Closets
Jay-jay's POV
I won't be able to get into the next subject after lunch. Rory said we'll just be for a while but lunch is almost over and we're still here in Edrix's dorm. "There's a girl in Rix's room." I heard someone say outside the room. I even saw their shadows from the window. "Don't pay attention to them. They're just angry because a girl came here." Rory said while rummaging through Edrix's things under the bed. "I thought Edrix was at home with his parents." I said and looked at his things on the study table. He has three laptops of different brands. Five routers or the internet are either attached to the wall or placed on top of a cabinet full of books and log books. He also has a shoe box full of Flash Drives. There are also cable wires and connectors scattered around. He also has action ï¬gures of amous anime. His desk is a bit messy but the rest of the room is the opposite. Everything is in order. Dirty clothes are in the basket. The blanket and pillow are folded in one corner of the bed. His shoes are lined up in one corner of the room. The plates are washed and arranged next to the glasses and pitchers. "Edrix hasn't been home to them since his mother disappeared." Rory answered without looking at me. Disappeared? He moved to Edrix's closet without ï¬nding anything under the bed. He even laughed when he saw Freya's photo attached to the back of the door when he opened the closet. I couldn't help but think about what he said about Edrix's mother. He said it casually but not for me. Because we've been together for so long, I didn't know there was such a problem. It's hard to lose a part of the family. Especially the mother who should be with him in every aspect of life. I, who don't have a father, am having a hard time, even more so. "W-what happened to his mother?" I asked hesitantly. "Suddenly disappeared and there's no news of them." He answered again while still continuing his search. "How long has it been? Even a clue or where he was last seen? None?" "That's expected." He answered, making me frown. " Because it's in his line of work." "Line of work?" He looked at me for a moment. "You don't know?" Oh, you think? I looked at him lifelessly. "Would I ask if I knew?" He laughed weakly. "Wrong question, I'm still confused." "What's his job?" I asked again. He pointed to Edrix's study table. "It's the same as what our Troop does . A big man got into a collision and then suddenly disappeared." I sat up on the bed. It's sad to hear such a story, especially from a friend. It's not obvious to Edrix that he's going through something like that. He often joins in on the mischief and laughs with others, but like everyone else and me, he also has a hidden illness. His resilience is enviable. "But why did he leave them?" "He felt ashamed, because his mother's husband wasn't his real father. He didn't want to be a burden, so he just left." He explained while taking Edrix's clothes out of the closet one by one. "Where does he get the fuel and money to pay for this?" "From your boyfriend." From Keifer? "He's not my boyfriend?" I quickly appealed. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. "I haven't said his name yet." "Because I really don't have a boyfriend!" "Maybe because he's guilty." "Tado!" He shouted and threw a pillow at me. He laughed loudly before going back to what he was doing. I didn't ask much more even though I wanted to know why he was getting money from Keifer, anyway. I was interrupted by Rory pulling out a box from under Edrix's closet. She quickly put the clothes back and closed the closet before sitting down next to me and opening the box. "Tada!" She said and presented me with the photos, dried flowers and letters that she had probably chosen to hide. "The secret of Edrix's closet." "W-what are these?" "Our troop's love for Freya." She answered as if her ass was being tickled. "There's even a poem in that." Wow. That cobra has this side? I looked at the photos taken from the old camera. The colors were only black and white but the vintage was classic. All I saw was Freya's face and all stolen shots. I just couldn't understand what the dried flowers were for. I decided not to touch them because they might come loose. "What are we going to do with these?" I asked. Rory opened one of the drawers on Edrix's study table. He took out a paper clip and double-sided tape. He took out a letter and read it for a moment before taking out a photo and dried flowers. He held it together with the paper clip before olding it and putting it in an empty envelope. He sealed it with double- sided tape and sealed it. "If Edrix doesn't plan to act. We'll be his suitors ." He said and clapped his hands like a sea lion. The only thing missing was sounds. "Are you sure about that? Won't he be angry with us for interfering?" I asked while scratching my head. "He'll be angry, but that doesn't matter. Just let's help him. He's such a coward. If it were up to me, it would just be one night and the girl and I would be happy." He said arrogantly and I remembered when he stabbed me in front of me. He also came from his girlfriend and we both happened to be late. It was embarrassing for him and how easy it was for him to get the girl. You're about to become Eren. "Just like this..." He started. "I'll take care of providing, you give to Freya. Is that okay?" "It's okay. Because Edrix might get angry." He sighed. "Maybe you started this. Why did you tell Freya that she had a lover if you weren't going to help me with this?" Because...I have many reasons. "It would be better if Edrix really was the lover. What if Freya answered him? How can we explain what we did?" He scratched his head for a moment. "It's up to you. Just for now, let's help him." I sighed. As if I had a choice. If I didn't agree, I would face Hidalgo's anger. He might scratch me or stab me with his eyebrows. I just nodded. "I'm telling you, Rory. I'll point it out to you when your plan goes awry." He sorted out the contents of the box before standing up. "Yes. Just trust me." He couldn't help but look so trusting. I stood up and tidied up Edrix's messy things. Rory was holding the box and the room key. When we were done, we left the room. That's how surprised I was when the old woman greeted us. She was still pale. She looked at me from head to toe. Her nostrils were still wide . I couldn't help but feel scared and confused. "Wazzup Manang!" Rory greeted the old woman. "My dorm is not a motel!" She shouted at us and I backed away slightly. I looked at the group of men behind the old man. They were staring at me as if they were examining my soul. "Chill Manang! These are tombits!" Rory replied while pointing at me. I almost winced at what he said. "We just got something." He added. The old man faced me sternly. "You! Where is your delicacy and you agree to be the only two in the room!" That's terrible! It's like my dirty woman. "What's the delicacy? Do you eat it?" I asked innocently. She was slightly surprised and seemed to have heard a bad word. "Kerbarbarity!" Barbecue? I heard the soft laughter of those around us. Before the old woman could explode in anger, Rory and I pulled her away. She was still shaking her head while laughing. "Let her go. She doesn't want another girl in her dorm." She said and hailed a taxi for us to take. We wouldn't make it to the next class so I just accepted. And I'll just accept Kuya Angelo's sermon and lecture when I get home later. While riding in the taxi, Rory kept looking at the box she was carrying. She was also counting the letters and photos. When we got to school, she was the one who paid our fare. "Let's hurry or Keifer will kill me." She hurried me as we got out of the taxi. She was the reason why it took us so long. We walked and ran to our room but we were only on the ground floor when Rory stopped. I also stopped and looked at him. "Why?" I asked. He opened the box he was holding and took out three envelopes. He handed them to me and pointed at the woman approaching our place. Freya... "Give them." He ordered and I followed like a robot. I met the impact. "Freyangot." I said and he immediately looked at me evilly. "What?" I handed him the three envelopes. He stepped back thinking that my hand would hit him in the face. "They said it was for you. Then I said I'll give it to you too." I said and tried to bring the envelope closer to him. He was clearly confused about what to do. He did nothing but take the envelopes and he looked at his hand with disgust. "Seriously? This kind of work is still from the Jurassic ages." I looked at him innocently. "You look Jurassic." I said and he quickly threatened to hit me. I also quickly dodged and ran away. Rory and I were like kids laughing and teasing each other while climbing the stairs, so when we got to our floor, we were both out of breath. "Why did you tell me that Jurassic?" He asked laughing. "Because he's a complainer." I answered and he arranged the bag to put the box he was carrying. I had a strong feeling that Edrix would also ï¬nd out that we took his secret box. He would be angry with us. I wouldn't blame him if that happened. I'll forgive you. "Why are you here now?" Someone asked from behind us. Rory was confused as she closed the bag. I turned to the person who spoke and I became slightly serious when I saw her bright red hair. "I-I just took something..." I answered almost in a whisper. He looked at his wristwatch. "You missed class." I nodded. "You? Why are you here?" "Just CR." He answered and forced a smile. "Come in." He ordered and grabbed my arm to pull me inside. I signaled Rory to come in and she nodded. I let Yuri take me to my seat. Ci looked at me before following my companion. "Your time." She said with a grin and followed Rory's gaze. "Because Rory... What did Ma'am say? I was looking for you?" She shook her head. "Ma'am, you don't care." Oh my! I winced before nodding. I was going to ask David but he was already sound asleep. I was really intrigued by why this guy is always so sleepy . He used to say it was because he was on a video call with his boyfriend, but it was a break so it was a different reason. He said sometimes he was studying, sometimes online games or live streaming, and lately he's been watching videos on YouTube. His staying up late is strange. He can only do that on weekends. I only watch KPop videos on YouTube and then I go to sleep. I hope I can stay up late too. I hadn't even warmed up your ass on the seat when I felt someone looking at me. I simply turned to the Ulopongs and that's how nervous I was when I met Hari's gaze. He was looking at me seriously as if he was accusing me. I answered him with a sharp glare. He felt like he was going to scare me. I just went with Rory. Speaking of Rory, there you go! He's now arguing with his fellow Ulopongs. "Just look!" Calix said annoyed. "I don't want to! Your breath might get dirty!" He replied. "That's why you and Jay-jay took so long. He bought shoes." Felix said and tried to grab her bag. I watched them in surprise. I guess they thought the contents of the box inside Rory's bag were shoes. He was being very protective, just don't get his bag. I bit my lower lip hard. If they saw the contents of the box, there would deï¬nitely be trouble and Edrix would be angry with us. I was about to approach them to intervene but the teacher suddenly walked in. One by one they returned to their seats. I just hoped no one would grab their bags. The class started and I focused my attention on the class for a moment. Our teacher seemed to be in a hurry to teach because of the upcoming exam. She almost wrote the lesson and only briefly explained before moving on to the next lesson. The following teachers did the same. Except for Ma'am Cindy who was our last class. She taught the lesson well. There was no rush so we had plenty of time to copy. While busy writing she said something that caught my attention. "Keiren is asking about you." She said and when I looked she was looking at Keifer. "I will talk to him later." I simply looked at the King of Cobras. What did Ma'am mean ? Why did she know Keiren? Our eyes met for a moment but I quickly looked away. She once mentioned that Keiren was in the care of her friend but she didn't say anything about them being together now. Wait a minute... I can't... My gaze sharpened on Ma'am. I knew the Ulopongs had a crush on her even before I came to this Section. Keifer had also praised her before. They were close. I wasn't aware. I tried to ï¬nish what I was copying. But for some unknown reason, the notebook paper got torn. It reached three pages. It seemed like my writing was over-emphasized. I couldn't do anything but rely on David's notes again. I couldn't reach it anymore and I had to repeat what I had written. I wasn't mad. Class ended and the Ulopongs were like children who had escaped from the corral . It was time to go home. "Jay-Jay?" Ci-N called to me. "Why?" "Who are you mad at?" I thought for a moment and looked at him in surprise. "W-nothing." "Is that the trend these days. Eyebrows crossed?" He asked and smiled at me teasingly. I felt my eyebrows for a moment. It was true what he said, my eyebrows met. I wasn't angry. "N-no. What's up. W-thinking about something â€"." I couldn't ï¬nish what I was going to say because Rory suddenly walked between Ci and me. "Hey! Let us see your new shoes!" Eren shouted while chasing after Rory. "We're borrowing them!" Drew shouted and started chasing after him too. We couldn't do anything but watch them. I walked out with my head held high. Until now, they still thought about the new shoes in her bag. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Because her ellow Ulopongs still didn't want to stop her . We were almost at the stairs when someone pulled my bag so I backed away. I lost my companion because he didn't notice that I was left behind. I immediately faced the angry king and was about to punch him but he immediately grabbed my ï¬st. "Taranâ€"!" I couldn't ï¬nish what I was going to say because his eyebrows raised. Forbear not to curse for now. "Continue." Challenging the King of Cobras. I poked his nostrils. "Do you need it?" I immediately withdrew my ï¬st. "Where are you and Rory rom?" "Please..." I answered with a mixture of annoyance. "I don't think I need to report everything to you." "No. But don't forget that Ram is still after you. It's too dangerous for you." I pouted. Why didn't Ram stop me? He just had to face me so it would be over. We fought, one on one. Arrogant... "Is it really Ram?" I asked with raised eyebrows. He raised his eyebrows at me too. "And what do you mean by that?" He glared at me . "Nothing..." I refused curtly. "Nothing." " Nothing ." "You're a slobberâ€"YOU'RE A FUCKING FUCK!" I shouted after he stole a kiss from me . He moved so fast that I didn't realize what he was planning. He took advantage of my lack of awareness of what he was doing. Animal! Really good! I couldn't even return the punch because he suddenly ran away. I didn't feel it anymore. I wiped my face several times before walking away. That shameless person really has the strength to defend himself. I still had the courage to tell David that I can handle myself and then here I am and let him take advantage of me. He'll say I'm fragile again. When I arrived at the ground floor, Ci-N waved at me. I immediately went over to him. "Why did you suddenly disappear?" He asked. "Just talking to someone." He nodded and smiled sweetly. "Keifer, right? What did you do?" I shook my head. "Nothing." "You're pretending to beâ€"." He stopped and looked behind me in surprise. When I looked at him, the ï¬rst thing I saw was Freya's raised eyebrows. She was approaching me and looked hot-headed. Wow! Dangerous. "Hey!" She called out to me annoyed. I backed away slightly. I might have been stabbed by his eyebrows. "Hey!" I replied. "Who are those letters from?" He asked and I shook my head. "Tell him, if he takes a picture of me, he'll be so happy. I look like an ancient in the letter he gave me!" "What letter?" Aries asked who suddenly appeared next to us. Freya folded her arms and faced him. "Nothing. And it's none of your business." He said, turning his back and blowing his hair in our faces. I even ate a few strands that made me wince. It didn't taste like conditioner. That tasted like chicken to me.