Jay-jay's POV
Boy Bawang really stinks your breath up. Or maybe it's just my breath that stinks? Ewwness... Didn't brush your teeth?
Idiot! And you call yourself my conscience? You don't even know I brushed my tooth. I brushed my tooth! Yes, tooth. Just one.
I went to school without anything in my stomach. I didn't eat breakfast at home—I was planning to grab something from the Mini Mart but fate really has it in for me. My allowance is almost gone and I need to stretch what's left.
So I was forced to go in while feeling Tom Jones. But heaven still showed me kindness. Because as soon as I got to my seat, there were snacks on my table. I wasn't planning on touching it, but my stomach had the final say. What a lovely breakfast!
I ended up eating it. To whoever left that food on my desk—this is the only time I'll ever thank you.
"Hey! Can I have some?" C-in said as he reached for the snacks.
I couldn't stop him anymore. He was already holding it and opening the pack. He looked super happy while munching.
"Don't you know who's been leaving these here?" I asked him while opening a pack of Pillows.
He shook his head. "Nope."
I squinted at him. Why do I feel like I can't trust that answer? This Kid Troublemaker has lied to me before, so it's not far-fetched to think he'd do it again.
"Tell the truth?"
He chewed first before answering. "Really don't know... but—" He swallowed the food. "...but I overheard them. They said they were gonna try to win you back like what Yuri and I did. So maybe this is one of their ways to make amends."
Win me back?! Just like that?!
What do they think—that I'll just give in that easily? I gave C and Yu a chance not just because of their efforts, but because they admitted they were wrong. But those Pestering Devilish Serpents?! They even have the nerve to act proud in front of me sometimes!
And now they think gifts and snacks will do the trick? No way!I'm made of steel, man! They'd have to give me all the snacks in the entire Philippines before I give in to those fools.
C-in stood up and went to the back to get water from the dispenser. I asked him to get me one too because my illness kicked in again. Yes, I have a condition... Tamaritis! Only lazy people feel this! Hehehe.
Sir Alvin arrived, so I was forced to clean up the mess on my table. Class started and it felt like old times again with C-in and David. The moment Sir turned around to write on the board, we started messing with David who was sleeping, and then pretended nothing happened when he woke up.
Even if it was fun, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing. I glanced behind me and looked at the King's chair.
What if he never comes back?
My eyes shifted to Yuri, who was currently writing. He was laser-focused on the board. He looked all cool with his red hair but turns out he's actually a nerd.
I turned back to the front and pretended to listen to Sir—even though I wasn't really. When class ended, Sir reminded us to review because the fourth exam was coming next month.
After that would be the Post-Final exam. That's where they'd know if a student could graduate or not. Why does that even exist? What if someone passes all the exams but fails that one? Then they won't graduate? That would really sting.
While waiting for our next teacher, we suddenly heard noise just outside our classroom.
Denzel, who was near the window, peeked out.
"It's the Section D kids," he said.
The Serpents were just about to get up to go meet them when suddenly, someone threw a firecracker into our room.
The so-called Belt of Judas. We were all caught off guard and fear quickly replaced our confusion when we saw the fuse was lit. We all rushed to cover our ears as it went off in rapid succession.
Smoke filled the room. We moved toward the back of the classroom to get away from the firecracker.
Ci-N kept shouting, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. "We're under attack! This is the end! We're all going to die!" he yelled—something I only managed to make out after a few seconds.
It's just firecrackers, not an assault rifle!
The explosions continued, and what made it worse was that some of us were already having a hard time breathing because of the smoke. I wanted to get out, but I couldn't—the firecrackers were too close to the door.
I looked over at David when I noticed he was still slumped over his desk, fast asleep. I don't know if he's just numb or what, but he wasn't even flinching or reacting to the noise.
"HEY! DAVID!" I shouted, but the firecrackers were louder.
"DAVID! I THINK HE'S DEAD!" Ci-N yelled directly into my ear.
I flinched—his spit practically hit my face. I almost got showered. And this guy probably has rabies!
Since David still wasn't moving from his seat, I grabbed a notebook and threw it at him. Direct hit to the head.
He stirred and started coughing hard. Probably had trouble breathing from the smoke. He stood up and pulled off the headset from his ears.
So that's why he wasn't waking up.
He turned around, seemingly searching for us. Once he saw us huddled in the back, he quickly rushed over.
"What happened?! Where did that come from?!" he asked.
Without warning, Ci-N jumped onto his back, screaming repeatedly,
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! IT'S TERRORISTS! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"
David couldn't even get a word in—Ci-N was strangling him from behind while shaking him violently.
I rubbed my eyes. They were stinging from all the smoke. It felt like my lungs were being squeezed and I was starting to struggle to breathe.
I might actually die here from suffocation.
We all turned to the back when we heard something crash to the floor.
The water dispenser had tipped over while Blaster was trying to grab the gallon. It was still pretty full, so he struggled at first. He lifted it with all his strength and threw it toward the firecrackers near the door.
Within seconds, the popping stopped. The floor was soaked though.
"It's dead! Let's get out of here!" Eman shouted, and we all did exactly that.
Yuri helped me to my feet and supported me until we got outside. Everyone was gasping for air. Some of us were nearly wheezing.
"What the heck?! Get off!" David snapped as he tried to get Ci-N off his back.
"Nope! I'm living here now, right on your back!"
Seriously crazy! What even is David's back? A house?
We could only shake our heads. Even after all that, he still had the energy to mess around. Meanwhile, the rest of us had nearly suffocated inside. Good thing Blaster thought fast.
"Did you like our gift?"
We all turned toward the voice. It was Mykel, standing there with a few from Section A and, of course, their loyal minions from Section D.
"What the heck is this now, Mykel?!" Yuri asked angrily.
"Just a little payback!" he replied, and their group burst into loud laughter.
My fists clenched. Is this guy really not going to stop? Even after Kuya Angelo made him cry? Some people just never learn.
Suddenly, someone threw a piccolo, and we nearly fell over trying to dodge it. They all laughed like our reactions were the funniest thing they'd ever seen.
"David! They're terrorists!" Ci shouted again, shaking David once more.
"Cut it out! I can see that!" David replied irritably.
Where does Ci-N even get all this chaos from? And why won't he get off David's back already? If he were at least light or something... Maybe it's the effect of Boy Bawang or the smoke!
"Can you just leave already?!" Rory shouted angrily.
"Tough talk! Don't act all high and mighty! Keifer's not even here!" Mykel taunted.
"Even if Keifer's not here, we'll still fight back!" Kit snapped.
"What are you all waiting for?! Let's go!" shouted one of Mykel's companions.
The Ulupong were just about to charge when suddenly Sir Alvin appeared—along with a few other teachers.
"Section E! Are you all okay?" he asked us. "...Someone said they saw smoke coming from your room! Was there a fire?"
Sections D and A slowly began to scatter. The teachers didn't even acknowledge them and focused entirely on us. Thankfully, the smoke from the room had cleared by then.
"It wasn't a fire, sir. Someone just threw firecrackers inside the room," Yuri explained.
"Firecrackers?!" one of the teachers with Sir Alvin asked in surprise. "...You brought firecrackers to school?"
"It wasn't us... it was Mykel's group who did it," Edrix answered.
"And why would they even do that?" interrupted another male teacher.
Josh was the one who replied. "Why wouldn't they?"
The teachers exchanged looks, except for Sir Alvin. That kind of look and tone that made it clear whose side they were on. The way they spoke, the way they glanced at each other—it was obvious.
Crystal clear.
"Did anyone get hurt?" Sir asked again.
The Ulupong looked around at one another, waiting for someone to speak. When no one did, Rory finally answered.
"No one got—" But she was cut off by Ci-N suddenly chiming in.
"Someone did!" he shouted—still riding on David's back, of course. "...My heart hurts! I'm heartbroken! Rakki was ignoring me earlier!"
Sir could only scratch his head. He was already used to Ci-N's antics, so we didn't even have to explain.
"I-if anyone really is hurt, go straight to the clinic to get checked out," Sir said before walking toward our classroom.
He peeked inside and winced at the mess on the floor.
"We'll handle it, sir. We're fine now. Thank you for checking on us," Yuri said.
Sir smiled at us and gave a small nod. He reminded us again before finally leaving with the other teachers.
"Sir! Notice me! My feelings are in pain!" Ci-N shouted after him.
I glanced at David when I noticed how pale he was. Ci had his arms around his neck again while screaming at the top of his lungs.
I smacked the brat hard on the arm. He shot me an annoyed look.
"My feelings hurt!" he yelled right in my face.
"You're choking David!"
Startled, he let go and quickly climbed down from David's back. The guy was panting like crazy.
"You'll get your turn with me," he muttered to Ci under his breath.
The brat just grinned and threw up a peace sign. The rest of the Ulupong started heading back into the room, so we followed. Eman grabbed the gallon, which still had a bit of water left, and placed it back on the water dispenser, which Kit and Eren fixed up.
"Those Section D people must be out of their minds! And we're the ones they decided to mess with!" Felix said in frustration.
The firecracker string was ridiculously long. Turns out there was still almost half of it left. Eren picked it up and was heading out of the room when Ci-N stopped him.
"Don't throw it out just yet. I've got something in mind for that," he said, flashing a mischievous grin.
"Hey! Whatever nonsense you're thinking of again!" I scolded him.
He just giggled and turned his back on me. I didn't notice where Eren went afterward. Hopefully, he just throws that thing away.
Drew and Mayo grabbed a mop and rags. They took care of cleaning up the mess on the floor. I helped them out, too. Looks like because of everything that happened, our teacher didn't bother to come to class. Maybe they just decided to let us rest.
"Let's give Mykel an ultimatum so he'll finally stop," I heard Eren say.
"You make it sound so easy!" Mayo replied, sounding a little annoyed.
"It is easy. You're just being a coward," Eren muttered loud enough to be heard, and Mayo threw the rag he was holding in response.
"What did you just say?!" he snapped, stepping forward, but Denzel and Edrix quickly moved between them.
"That's enough! Cut it out!"
"You two are about to fight!"
"Stop it, stop it!"
"Move away from each other!" Calix shouted at them.
They followed what he said, but not before exchanging sharp looks like they were warning each other with their eyes. They were really letting their tempers get the best of them.
After cleaning up, everyone went their separate ways again. It didn't seem like any more teachers would show up, so Eman decided to go ahead and start cooking lunch.
While they were quietly talking among themselves, I pulled out my cellphone. I had a message from GagongBaliw, but he wasn't who I was after.
I texted Percy and told him to bring me lunch. I wasn't about to repeat what happened yesterday. What do they think this is? They're trying to wear me down little by little. Do they think I'm that easy?
Uyyy... smells like adobo!
I glanced over at Eman. It looked like the Ulupong were cooking adobo. Now I kinda wanted to eat here instead.
Alright, let's eat here!
But no... that would basically be saying I've forgiven them. And that's a big no no no no check!
Pere mesherep elem! Gosh! I've completely caught the Ulupong's silliness disease. But I won't lose. I'm not eating here! Even if Eman cooks lechon.
"Let's eat, Jay!" Ci called out to me.
I stared at him. "I've got a task for you."
"What is it?" he asked, smiling as he walked toward me.
I whispered to him, "Get me some food, but don't give it to me."
He scratched his head and looked at me in confusion. "Huh?"
"Just get some... Don't make it obvious and take it to our hangout spot upstairs."
He slowly nodded. "Okay."
Nice! My brain really works at full power when food is involved.
Just as Eman finished cooking, the bell rang. It was lunchtime, and I stood up to leave, but Felix suddenly blocked my path.
"Eat here instead," he said with a smile.
I shook my head. "I texted Percy. He's on his way."
"Just eat with us—"
"No." I said firmly.
He looked down, forcing a smile. It seemed like he finally got that he wasn't going to convince me. I walked past him and headed out. I gave Ci one last glance before I fully left.
Adobo! Adobo! Ahihihi...
As I headed up to the second floor of the building, I heard a door close. I instinctively looked toward the farthest room—the one where pictures of the former Section E were displayed.
No one else could open that room because the key was with Keifer. Unless, of course, he had left it with Yuri—but Yuri was inside the room.
I walked over and tried to sense if anyone was inside. I also tried turning the doorknob, but it was locked. I knocked, hoping someone might open the door.
Weird! But I really did hear a door close.
I just shrugged it off. Maybe it was the door to our room. Maybe it just closed loudly. I started walking toward our usual hangout near the stairs, and just in time, Ci-N was arriving—but he wasn't carrying anything.
"Where is it?" I asked irritably.
He pointed with his lips toward the bottom of the stairs, and when I looked, I saw Felix coming up, holding two plates full of rice and viand.
Shutanginamers!
The whole point of sending him was so no one would know it was for me. I explicitly told him not to make it obvious.
"W-what's that?" I asked, pretending to be annoyed.
"I just helped Ci-N bring this up here," he replied with a smile. "...I know it's not for you."
Nice try, genius. Now I look like the fool.
"Tch!" I shot a glare at Ci-N who was busy poking his ear while staring off into the distance. "...Go ahead and eat. I'll wait for Percy here."
Ci gave me an innocent look and took the two plates Felix was handing to him. Felix smiled at me again before turning around to leave.
Before he could go all the way down, I called out to stop him. He turned to me in confusion.
"Don't you dare tell your fellow Ulupong about this," I warned.
He winked at me in response.
Tsk! Cocky...
Ci-N had started eating by the time I got back to him. The little brat was so focused he didn't even notice me. Since there were no more interruptions, I started eating too.
Just a few moments later, Percy arrived. He smiled at me, but it quickly turned into a grimace when he saw Ci-N—who didn't even acknowledge him.
"Why is he here?" he whispered to me as he handed over the plastic bag he brought. He had takeout from a fast food joint. I took it and placed it in front of us.
"I asked him to do something earlier. Let's eat," I offered, but he shook his head.
"I already ate at home."
I looked at his face closely. He looked… down somehow, like he was trying to hide it behind a smile. And he seemed pale, too.
"Are you okay? You look kind of pale," I said and reached to touch his neck, but he quickly pulled away.
"I'm fine! Of course I am!" he said with a smile. "...Paleness doesn't take away from my good looks."
Oh, he's definitely okay—still as full of himself as ever.
Suddenly Ci-N stopped eating. "Is there a typhoon? The wind's really strong," he said innocently.
Percy immediately shot him a glare. "Yeah! There is a typhoon… better be careful, the wind might carry you away—you're so tiny after all."
Ci matched his glare. "Don't brag too much or the wind might get stronger."
"Since when has good looks been considered bragging?!"
"Every time you say it!"
"You're just jealous! I'm better-looking than you!"
Ci stared at his face, as if examining it. "Where exactly? I don't see it!"
"Short and blind!"
"Ugly and arrogant!"
Instead of stopping them, I just watched. I preferred to keep eating. Whenever these two were together, they always had a scene.
Go ahead, you two. Push each other to the limit.
When we finished eating, I excused myself to go to the restroom. I left them behind for a moment. Since it was lunchtime, there were a few people inside when I arrived.
"They really didn't come in?"
"Yeah... Mykel's group."
I overheard a few girls talking while I was inside the cubicle. They were talking about Mykel's group.
"Wasn't that them? Where are they going?"
"No idea. Let's just stay out of it. Come on."
It seemed like the girls left. I also came out of the cubicle right after and quickly washed my hands. As I stepped out of the restroom, I noticed a few students staring at something—and then dispersing.
I looked as well but only saw Mykel's group walking out of the school.
What could that be about?
I just shrugged it off and started heading back to our building. I was already on the stairs when I bumped into Percy.
"Where's Ci-N?" I asked.
"Why are you asking me?"
I looked at him, confused. "Nothing! I thought you two were together?"
"He followed you! Said it's more refreshing being with you, so he followed you."
Damn it! But I didn't—wait, Mykel's group…
Suddenly, my heart started pounding. A wave of anxiety washed over me. I couldn't explain it, but I felt like something bad had happened.
I ran toward the school gate but they were already gone. I tried stepping outside, but they weren't there either. I approached the guard, who was currently absorbed in his cellphone.
"Kuya! Did you see a group of students leave earlier?" I asked anxiously.
He put his phone down and looked at me with a bored expression. "Mykel's group was the last one to leave."
"Did you see if they were with a boy about this tall?" I gestured Ci's height. "...Looks young, pale skin—"
"The kid from Section E? Yeah, he was with them."
It was like a bucket of cold water was dumped over me. What were they planning to do to Ci-N? What were they going to do to him? Are they really not going to stop?
Wait for me, Ci! I'll find you.