Jay's POV
The sky was a perfect, endless blue, streaked with fluffy clouds that looked like they'd been dipped in delicious pink cotton candy. I swear, I could almost taste the sweetness. Then, out of nowhere, a crispy, juicy lechon—my absolute favorite roasted pig—came soaring toward me like a golden dream, spinning slowly in the air, its skin crackling just right. I reached out, mouth watering...
SPLASH!
Coldness hit me like a slap from an iceberg. My eyes flew open, and there I was, drenched from head to toe, shivering in my soggy Snorlax pajamas. Right in front of me stood Jare and Percy, my two idiot brothers, grinning like they'd just won the lottery and the world was their playground. Their eyes sparkled with pure mischief, hands still dripping from the buckets they'd emptied on me.
I glared at them, water pooling around my feet on the wooden floorboards. "What the heck?!"
"What?" Percy shrugged, totally shameless, not a single flicker of guilt on his face. "Ma said to wake you up, so we did. Mission accomplished!"
"Good morning, sunshine!" Jare chimed in, barely holding back a laugh as he tossed me a fluffy towel. His voice was all fake-sweet, like he was talking to a grumpy toddler.
I snatched the towel without a word, wiping my face while plotting revenge. They thought they were so clever. Ha. I stood up, wringing out my hair, and stomped toward the bathroom like a drowned rat on a mission. The donkeys followed, snickering behind me—big mistake. I grabbed two full buckets of ice-cold water from the sink (leftover from last night's chores), spun around, and SPLASH! SPLASH! Dumped them right over their heads.
"You little monkey! Come back here!" they screeched in unison, sputtering and shaking like wet dogs. Water flew everywhere, soaking the hallway rug.
I bolted downstairs, heart pounding with laughter, and dove behind Pa, who was already chuckling at the chaos from his armchair. "Pa! Help! They're trying to kill me!"
Percy caught up first, grabbing my ear and twisting it just hard enough to make me yelp. "Gotcha now!"
"Percy, let go of your sister's ear," Pa commanded, though a massive grin split his face. He was loving every second of this morning circus.
"But Pa—"
"No buts!" Pa cut Jare off mid-whine, waving his newspaper like a royal decree.
"Anyways," Pa continued, folding the paper with a dramatic flourish, "it's you guys' first day at HVIS—Higher Value International School. Can't be late on day one. And breakfast is ready!"
"Yessss! Breakfast!" we all yelled, the fight forgotten in an instant. Food had that magical power in our house.
We piled around the big wooden table, still damp and giggling. Ma had outdone herself: steaming pandesal rolls fresh from the oven, piles of longsilog with crispy garlic rice and perfectly fried eggs sunny-side up, a bowl of sinigang bubbling with tamarind tang, and a pitcher of calamansi juice that sparkled like liquid sunshine. The air smelled like heaven—salty, sweet, and spicy all mixed together.
Laughter bounced off the walls as Percy flicked rice at Jare, who retaliated by stealing half my egg. "Hey, that's mine!" I swatted his hand, but Ma just shook her head, smiling as she passed the lumpia.
Then, footsteps echoed from the stairs. Jane glided down, looking like she'd stepped out of a magazine. At 17, she was the oldest of us siblings—mature, poised, with her makeup glowing under the morning light and her lips shining with fresh gloss. Her uniform was crisp, not a wrinkle in sight, hair in perfect waves. She was pretty inside and out, the one who actually had her life together.
"Jay, seriously? Go get ready," she scolded, hands on hips. "You're still in your pajamas, and we're leaving in 20 minutes."
"Oh yeah... I forgot about that," I mumbled, scratching my head sheepishly. First-day jitters hit me like a truck. HVIS? Me? In a fancy international school with kids who probably spoke five languages and had private tutors? What was I thinking?
I bolted upstairs, heart racing now for a whole new reason. Ripping off my wet Snorlax PJs (RIP, best sleep shirt), I yanked on my uniform: the stiff white blouse, pleated navy skirt, knee-high socks, and that itchy blazer with the gold HVIS crest. I stared at myself in the mirror—hair a wild mess, cheeks still flushed from the water fight. "Okay, Jay," I whispered, taking a deep breath. "You can do this. New school, new start. No more being the baby sister. Show 'em what you're made of."
One last tug on my ponytail, a splash of gloss cause why not ,a spritz of Ma's perfume for luck, and I grabbed my backpack—stuffed with fresh notebooks, a lucky pen, and a secret stash of chocolate for nerves. Downstairs, the family was waiting, all lined up like a proud parade.
"Ready, champ?" Pa asked, ruffling my hair.
"As I'll ever be," I grinned, shoving down the butterflies.
Little did I know, HVIS was about to flip my world upside down—in the best and craziest ways possible.
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What did you think of Jay's chaotic wake-up and that HVIS cliffhanger? 😱 Got any killer ideas for her first-day disasters? 💥 I'll drop 1-2 chapters regularly 📅—your comments always fire me up, and I can't wait to read them! 👇❤️