Aries's POV
"Mykel, it's Section E's P.E. class today... Can we watch?" he asked me.
Why is he asking for my permission?
"Do whatever you want..."
"I'm sure Jay-jay will be there... I wonder what she looks like during P.E.," Kiko said.
Why do I get the feeling that he's imagining something inappropriate?
"Hey, Kiko! She's still my cousin!"
"So what? Is there something wro—"
"Babe!" Ella called out to me. She walked over and kissed me on the cheek.
"We're heading to the gym... We have practice. Want to come?" she asked.
Wait! To the gym? Section E has P.E. right now. Keifer.
"Yeah... Sure," I answered shortly.
Kiko and Mykel exchanged knowing looks. Of course, they understood why I agreed.
Ella started walking toward the gym, and we followed. When we got there, she almost stopped in her tracks at the sight of all of Section E inside.
I immediately put my arm around her shoulder. I didn't know why I did it, but I felt like I had to. Keifer and Yuri's group were glaring at us.
"Look who's back..." Kiko muttered.
I glanced at him, then turned to see who he was talking about. David—he'd lost a lot of weight. I looked back at Keifer's group, but my eyes landed on someone else.
Jay-jay.
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Jay-jay's POV
"Class, grab a partner!" our P.E. teacher instructed.
We were going to start with a simple throwing exercise. Everyone had to pair up. Of course, it was obvious no one was going to partner with me, so I immediately just grabbed Ci-N.
"You're my partner!" I said, clinging to his arm.
He quickly nodded with a smile. We even walked in sync, swaying our heads like in those movies or TV commercials. I swear, we make the perfect partners—or best friends forever!
I found us a spot, and he followed. I picked up a ball—a red, slightly soft one, the kind often used for dodgeball.
Ci-N and I started the exercise. At first, we were just quietly tossing the ball back and forth until—A ball suddenly flew right past me!
Woaaahhh... That was close!
I almost got hit, so I turned to see where it had come from. But those sneaky scoundrels were acting innocent.
"Did you see where that came from?" I asked Ci-N.
"See what?"
"The ball that flew past me!"
"H-Huh? N-No..."
I decided to ignore it—maybe it was an accident. We went back to our activity. Throw, catch, throw again, and then—woaaahhhh!!
Another ball flew toward my face! Not just one this time—TWO.
.
I looked around again. That was no accident. Two in a row? I saw our classmates glaring at—no, not us. Just me.
.
They were holding different kinds of balls—football, tennis, volleyball, even basketballs.
W-Why?
My heart started pounding. This felt different. This wasn't just nerves—I had a bad feeling about where this was going.
I turned to Ci-N for help, but that coward had disappeared. C-in!
I swallowed hard and took a step back. Then, suddenly, they all positioned themselves and got ready.
Son of a... RUN, JAY!
But my legs wouldn't move. Damn it!
"Section E!" Keifer shouted. He was holding a baseball. He pulled back his arm, preparing to throw.
"CHARGE!" he yelled.
One word?! It hurt! How much did it hurt? You fvcker! It hurt so much!
The moment Keifer gave the signal, they all started pelting me with balls. I had no choice but to cover my head. Even if I tried to run, it wouldn't make a difference.
I could hear their laughter and shouting. Even the sound of the teacher's whistle echoed in my ears. Other students who were just hanging around were cheering and yelling too.
I collapsed to the ground. I wasn't a freaking pole—that could just keep standing no matter how many hits or kicks came.
It hurt. Even my feelings were hurting!
It makes you wonder—why? Why me? Did I do something wrong to them? When they finished throwing the balls, I looked at them.
They were all just laughing at me. Ci-N was being held by Felix and the others; I could see the worry on his face. Other students were watching too. That's when I realized—Aries and his classmates were there.
Aries. If he weren't my cousin, would this have happened to me? Is he the reason they're doing this?
I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt like crying. Maybe because my body hurt from the balls hitting me, or because I couldn't fight back against what they were doing even though I really wanted to.
I am still a girl, after all. Easier to hurt—not just physically but mentally and emotionally too.
I forced myself to stand up. I felt so oppressed and I didn't want to feel that way anymore. I was about to get up when I saw Keifer winding up.
He was holding a baseball. Wait! Didn't he already throw that? The way he threw it—it was just like a pitcher.
He threw the ball, and everything happened too fast for me to block or dodge it. The ball hit me straight in the nose, making me fall to the floor again.
"Uhg... Ouch..."
Enough already! I'm exhausted! It hurts too much!
I stayed lying down for a moment because I felt dizzy. A few more seconds passed before I forced myself to stand up again. I glared at Keifer, but he just smirked at me.
Just one punch! That's all I'm asking for! I'd be happy with that!
I felt something trickling from my nose. I thought it was just a runny nose, probably because I was about to cry.
I used my hand to wipe my nose. It would be embarrassing if they saw it. But no matter how hard I tried, I could still feel something dripping from my nose.
"Jay..." I heard Ci-N say.
I looked at him—he was visibly worried. I suddenly got nervous…. I didn't want to, but I looked at the hand I had used to wipe my nose.
I really shouldn't have.
"B-B-Blood..."
Calm down, Jay! It's just a little blood!
My heart started pounding even faster. My entire body began to tremble. This isn't good! It's happening again! I couldn't breathe. It feels like something is choking me.
My vision blurred—was it because of the tears? Or because it was starting all over again?
It was just like this. This is exactly how I felt back then, before everything went dark and I couldn't remember what happened anymore.
Fight it, Jay! It's just blood! Calm down!
But no matter how much I talked to myself, it seemed pointless.
"You're so stubborn! Do as you're told!"
"You're worthless!"
"Just die already! Another mouth to feed!"
"Your mother isn't here, so I can do whatever I want!"
There it was again. Memories that don't even feel familiar to me. The voices of men repeatedly shouting in my mind. They're terrifying, but even so, I still feel like I have to fight back.
I just kept staring at my hand, clearly seeing it tremble. And then, suddenly, I felt drawn to the blood. It was as if my hand had a mind of its own—it slowly moved toward my mouth.
No! Jay! Don't! Listen!
There was barely a gap between my hand and my lips when someone suddenly knocked it away. It was like I snapped out of a trance. I turned to see who did it.
Aries.
"Get your things. We're going home," he ordered, his voice firm.
I was confused. I couldn't move. My feet wouldn't budge.
"JAY!" Aries shouted, anger in his voice.
I was a bit startled, but I quickly obeyed. I ran back to the room as fast as I could.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Keifer's POV
Looks like someone got pissed. I didn't even know her nose would start bleeding.
But why did she react like that to blood?
"Can you not involve Jay-jay in this?" Aries said.
"Are you affected?" I asked, smirking.
Nice! Another advantage against him.
"No... I'm just worried for you guys," he replied, smirking back.
"...If I were you, I wouldn't let her see blood."
"Since when did you start worrying about us?"
"Just now... And you should be careful. You might just find yourself face-to-face with disaster."
I crossed my arms. "I don't believe you. And besides, your cousin belongs to Section E, so you have no say in what we do to her."
He chuckled. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said before walking away.
Kiko followed, shooting a sharp glare at David as he passed. And following behind them... was Ella.
She looked really disappointed in me. I couldn't blame her. I was still a failure. Maybe that's why she didn't choose me.
I'm sorry, Ella...
"Keifer! Why did you have to do that?!" Ci-N yelled at me, furious.
"It was an accident! I didn't know her nose would bleed!"
"Yeah, right... That's exactly what you said during your last baseball game," Ci-N said.
His words made my blood boil. Why did he have to bring that up? I immediately grabbed his shirt, glaring at him.
"Don't talk to me like that… You might be forgetting who I am."
"I know, but Jay—"
"What? Are you getting soft?"
"Keifer... Let go of him," Yuri said, sounding bored.
I let go of Ci-N, but I kept my eyes on him.
"Don't test my patience. Just follow everything I say." I looked at everyone. "...Jay will stay in Section E!"
"What?!" Yuri asked, shocked.
"You heard me. She will stay. I have a plan."
Thanks to Aries, I now knew what to do with his cousin. I didn't realize I could use her. Like I said—another new advantage against him.