ci-N standing there, holding a handbag. I approached him, planning to ask about Keifer, but my eyes were immediately drawn to the bag he was holding.
"Have your interests changed?" I asked, pointing at it.
"Huh? No! Someone handed this to me earlier while I was pushing through the crowd," he explained.
Someone gave it to him? Who—
"That's my bag!" a girl suddenly shouted, pointing at the one in Ci-N's hands.
Ci-N handed it over. "I never said it was mine," he said.
The girl took it and left.
"See? She didn't even say thank you," I told Ci-N.
He just shrugged and started walking back to the classroom. I followed him. Maybe Keifer was there, that idiot.
But we hadn't even gone far when someone grabbed Ci-N's shoulder.
"Is it him?" the guy who grabbed Ci asked.
"Yes! He's the one who stole it," the girl replied.
It was the owner of the bag. What do they mean, stole?
I turned to look at Ci-N, who was clearly clueless about what was happening. Even I was confused. Other students started gathering around to watch.
What the hell are these people talking about?