Chapter 5 - Dreams

DREAMS

Yuri's POV

The surroundings were blurred, unclear, but moving. As I approached, everything gradually cleared up and became clearer.

Ella was cooking, wearing an apron. "Ella? W-what are you doing here?" I asked. She looked at me and smiled.

"Isn't this what you want?" she replied. "To be with me."

I wanted to correct her, but why wasn't I happy? I knew deep down that I'm not the one she loves.

"You should... leave," I said, looking at her with worry. I avoided her gaze.

Suddenly, she dropped the ladle she was holding, and it broke. She was still wearing the apron.

"Why do you keep pushing people who love you away?"

Suddenly, I woke up, drenched in sweat. I didn't want to dream about her anymore. I had forgotten her for a long time.

Jay-jay's POV

"Bastard! You don't love me!" screamed the neighbor.

I did nothing, but I went home and frowned in my room. What should I do? I'm still young, and I'm small compared to him.

And yet, what he said was true—he doesn't love me.

I tried to wake myself up from that dream. It was a nightmare!

I wiped my wet face, holding back tears. I cried more because of the same dream. I didn't want to cry over it; there's no reason to cry about that dream!

I got up from my bed and went straight to the bathroom to wash my face. I looked at the clock on the wall; it was 5:30 AM.

After that, I went out and into the kitchen. Honestly, I didn't feel like eating anything, but I had to prepare breakfast. I felt embarrassed because I knew Aunt Gem worked so hard, even though they had a lot of helpers. I just felt like I was already late. Breakfast was ready, and I was sorry I woke up late. Where was he?

"How long is your snout?"

I turned to see who spoke. It was Brother Angelo!

He came over and ruffled my hair. "Go eat breakfast."

Maybe I didn't want to move from my place. I was a little angry at him because of what happened before he left. I was also a bit scared of him.

Had I done something stupid lately?

He is the eldest son of Aunt Gema's family.

"Jay, why are you still being fooled by him?"

"Brother, when did you get back?"

"This morning, 3 AM. I wish I could have seen Mom first."

I nodded. He came from Singapore, handling the business for Aunt Gema. We met late when Grandma was in the hospital. He was looking at my furiously. It's good to see him in a better mood today.

"Aries is not coming home either?" he asked while preparing coffee.

"No, but I saw him at school."

"Hmmm..." He took a sip of his coffee. "At school? Mama told me you went to Section E."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yes, yes."

I was amazed that Brother Angelo knew about Section E in HVIS. I wasn't sure if he knew anything about the current Section E students.

"Brother..." I hesitated, "...Do you know anything about Section E?"

He looked at me. "Yeah..."

I approached him. "Tell me about it."

I noticed hesitation in Brother's voice. There was something hidden, and I didn't feel good about his attitude. It seemed like something was up!

"Nothing really... Section E only had students who were considered difficult. At first, there were only five or six, but as time went on, the number grew."

"Once you're placed in Section E, you can't leave. For example, if you're in your first year, you're stuck there until graduation."

He explained further. "The section was for those who didn't fit into regular classes."

"Why are there no girls in Section E?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but there used to be no girls in Section E. something happened and she got transferred immediately. Maybe because the girls in the school aren't as troublesome."

I felt embarrassed by the story.

"So, if you're too difficult, you'll be moved to another section immediately."

"Hmmm... Okay... So that's Section E..."

"Take care of it," Brother said.

I wasn't scared of them, but I didn't want to judge just because they were from Section E.

There was more I wanted to ask Brother, but I decided to eat first and think about it later.

I was only halfway through my meal when Brother said goodbye and left. He would be back later, but I decided to remember everything to ask him later.

After eating, I quickly took a shower and got ready. I was planning to go for a walk and head to school. I wanted to see if the school was far from home.

I returned to the kitchen for a drink and saw Aunt Gema.

"Good morning, Aunt," I greeted her.

She smiled. "Good morning too... Are you going out?"

"Yes, I'm planning to walk to school to see how far it is."

"It will take about 45 minutes to get there on foot," she replied.

"45 minutes?" I asked.

"Yes, it will take 45 minutes to get to school if you walk."

I was surprised. How did she know that?

"Walking? I'm used to walking to school."

I smiled, and Aunt Gema immediately took out a piece of paper with directions for me. There were so many streets listed: Avenue St., Bonifacio St., Aquino St., etc. I left the house, following the instructions. I tried the alley closest to the house. The street was called Calla Street. According to Aunt's instructions, I had to take the next street to get to the next one. The next street was Camellia Street, then Aquino Street. I reached Aquino Street, but I stopped when I saw something strange. A fight was happening. Three men were attacking one man.

I couldn't pass through because the path was narrow, and they were still blocking the way. If I waited for them to finish, I would be stuck. I had no choice but to get closer.

"Excuse me! I'll wait patiently," I called out.

"IF YOU WANT TO STAY ALIVE, LEAVE NOW!" one man yelled.

I raised an eyebrow. Okay, he didn't say that very politely. I took a step back so he couldn't see my face, but he seemed like he was from HVIS because of the uniform.

"I'll leave if you let me through!" I said firmly.

He stopped kicking the man, clenched his fists, and looked at me angrily.

Then he recognized me.

"Jay-jay?" he asked, smiling as if nothing had happened. "I'm your classmate, remember?"

I nodded and walked past him, stepping over the men lying on the road, some of them with blood on their faces.

"Wait! Where are you going?" he shouted.

I didn't turn around, but I could tell he was running after me.

He caught up and grabbed my shoulder.

"I said... wait for me..." he panted.

"I might be late if I wait for you."

He straightened up. "Maybe it's still early."

I didn't say anything and kept walking. He followed me.

"I'm Ci... N..." he started.

I didn't catch the rest, but I was curious about his name.