Jay POV
The classroom felt a little too warm, a little too quiet, and I was half-asleep, my head leaning on my desk as my eyelids waged a losing battle against gravity.
A tap on my shoulder made me jerk upright. I blinked, still blurry from dozing off.
"Hey, what are you going to eat?" Keifer's cheerful grin was impossible to ignore.
I rubbed my eyes. "I'm… not hungry."
"Oh, come on," he said, his voice full of mock scandal, "you can't abandon food like that! It's bad!"
"I'll eat later," I muttered.
From somewhere behind him, Yuri piped up dramatically, "Oh my God! I just got a call from the assistant of the Food Lord, and he said the Lord is getting hungry!"
I couldn't help but blink at him. "The Food Lord?"
"Yes," Ci-n chimed in, sidling closer, wagging a finger at me. "Jay, eat now… or I will eat it!"
Before I could answer, David leaned in, eyebrows raised, waving a hand like a sage delivering an important lesson. "It's not good to let others eat your food. You must eat it… yourself. For balance."
The rest of the boys jumped in with their own ridiculous chants and warnings. The sheer ridiculousness of it made me smile, and a little laugh escaped my lips.
"Alright, alright," I said, holding up my hands. "Where's the food?"
From the doorway, a triumphant voice announced, "It's hereeee!"
I looked up, and there he was—Percy—holding an impressive arsenal of pizza boxes. One enormous one and two medium-sized ones, stacked high like a cardboard tower of cheesy goodness.
The boys immediately swarmed, each grabbing a box, eyes wide with excitement.
One of them plopped a medium box onto my table and declared, "Jay! You must eat all of this!"
I waved my hands frantically. "Nooo! I can't eat all that!"
Keifer leaned over, winking. "Then I'll help you."
Ci-n immediately joined, puffing out his chest. "Me tooooo!"
Just then, Nathan and Hannah appeared, each holding drinks with exaggerated fanfare. The classroom suddenly felt alive—laughter, cheers, and the smell of pizza mixing with the faint scent of classroom chalk.
Ci-n whipped out his phone and cranked up some music. "Let's make this a proper feast!" he announced, and the upbeat rhythm of the song instantly pulled everyone into a little dance circle.
As I took a slice, I whispered to Keifer, "Wouldn't we get in trouble?"
He grinned, shrugging. "The teachers are in a meeting. That will take an hour… maybe two. So, have fun."
He held my hand gently, tugging me to join the rest of the boys and girls in a clumsy little dance. Laughter bubbled up uncontrollably when Keifer pointed out Yuri and Hannah whispering to each other, making exaggerated 'suspicious' faces.
The pizza disappeared slice by slice, the laughter grew louder, and even the small worries of the day seemed to vanish, replaced by the warmth of friends, music, and the sheer joy of chaos.
For once, I wasn't tired. I wasn't worried. I wasn't thinking about the world outside this room. I was just here—laughing, dancing, eating pizza, and holding Keifer's hand.
And for a little while… everything was perfect.