Jay-jay's POV
Since I enrolled in class a bit late, Sir gave me a copy of the lessons I had missed. Fortunately, their lectures hadn't gone too far ahead yet.
Sir Alvin is an English teacher and also the adviser of Section E. My start in this class section wasn't great, but for now, things have been relatively quiet.
Tik *Tok *Toink
I take it back! I haven't had a moment of peace! A ghost, maybe?
Someone has been throwing paper at me for a while now. Just small, crumpled-up pieces. But whenever I turn around to see where they're coming from, the whole class acts innocent.
What the heck?! What did I even do to you guys?!
We moved on to the next subject, but the same thing kept happening. The paper balls were scattered all around me.
Stay calm, Jay. They're just trying to piss you off!
I tried to focus on the lecture again. Just like Sir Alvin, the next teacher also gave me a copy of the previous lessons.
I was busy writing when I suddenly felt something hit my hair. I reached up and immediately felt… something wet?
They had thrown a wet paper ball at me. No need to ask where the water came from. The mouth is the fastest and easiest water source for a person, and the texture was kind of slimy.
Yuck! Ewww!
I quickly grabbed some tissue and sanitizer from my bag. Girl Scout to boy!
The same scene continued through our next classes. Damn it!
As soon as the teacher left, I stood up and faced the entire class, my eyes sharp with anger.
"WHO THE HELL KEEPS THROWING STUFF AT ME?!" I yelled furiously.
No one spoke, so I was about to say something again when suddenly, everyone raised their hands. Each one was holding a crumpled paper ball. They were perfectly round from being squeezed tightly, about the size of an apple.
They were all poised to throw at me. I'm dead!
I saw Keifer smirking. He stood up and positioned himself like a baseball pitcher about to throw.
My eyes widened at his stance. What did you get yourself into, Jay-jay?
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes as I saw him throw the paper ball at me. After it hit my face, the others followed in rapid succession.
"Aarrrggghhhh..." I screamed.
It didn't really hurt, but there were so many of them that I couldn't move or fight back. They threw them at me while laughing.
"Keep going! Hahaha!"
"There's still more here!"
"Hahaha!"
I know there are only a little more than 15 of them, but it feels like more than 100 people are throwing at me.
"Aarrgghhhhh... What the hell?!" I shouted at them, but of course it had no effect.
I had no choice but to grab my bag and quickly run out of the room.They kept throwing at me all the way to the door, but they finally stopped once I was completely out.I didn't stop running until I was far away from the building itself.
They were so mean to me! I should've just ignored that Keifer guy!
It was already lunch time, so I decided to head straight to the cafeteria. I went inside and joined the line.I was busy looking around while in line when I heard a familiar voice.
"That was really funny.. Hahaha.." It was Rakki and her classmates.I immediately turned my back on them.
Why is this line so freaking long?!
"Hey Rakki..." I heard someone call her. I'm not really nosy, but I couldn't help listening.
"Watsup Mykel?" Rakki greeted back.
"I heard you met the transferee. What do you think of her?"
That's probably me. They're talking about me.
"Uhmmm... She's pretty and a little noob."
Should I feel flattered? She complimented me and insulted me at the same time. What is that?
Why is this line moving so slowly?!
"Hahaha... What do you mean?"
"She went to our section instead of Section E's room."
They suddenly burst out laughing, including Rakki's classmates.
"That must've been embarrassing…"
Tell me about it! The line finally moved and I reached the ate at the counter.
(Note: Ate in filipino means aunt/sister)
I bought two meals, knowing I'd have to fight through the day. I also got a big bag of Piattos, Nova, and Cheappy.
I asked for takeout because I had no intention of showing my face to Section C. It's too humiliating!
I got my order and quickly walked toward the cafeteria exit, but I suddenly stopped when I came face to face with Aries—my cousin.
His eyebrows immediately furrowed when he saw me. I couldn't move from my spot. I'm screwed!
"Hey, Aries! Over here!" Rakki called.
But Aries didn't move either. Neither did I.
I felt someone approach us until...
"Jay-Jay? You're here…" Rakki greeted me. "…Guys, the transferee is here."
Rakki put her arm around my shoulder and turned me to face everyone in the cafeteria. It was too late to pull away.
"This is Jay-jay… The one I was telling you about earlier," Rakki introduced.
I just lowered my head. I didn't know who I should be embarrassed for—myself, the people here, or Aries.
Aries had left home as soon as he found out I would be staying with them. We never had a good relationship because of the things I did in the past.
"So, Jay-jay... How's your experience with Section E?" one guy—probably Mykel—asked.
I couldn't answer. I didn't want to tell them that Section E had already ganged up on me. And I also didn't want Section E to think I was snitching on them.
"I-It's fine... T-They're nice to me," I replied, forcing a smile.
"I think that's a lie. Section E are all barbaric. They have records both inside and outside of school," Rakki said.
My forehead creased at what I heard. Calling them barbaric is a bit too much. It makes them sound like monsters.
"No need to worry... Jay will fit well in that section," Aries suddenly said.
I turned to look at him. I had no idea what he meant by that.
I knew I was just going to get embarrassed here a few more times. I slowly removed Rakki's arm from my shoulder.
"R-Rakki... I really have to go now. Sorry."
I didn't wait for their reply. I immediately left the cafeteria. I don't know why, but the atmosphere there felt really awkward.
Maybe it was because I was embarrassed to see Aries.
I used to be a troublemaker at our old school. We had a broken family, so I rebelled. Lola (grandmother) took me in to take care of me, hoping my life would get better with her, but it didn't change anything.
Until Lola had a heart attack because of one of my fights. My aunts got angry with me, except for Tita Gema—Aries' mom. She was the only one who made me feel that it wasn't entirely my fault.
Because I was so ashamed in front of Lola, I told her I would just leave. Tita Gema took me in since they didn't have a daughter. I agreed and promised Lola and the others that I would fix my life and myself.
When I first arrived at their house, I thought everything would finally be okay, but Aries got angry the moment he saw me. He said if I wasn't going to leave, then he would. Tita didn't do anything, so Aries left and we only saw each other here at school.
It was really hard for Tita Gema. I could feel it even if she didn't say anything. If only Aries knew that I've already changed.
I reached the Section E building without realizing it. Wait!
I can't go in there yet. I'm sure they'll just mess with me again and I won't be able to eat properly.
I looked around. I decided to grab a decent-looking table and chair and settled there to eat. I opened the first meal I had bought.
I also placed a handkerchief over my shirt—just in case something spilled on it. That would be a hassle.
Our uniform is a simple shirt with a black necktie and a skirt two inches above the knee. The necktie indicates which year level we are. It has white stripes. Since we're fourth year, we have four stripes.
I finished the first meal and was about to open the second one when someone suddenly snatched it. Super fast—like faster than Flash.
"This is mine now!" shouted the guy who grabbed my meal. I'm sure he's my classmate.
I couldn't do anything. Other classmates quickly gathered around him and started fighting over it like they were starving to death.
I saw Keifer leaning against the wall, just watching classmates fight over the food.
"Share some!"
"Give us some!"
"That's mine!"
They really are starving. Didn't they eat lunch?
"Just bear with them. They're just hungry," someone said.
I turned to the person who spoke. He was now sitting right next to me. When did he get here? He just popped up out of nowhere?
He was one of the guys I talked to earlier—the one with Keifer. He has brown hair.
"I'm Felix, by the way..." he introduced himself and extended his hand.
But I ignored him. Does he think he's lucky or something? After they tricked me earlier? Huh!
I just took out the big Piattos from my bag. I was about to open it when someone snatched it away again.
"Hey! What the—" I yelled.
The thief disappeared, buried under the swarm of starving classmates. What the hell?
What kind of classmates do I have? Vultures? They're worse than eagles when it comes to snatching food.
"Hahaha… Don't bring out any food yet," Felix said.
I glared at him. "What's wrong with your classmates? Starving wolves?"
He laughed at my comment. "Hahaha… Kind of."
I completely lost my appetite because of how annoyed I was with my classmates. They just scattered the food containers and wrappers all over the floor.
Just hungry?