Jay-jay's POV
I feel envious. I also want a room like Ci-N's. It's full of toys, and she even has a big Snorlax. His room looks like a child's room.
I was supposed to have dinner at their house, but Ci told me to go home instead because I might end up fighting with his siblings.
Why do I feel like Ci-N isn't being properly taken care of at home? he did mention before that people in their house are always busy, which is why he wanted me to pack food for him.
Tsk! Poor kid!
When I entered the room, the atmosphere was gloomy. Even though the results were out and they should have felt relieved, I couldn't sense any happiness from them.
Maybe it's because of Ci-N. He looked so sad while staring out the window.
"Hi, Ci!" I greeted him with a smile.
He only responded with a forced smile and returned his gaze to the window. I'm not used to seeing him like this. It feels strange.
"Do you want pancakes? I have some here... We can cook them?" I offered.
Ci-N just shook his head.
Why is his sadness so contagious? Maybe that's why our classmates are also down. They got affected by the person in front of me.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder, so I stepped away from Ci and turned to see who it was. It was Keifer, the annoying guy. He gestured for me to step outside.
I set my bag down for a moment and followed him out. When we were far enough from the others, he finally spoke.
"Just leave Ci-N alone for now. He'll go back to normal eventually, I just don't know when," Keifer said with his hands in his pockets.
"What makes you say that?"
"He was like this too when he first got transferred to our section."
I took a deep breath and lowered my head. I really didn't want to ask for help from this snake, but I had no choice.
"Do you have 25,000 with you?"
Keifer gave me a knowing look. I knew he understood what I was about to do.
"Are you sure about this plan?" he asked. I nodded in response.
"You don't want to know who's behind this mess?"
Behind? Is he saying that what happened to Ci-N was a setup? If it was, then who was responsible?
"Are you saying that—"
"Yeah! It was a frame-up. It's way too obvious to me. And that girl was too confident even though she had no proof," he explained.
He's right! That girl really did act so boldly, even though she couldn't actually prove anything.
"Do you have a plan? Do you already have a suspect?" I asked.
"If I tell you… are you willing to help me?"
I nodded without hesitation. I'd do anything to help Ci-N. Uhmmm… Well, not everything, just whatever I can.
"Alright… Get your bag. We're leaving now," he said and walked away.
I didn't even get to ask why. That jerk already walked far ahead.
I rushed back to the room, grabbed my bag, and asked David, Calix, and Eren to look after Ci-N. I ran outside, trying to find Keifer, but I couldn't see him anywhere—not even in the parking lot.
Did he just mess with me?
I was so focused on looking for that snake that I didn't even realize I had already stepped outside the school.
This is so annoying! And I don't even have that idiot's number!
BeepBeeeeeep
What kind of reckless honking is that?! I turned toward the car that was approaching me. A Mustang! Fancy. It stopped in front of me, and the window rolled down.
"Get in…" the driver ordered. It was Keifer.
Is this his? So that bastard is rich too? Well, he does look rich. I got into the car as he told me to.
"This yours?" I asked.
"No… I just picked it up," he replied, sounding bored.
"Yeah, right?"
"Tss. Idiot! You think I'd be driving this if it wasn't mine?"
"For all I know, maybe you just borrowed it or… stole it!"
"Do I look like someone who borrows or steals cars?!"
"No… but you never know."
"Annoying! No—wait, why am I explaining this to you? This is stupid!" he said, focusing back on driving.
Finally, he realized it. We were arguing over something completely pointless. Why were we even debating that in the first place? Weird.
"Can you tell me the suspect and your plan now?" I asked.
"I have two suspects: Freya Hidalgo and Mykel Mitchell… If you think about it, both of them hate you, and they could have used Ci-N to get back at you," he explained.
Keifer had a point. Those two definitely hated me. But if we're talking about people who hate me, there are more.
"They're not the only ones who hate me… Aries and Ella do too."
Keifer cleared his throat. "Ella is out of the picture. She wouldn't be capable of doing this."
"But she hates me too. I got involved in Mica and Calix's issue—"
"She wouldn't do it," he said firmly.
I didn't say anything else. It felt like mentioning Ella's name was a trigger for Keifer. Every time I brought her up, his whole vibe changed.
"What about your plan?" I changed the topic.
"Honestly? I don't have one yet, but I need to withdraw some cash first. You're the one asking for money, remember?"
Oh…
This Imp! He didn't even have a plan, yet he just dragged me along and made me ditch class.
"You're really something, huh? What are we gonna do now?"
"I don't know… By the way, why do you think Aries hates you? I know there's something between you two, but why would he involve Ci-N?"
I looked out the window. Should I tell him it's because of the things I did before? We're not even that close for me to share my whole life story.
"B-because of the video…" I answered.
Yeah, that's right. That was the last thing he got mad at me for.
"What video?"
I explained to him how I recorded a video in the girls' restroom. I also told him how I showed it to Aries, but instead of getting mad at Freya, he got mad at me.
"Wow… That's unfair," he commented.
I nodded in agreement. Right? Someone finally agrees with me. That Aries was really unfair. Yeah… and yet you cried over him.
Keifer suddenly stopped the car in front of a bank. He got out and went straight to the ATM. He was only gone for a moment before he came back. He handed me a thick stack of cash before starting the car again.
Damn! That's a lot of money.
"What exactly are you planning to do with that?" he asked.
What am I planning to do?
"Uhmm… I was thinking of returning it to Mykel."
"If you do that, it's like you're admitting that Ci-N really did steal it."
Ah, shit! I didn't think of that.
"Damn it! I didn't realize that."
"Tss. Stupid," Keifer muttered, but I still heard it.
I just glared at him. I had to admit, he was kinda right about that. We both fell silent. I had no idea where this trip was even going until that bastard suddenly made a U-turn.
I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, so I ended up hitting my face on the window.
"Be careful!" I yelled at him.
"I have an idea. I know exactly where we can use that money."
This animal is insane. He could've told me his idea first before making a sudden U-turn. Now my right cheek hurts.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Aries's POV
"Have you seen Ella?" I asked my classmates.
Most of them shook their heads, but one of them mouthed 'CR.' That girl… she always disappears out of nowhere.
I just sat down. No way I'm going after her—it's the girls' restroom.
"FREYA!" someone suddenly shouted.
I looked toward the door, where the voice came from. It was Rakki, looking furious at Freya.
"Oh," Freya answered boredly. "...If you're here because of the incident with Ci-N, you're barking up the wrong tree."
"If it wasn't you… then who did it?!" Rakki demanded angrily.
"I don't know…" Freya replied and looked at Mykel.
"Nah-ah! Not me!" Mykel quickly denied.
Suddenly, the three of them turned their eyes toward me. Seriously?! Me, of all people?!
"What?" I asked them.
"Did you?" Freya questioned.
I shook my head. "I have no reason to do that."
"But you hate Jay-jay… You could have used Ci-N to get back at her," Rakki accused.
"Yeah, I hate Jay… but I wouldn't use someone else just to get back at her. That's just amateur."
"Maybe she really did steal it," Mykel suggested.
Rakki shot him a sharp glare. "Ci would never do that!"
"Okay, then she didn't," Mykel replied indifferently.
I have no idea what's really going on. If what happened to Ci-N was a frame-up, why would they do that to her?
"If I find out any of you were involved in this, you better watch out!" Rakki threatened before storming out of our sight.
"Alright… Speak up! Whoever did this, just admit it already!" Freya shouted, looking at all of us, but in the end, her gaze landed on me again.
She's acting all tough, but in the end, I'm still the one getting blamed.
"No one's gonna confess if there's nothing to confess!" I said and stood up.
I quickly walked out of the room. Just as I was leaving, Ella was returning, and we ran into each other. She smiled at me, and I smiled back.
"Let's go to the rooftop," I invited.
She nodded and followed me up to the rooftop. There was no one else here—it was too hot, and there was no good place to hang out.
"What are we doing here?" Ella asked.
"Why did you do it?" I asked her calmly.
"Do what?" she asked innocently.
"You can't fool me, Ella. Before we got together, I told you that I always observe you. I can tell when you do something against your own will."
The smile on her lips disappeared, and she walked toward the fence surrounding the rooftop.
I walked closer to her. From here, we had a clear view of Section E's classroom.
"I hate your cousin. Mica doesn't listen to me anymore because of her. Although I'm happy for her, I still hate the fact that she ignored me," she explained.
"Why did you have to drag Ci-N into it? I thought she was your friend."
"I'll admit, I miss my old friends from Section E. Ci-N was one of them, but she barely even greets me anymore."
"Maybe because of me or the incident between me and Keifer."
"I hope that's the only reason, but ever since Jay arrived, she and Ci became close right away. I knew Jay would be affected the most if I used Ci."
I put an arm around her and rested her head on my shoulder. Even if she didn't say it, I knew she was jealous. She was used to getting all the attention from Section E before, but now, all of it was on Jay-jay.