Not today Daræy.

The next morning, when I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that the house was already spotless. My roommate had clearly been up early, cleaning and handling everything that needed to be done.

The second thing I noticed was Irene's voice.

"You up, girl?" she called out.

I squinted, still rubbing my eyes, trying to shake off the lingering sleep that clung to me like an annoying mosquito. My brain wasn't fully functioning yet, and for a few seconds, I just sat there, processing existence.

Then—

The smell hit me.

Plantain and fried eggs.

Ah. My beloved.

Instantly, my morning grogginess vanished. My stomach, which had been a silent participant in my suffering, roared to life.

"You guys love me so much," I sighed happily, a smile forming on my face.

But before I could fully bask in my joy, Ruth turned to me, eyebrow raised. "Love who?" she asked.

I blinked.

"This food is for me and Biancus," she continued, casually flipping a piece of plantain like she hadn't just shattered my heart into a million tiny, hungry pieces.

"Wait. What do you mean only you and Biancus?" I asked, suddenly feeling betrayed.

She gave me a blank stare. "Because when Biancas was asking what we'd eat, Light refused to answer. Irene didn't care much since she wasn't hungry. Then you refused to wake up, and Biancas got annoyed and told me to make food only for the two of us."

Irene, sitting across the room, nodded in agreement like this was all logical.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. Great.

I knew how Biancus got when things like this happened. If she talked and no one responded, she took it personally. It was one of those things you just knew not to mess with. Complaining now would only make things worse, and honestly? I didn't have the energy for it.

But that didn't change the fact that my PalmPay account was sitting on zero, and my Opay? That useless app had decided to start rejecting all my data for no reason. I had no idea why, and frankly, I didn't have the patience to figure it out.

Long story short: I had no money.

Which meant one thing.

I was going to stay hungry the entire day.

And let me tell you, that is not good news for anyone—especially not for me.

Because when I'm hungry, I go through three stages.

The first stage? The Ennui stage. You know, like that emotion from Inside Out 2? The one who just doesn't care about anything and is perpetually tired of life?

Yeah. That's me.

Right now, I was floating in a void of indifference. My energy was nonexistent. My motivation? Dead. Every single movement felt like a chore.

Everything around me became annoying for no reason.

The way Ruth chewed her food? Annoying.

The way Irene adjusted her chair? Annoying.

The sound of the ceiling fan? Annoying.

Even the air I was breathing? Annoying.

My mind was so checked out that I just lay there, staring at the ceiling like a lifeless mannequin, questioning why life had to be so hard.

At some point, I almost convinced myself that food was overrated.

Maybe I don't even need to eat today. Maybe I should just transcend hunger and become one with the universe…

That ridiculous thought lasted about ten seconds before my stomach growled so loud it sounded like a dying engine.

Nope.

I definitely needed food.

But, since I had none, I had to suffer through the day.

By 3:50 PM, I forced myself up, got dressed, and dragged my starving, half-dead body to CHS for our practice session.

We had a presentation tomorrow, and nobody wanted to fail.

No matter how hungry I was, failure was not an option.

Stage Two: Anger

When I got to CHS, I immediately spotted Joy already seated, and Daræy walking in from the opposite direction.

From where I stood, I could literally read their lips.

Joy: "Good evening."

Daræy, as expected, did what he did best.

Ignored her.

Still, Joy tried again.

"You must be Daræy," she said.

Silence.

I scoffed.

How could someone be so rude?

I started walking toward them, but before I could take more than a few steps—

I saw a group of boys coming my way.

Now, in CHS, seeing groups of boys during the day isn't exactly common. Maybe at night, when people are done with classes, but in broad daylight? Not so much.

I eyed them cautiously.

From their general vibe, they looked like engineering students—the kind that enjoyed stirring up unnecessary trouble for no reason.

Normally, I wouldn't have cared much.

But today?

Today, I was in stage two of hunger.

And that was not good.

Stage two was anger.

Not full-blown rage, not yet, but the irritation was bubbling dangerously close to the surface.

I could feel it crawling under my skin, making every little thing piss me off.

As I walked past them, one of the idiots had to open his stupid mouth.

"Baby, should I come and read with you?"

I stopped.

Slowly turned my head.

And I glared at him.

A look that said two simple words:

"Fk. Off."

He definitely got the message.

His friends did too, because the moment my aura shifted, I could feel the entire group tense up. Some of them took a step back. One guy even gulped.

I kept walking, not even bothering to entertain their nonsense further.

By the time I reached Joy and Daræy, I had barely contained the explosion brewing inside me.

Still, I greeted Joy like a normal person.

Then, I turned to Daræy.

I stared at him, and boom.

Stage two was in full effect.

I placed my bag on one of the chairs, took a deep breath, and finally spoke.

"Hey," I said, my voice calm but dangerous. "Are you dumb?"

It was not a question.

It was a statement.

The words hit him like a slap to the face.

He scoffed. "What?"

He gave me a look that clearly translated to, 'Shut the f**k up if you don't want trouble.'

But oh, Daræy.

Not today.

Because today, I was one step away from stage three.