Chapter 19 - Punish

PUNISH

Jay-jay's POV

I remained seated, unmoving. I just stared at them.

"Get out of here!" yelled the one who seemed to be the most conceited and the leader of the group.

"You've got some nerve!" added the second girl.

"How dare you?!" the third one shouted angrily.

They're missing one. There were four of them earlier, but now only three remain. Did they really think I would come out?

"Why don't you just come inside?" Kit suggested.

He's really asking for trouble!

"Eeww… No way! Your room is full of dirt and bacteria," the leader of the group replied.

So that's why they're forcing me to come out. No way, why should I— Someone grabbed my arm and dragged me outside.

"Face the trouble you got yourself into," Keifer said.

We walked straight outside, and the three walking coloring books grinned widely.

"You! You're so shameless!" the leader sneered at me, her eyes narrowing.

"You need it… for your faces," I said, pretending to be genuinely concerned for them.

I heard Kit stifling his laughter, but he quickly received sharp glares from the three.

"You come with us!" the leader demanded, grabbing my arm.

Her grip was so tight that it felt like her nails were digging into my skin. This is all Keifer's fault. He should have just left me inside.

"Ow! That hurts!" I complained, struggling to free myself.

"You'll be hurt even more later!" said the second most leader of the group.

I glanced behind me and saw Section E following us. Wow, do they really plan to watch this whole scene unfold? We stopped in front of Aries. Oh no, I'm doomed!

I tried to pry the leader's hand off my arm, but she tightened her grip even more, making her nails dig deeper into my skin.

It hurts!

"Classmates!" the leader called out, grabbing everyone's attention.

All eyes were now on us. Aries was glaring at me. I turned around and saw that Section E was indeed watching.

You're in trouble, Jay!

"This girl!" the leader, whose name I just learned was Freya Hindalgo, pointed at me. "This girl disrespected us in the restroom. I! I, Freya Hindalgo, was insulted by this girl!"

She suddenly poked my forehead so hard that my neck almost snapped back. It felt like her nail had pierced my scalp.

"Ow!" I protested, holding my head.

"That suits you! You showed us no respect!" the second one shouted.

You shall now be Canvas-1!

"Yeah… Don't you know who we are?" added the third one.

You shall be Canvas-2!

Their faces were caked with so much makeup they looked like paintings in a museum. I pretended to think deeply, even though I wasn't actually thinking at all.

"No," I quickly replied.

Freya clutched her chest dramatically, as if she were in pain. I saw Kiko laughing, but Aries was still glaring at me.

"So that's why you had the nerve to insult us…" Freya acted like she was wiping away tears. She turned to her classmates. "Section A, look at her! Look at this disrespectful girl!"

So, she's from Section A? You couldn't tell.

"Can I go back to my room now?" I asked innocently.

We look like fools standing here, and this whole scene they created is pointless.

"No! You'll stay here!" Freya yelled.

"You should be punished! You insulted the Queen Bee!" Canvas-1 added.

"Huh?"

"Freya! Before you punish her, I think you should know who she is," Kiko interjected.

Whew. I thought he was going to be a hero and help me. They already know who I am!

"And so? Who is she? She's just a transferee," Canvas-2 scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Pretty! Keep rolling those eyes!

"She's my cousin," Aries said in a bored tone.

Shit! Is this the moment where he finally acknowledges me? Is he finally proud to announce that I'm his cousin?

"…But that doesn't mean she has immunity from your punishment," he added.

Wow! Just wow!

I really thought he was going to stand up for me and say, 'She's my cousin, so leave her alone.' Of course, that was never going to happen, but I still hoped.

"OMG! Did you hear that, girls? Even though she's Aries' cousin, it's useless," Freya said dramatically.

Should I smack her? Her face is irritating, and so is her voice. They say if you're not beautiful, at least be kind. But these girls? They're neither beautiful nor kind.

"Girls?" Freya said as Canvas-2 left.

She went somewhere I didn't recognize but returned carrying a bucket filled with dirty water. It looked like mop water.

"Jay-jay, let me explain how things work here at HVIS. The first thing you need to know is that Section A is the royalty section. We get all the privileges here. Of course, we are the best at everything. That's why disrespecting us is a huge mistake," Freya explained.

Shit! Looks like this is the end for me.

"…And since the other sections are here, let me introduce them to you." She continued. That's when I realized that the other sections were also surrounding us. I saw Rakki looking worried.

"…Section B is known for being 'hardworking.' They work hard at everything. If you go against them, they'll make you work hard too. They'll bully you relentlessly."

A group of students smiled and high-fived. They must be Section B.

"…Section C. I have nothing bad to say about them. They're kind, but only to those who are kind to them. Try treating them badly, and you'll experience hell."

I looked at Rakki and her group, but they didn't seem proud of what Freya was saying. To me, they really were kind, despite our embarrassing first meeting.

"…Section D. Actually, Section D is almost the same as Section E. The only difference is that they still have hope. They have a chance to improve. And I like Section D because they follow Section A." She winked at a group of students.

In other words, Section D are just followers of Section A.

Wow! Just wow!

As if I care about any of this. I have no intention of befriending them. She just wasted her breath explaining all that.

"You understand everything I said, right?" Freya asked.

I gave her a small nod.

"You forgot something, Freya," Aries chimed in.

"Oh yeah… Thanks for reminding me, Aries." Freya turned back to me. "…Section E…"

I could feel the presence of Section E, along with the heavy atmosphere. It looked like trouble was brewing.

"…That's your section, so you should remember this. Section E is trash in this school. The school board doesn't even acknowledge it anymore. You belong there because you're just like them—disrespectful, troublemakers, worthless, and always unwilling to back down from a fight."

Couldn't she just say that Section E is the most useless section? She's so full of herself just because she's in Section A. What was she again? Queen Bee?

Queen of bees?

No wonder she's so loud. She's buzzing in my ears like a bee.

"I told you so… She really fits in that section," Aries muttered.

I clenched my fists. I wasn't mad at what Aries said. I was mad because Section E was being humiliated in front of everyone. Sure, they already knew that, but it felt different hearing it straight to their faces—especially now that I was one of them.

"Are you done?" I asked Freya.

I was struggling to keep my composure. I felt like I might hurt her any moment now.

"Yeah…" She smiled and turned to the other students. "…I don't want to be called cruel, so I'll give you a deal."

The two Canvases giggled.

"I won't humiliate you, as long as you kneel and apologize to me."

Wouldn't that be humiliating anyway?

"That's it?"

"That's too easy, Freya!"

"It's way too easy!"

Her classmates shouted. Easy? Then why don't you do it?

"Yeah… They're right. Hmm… Okay, kneel, apologize, and kiss my shoe."

What a joke! That's beyond humiliating.

"That's enough, Freya," Kiko said.

Was he actually concerned for me? Ayyiieeehhh! But this isn't the time to get excited. I'm seriously pissed off.

"So, Jay-jay… What can you say?"

FUCK YOU!

That's what I can say!

"What if I don't do what you want?" I asked.

"I don't know... maybe you'll suffer from our punishment?" she replied, pretending to be unsure, but it was obvious she was just acting.

Tss. So dramatic!

I glanced at Canvas-2 and saw her putting something into the bucket she had taken earlier. I didn't see what it was, but I had a bad feeling about it. What should I do? How do I get out of this mess I got myself into?