Yuri's POV
Everything around me was blurred. Nothing was clear, but I could see something moving.
I walked closer, and little by little, everything brightened and became clearer.
It was Ella—she was cooking, wearing an apron.
"Ella? W-what are you doing here?"
She looked at me and smiled.
"Isn't this what you wanted? To be with me?"
She was right—that was what I wanted. But why didn't I feel happy? Was it because I knew she didn't love me?
"You should leave."
She looked at me with concern, but I just averted my gaze.
Suddenly, she threw the ladle she was holding and tore off the apron she was wearing.
"Why do you keep pushing away the people who love you?"
I woke up, drenched in sweat.
I hated that dream. I hated dreaming about her.
I had forgotten her a long time ago.
Jay-jay's POV
"Bastard! No one loves you!" shouted the kid from our neighborhood at me.
I could do nothing but go home and sulk in my room.
What could I do? I was just a child—smaller than him. And besides… what he said was true. No one loved me.
I forced myself to wake up from that dream. It was a nightmare!
I reached up and touched my eyes. They were wet with tears. I was still crying because of the same dream.
I didn't want to cry over it. There was no reason to cry over it!
I got up from bed and went straight to the bathroom to wash my face. I glanced at the wall clock in my room—it was only 5:30 in the morning.
After that, I went out to the kitchen. Honestly, I had no energy for anything, but I needed to prepare breakfast. I felt guilty towards Aunt Gema, so I took it upon myself to do things, even though they had plenty of helpers.
But it looked like I was too late—breakfast was already prepared.
What a waste of getting up early. Ugh.
"Why the long face?"
I turned to see who spoke. It was Kuya Angelo!
He walked up to me and ruffled my hair. "Go eat breakfast."
But I couldn't move from my spot. He scolded me before he left, and honestly, I was a little scared of him. Did I do something wrong recently?
He was Aries' older brother—the eldest son of Aunt Gema.
"Jay, what are you standing there for?"
"K-Kuya, when did you come back?"
"At 3 AM. I was supposed to go straight to the condo, but I wanted to see Mom first."
I just nodded. He had just come back from Singapore. He was the one managing Aunt Gema's businesses there. The last time we saw each other was when Grandma was in the hospital.
I still remember the way he looked at me back then—like he wanted to bury me alive. Good thing he seemed to be in a good mood now.
"Has Aries still not come home?" he asked while making coffee.
"Not yet. But I saw him at school."
"Hmmm..." He took a sip of his coffee. "...How are you at school? Mom told me you ended up in Section E."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah."
Oh, right. Kuya Angelo also studied at HVIS (Higher Value International School). I just didn't know if he knew about the current Section E.
"Kuya..." I started. "...Do you know anything about Section E?"
He looked at me. "Yeah..."
I moved closer to him. "Tell me about it."
I saw his hesitation. It was like he was hiding something. I had a bad feeling about this.
Something was up!
"There wasn't always a Section E. It only appeared when students got into trouble—troublemakers, to be specific.
At first, there were only five or six students in Section E, but as time passed, more and more were placed there."
"Once that Section E is opened and you're placed there, you can't leave.
For example, if you're in 1st year and you get assigned there, you won't be able to move out until you graduate."
His explanation was long. No wonder Aries said I was perfect for that section.
I was a troublemaker!
"What else?"
"Uhmmm… I'm not sure if your batch is the same as ours... Back then, Section E was filled with delinquents and uncontrollable students. They couldn't be expelled because they had connections backing them up."
Ahh... So that's how it was.
"Then why aren't there any girls in Section E?"
"I'm not sure, but there have never been girls in Section E. Sometimes, a girl like you ends up there, but they always get transferred right away… Maybe because the girls in this school aren't as reckless as the guys."
Well, now I feel embarrassed for being reckless.
"So if you behave, they might transfer you to another section."
"Hhmmm… I'm fine staying in that section. I think I'll just stay there."
"Suit yourself..."
Because even though they were scary sometimes, they seemed nice. And I didn't want to judge them just because they were in Section E.
I had more questions for Kuya, but I forgot them. I'll eat first and think about them later. I was still in the middle of my meal when he said goodbye and left. He said he'd be back later. That's fine—I might remember what I wanted to ask him.
After eating, I quickly took a bath and got ready. I planned to walk to school today. I wanted to see how far it was from the house.
When I went back to the kitchen to get a drink, I saw Aunt Gema.
"Good morning, Auntie," I greeted her.
She smiled at me. "Good morning to you too. Are you heading to school?"
"Yes. I was thinking of walking to school. I want to see how far it is."
"Forty-five minutes."
I looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"
"It takes 45 minutes to get to school if you walk."
I stared at her.
How did she know that?
"I used to walk to school too. I studied there, remember?"
"Ohh…"
Wow. Auntie really turned the school into walking distance from home.
"I know a lot of shortcuts… Want me to teach you?" she asked, smiling.
I nodded.
She quickly grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the directions for me. There were so many streets—Avenida St., Bonifacio St., Aquino St., and more. The moment Aunt handed me the paper, I immediately left. Wow! I was like Dora the Explorer.
The first shortcut I tried was the alley closest to the house. It was called Calla Street. According to Aunt's instructions, I could take the next street to get to the following one.
Next was Camella Street, then Aquino Street.
I was about to enter Aquino Street, but I stopped in my tracks when I saw something.
There was a fight!
One guy was taking on three others.
Huh?! Was I seeing this right?!
Yes! The three guys were already down, but the standing guy kept kicking them.
How was I supposed to pass?
The alley was narrow, and they were blocking the way. If I waited for them to finish, I might be stuck here forever.
Haaaaayyyyy!!!
I had no choice!
I walked closer but kept a safe distance—just enough for him to hear me.
"Uhmmm… Excuse me! Can I pass----"
"IF YOU WANT TO STAY ALIVE, LEAVE!" the guy shouted angrily.
I frowned at what he said. He could've said it nicely!
He had his back to me, so I couldn't see his face. But he looked like an HVIS student because of his uniform.
"I'll leave if you let me pass!" I snapped back.
He suddenly stopped kicking the guys. I saw his fists clench.
Oh no! Did I make him angry?
He turned to me and gave me a deadly glare, but it quickly disappeared when he recognized me.
This was my classmate!
I just couldn't remember his name. Actually, I never even tried to learn it.
"Jay-jay?"
He smiled at me as if nothing had happened.
"I'm your classmate, remember?"
I just nodded and kept walking. I passed by the guys lying unconscious on the ground. Some of them had blood on their faces.
"Wait! You're heading to school?"
I turned to face him and nodded.
"Let's go together... Let me just finish this real quick," he said, pointing at the guys he was kicking.
"Finish? They're already down… What else is there to finish?"
"Not yet… I want their faces to be covered in blood before I leave."
He smiled again.
This guy was brutal. Was he planning to kill them?
"Ugh! Do whatever you want. I'm leaving!"
I continued walking even though I could still hear him calling me. He looked too young to be getting into fights. I was even bigger than him.
His uniform was slightly loose, making him look even smaller. Black hair, slightly slanted eyes… He was cute when he smiled.
I should have memorized my classmates' names beforehand. At least written them down on paper.
So far, I only knew Felix, Keifer, and Yuri—
"Wait!" I heard him shout.
I didn't turn around because, from the sound of his voice, it was obvious he was running after me.
When he caught up, he grabbed my shoulder. He was panting and had to lean on his knees for support.
"I… I told you… to wait for me…" he said while catching his breath.
"If I wait for you, I might be late…"
He stood up straight. "No way… It's still early."
I didn't say anything and just kept walking.
He followed me.
"I'm Ci-N, by the way..."