Get Back
Jay-Jay's POV
I am thankful and Kuya's hand is fast. He immediately grabbed the envelope from me and hid it from Mama. He's like a snatcher. Couldn't this Kuya have been a snatcher before? With his many sidelines, I wouldn't be surprised if he was like that too. "It's nothing. It's just from Jay's school," he said while calmly looking at Mama and Tita Gema. "Okay. My orders. Call the police." Mama accepted Kuya's words before turning around and entering the house. "Don't forget Angelo," Tita Gema chased after before following Mama. After they left, Percy asked me one question after another. He was even better than the police who were interrogating a criminal. His saliva was still spurting out at me. Should I squeeze his throat? "What's that? What's in that? Why did you suddenly turn pale, Jay? Is something bad happening again? Do you have an enemy again?" I couldn't answer. There was only one thing on my mind. Of the three who wanted revenge on me, only one remained. Ram who has no jam. Sato is gone, Jason who I don't hear from anymore and now Ram is the only one who is angry with me. Unless there are many people who are really angry with me who are just hiding. But I don't have anyone else to ï¬ght with. Except of course with the gangstas around here. That's their fault. I keep quiet. "Jay, go back to your room," Kuya ordered me before pointing at Percy. "And you, follow me." I couldn't calm down anymore because they turned their backs on me. I just sighed before entering the house and heading straight to the room. I looked for my cellphone. I knew I had to tell Keifer what happened. Besides, I couldn't get the photos I took out of my mind. I shortened my message because maybe he wouldn't get the long one. I know he reads my text but sometimes, I don't know. Because sometimes his brain is slow. That's another thing. The handsome guy is so handsome that sometimes he goes crazy or goes deaf. I shudder again when I remember how many times I told him we were riends. I keep losing my temper and I want to be the one to make fun of him. This is how we are. Batman is responsible for the outcome of our relationship. When someone asks about our relationship, I'll answer with whatever I think of. I'll tell him that we're a couple. He's my boss and pays me, I'm a slave on the side. Just don't let them think of teasing me, or I'll lose my mind. I went back to my text because I might have missed some details, but I had to erase it and repeat it because my letters were still like that . I was so annoyed and tired of typing that I ended up with a short message. To: King_bingi Message: n@San f0oDs QoUh? mUnt!kn@ Qou ma-k!DnAp. (Where's my food? I almost got kidnapped.) I wanted to laugh at his new contact name. I've already changed his name. Next time I'll put everything in a list. Or give him a cruel nickname in my contacts. As I expected, he called immediately, which I quickly answered. "What happened? Are you hurt?" he began. "No. Where's my food?" Priority. It's hungry to ï¬ght with a man in a helmet. "Does your cousin know what happened?" he asked again. "He knows. He immediately let me into the room. He also found an envelope with a picture of me and a message on the back. What time are you sending my food?" "Another threat? I will talk to your cousin about this." "I noticed something in the pictures." I was momentarily stunned. Maybe I was just making a mistake and those pictures were taken without us realizing it. "Is there something wrong? Is there some inappropriate shot of you?" he asked worriedly. "W-Nothing. Maybe I'm just imagining it. Send me food, you promised." I heard his slight laugh. "Yes, I will." I said goodbye to him and hung up the call. I need to see the pictures properly ï¬rst. Maybe I'm just making a mistake. Besides, if the pictures were taken by just us, who among the Ulopongs took the picture? It's impossible that there's a traitor among us. They couldn't have just gotten it from the Ulopongs' posts on social media. Some of them are still diligent in posting. Even though our aces are blurred , they still keep posting. They still have likers. I opened Facebook and searched for Section E's account. I went through the photos they were posting. Nothing looked like the pictures I received. I even looked at their Instagram and Twitter, but I still didn't see anything. That means the picture was taken without our knowledge. But who took it, I don't remember anyone we didn't know. I don't want to think that one of the Ulopongs is taking the photo and sending it to Ram. They know everything I went through with him. Are they going to do something new to hurt me now? It just depends on if they want to see me angry again. Who is it? Maybe it's me and I'll send it to Ram. My trip through life is so strong. No matter how much I deny it, the possibility really points to the Ulopongs. I want to roll around.I felt like a bad person because I was thinking bad things about them. I hid in my room for a few more hours until I heard Aunt Gema call me. I quickly ran out of my room and met Mama in the living room. "Someone delivered food. It's for you," she said and stared at me. There was something different about her that made me want to ask. "Why do you look like that?" "What do you do in life? Why do you always end up in trouble and get into trouble?" There was worry in her tone that she was obviously replacing with annoyance. Oh, I don't know. Disaster is approaching me. "I don't know. That's what happens when you want to see your father, so let me see Papa so I don't get in trouble," I replied with a smile. She quickly blinked before turning her back on me. I thought my excuse would work . No, this is really tough, harder than a rock. My mother's name should be 'The Rock'. I headed straight to the kitchen because they might have put the food that was delivered there. I was right and I caught Kuya Angelo and Percy already munching on my food as if they had bought it and had it delivered to my house. My step-brother still had one leg up. That's for me! I hope you don't choke. "Oh, there you go," Kuya said before moving to get closer . They opened a box of pizza and lasagna. They were still chewing at the same time. "This is mine. Why are you eating it?" I asked with a hint of annoyance. "You're afraid it'll run out," Percy replied before taking a bite of the pizza he was holding. I gave him a hard time. I wish they had waited for me before munching on my food. Luckily, I was happy with what the King of Snakes sent so I lost my annoyance with them. Three boxes of pizza and one tray each of Lasagna, Carbonara and Bake Mac. He really knew what I wanted. Could it be that our brains are connected? Probably not. I hope he knows I've been answering him for a long time. "Did you tell Keifer what happened?" Kuya asked as he approached the refrigerator. "Yes," I answered without looking at him. "That's why he rushed here," I looked at Percy because of what he said. Did the guy rush here? I threatened to hit him but he dodged. "You rush over." "He delivered what you're eating," my cousin clariï¬ed. I looked at all the food in front of me. He really did bring the food personally, but why didn't he show himself to me? He was already here, I wish he had at least greeted me. Where did he go? "Where is he? Why didn't he show himself to me?" I asked with a mixture of annoyance. Kuya seemed to notice my tone so he looked at me sharply. I immediately dodged and put my hand behind my ear. "Is he required to show himself to you?" he asked annoyed. I shook my head and simply took a bite of the ginger bread I picked up. "Sis, I alre ady bit into it." Oh, putarages! I stopped chewing and glared at my step-brother. I spat out what was in my mouth. I was about to throw it at him. "Why is it still on the tray if you've already bitten into it?" I asked annoyed. "My plate is full, of course I'll put it back there. I didn't know you were going to take it." I got annoyed and put the ginger bread I was holding on his plate. I even threw away the one I spat out, which he quickly complained about. "That's disgusting," he said annoyed as he removed the ones I put in. "You have a virus!" I was the one with the virus. "You're welcome!" I left him to get a plate and fork. I looked at Kuya who was still staring at me intently. It was as if I was always doing something bad in his eyes. Unless my antics count as bad, I'll accept his gaze. Did the dead lizard in the bag count? "Admit it to me. What other stupid thing did you do and why is that Ram so mad at you?" he accused. "Y-You know what I did to him, right?" I couldn't help but feel nervous at his tone to me. Even though I know I haven't done anything else bad, I feel like I'm really bad. Here we go again. "What else?" "Nothing at all," I answered calmly. There are days when this big brother is really suspicious. It's like he feels like he's always being fooled by the one being fooled. Could he be traumatized by being fooled? I looked at Percy who was giving Kuya Angelo a bad look. He drank from the glass he was holding for a moment but didn't take his gaze off my cousin. "Why are you in that tone, Boss?" he asked seriously. I don't know why but the tone of his voice suddenly made me nervous . I've said several times that when Percy is serious, there's something different about him. Am I too used to his joking? Probably being corny. "I just want to make sure he's not hiding anything from me." "He answered that a long time ago. If you need more information, ask Keifer or Yuri. They're the ones who ï¬rst met Ram." He and Kuya stared at each other. Unlike Keifer, I didn't see any challenge from him. He was calm but obviously not going to lose when they had a ï¬ght. Too calm. Kuya looked at me again, I moved away from him slightly. Maybe he was going to pick on me again. I wasn't ready yet, I was hungry. "I want you to be honest so I could help you. So I hope there's nothing else to hide," he told me and walked out of the kitchen. I winced. I still hide a lot from him. Like the chocolates that disappear from their fridge every night. I only know the one who steals them but of course it's not me. Before he could even get out, Percy had another follow-up. "You're pushing them away. What you're doing is suffocating." Kuya didn't answer and left completely. I went over to Percy to pull his ear. "Oh my . . . What are you doing?" he asked annoyed. "You're going to start a ï¬ght here at home." I was the one who was scared by what he did. He smiled widely at me. He was far from being serious earlier. "I'm just afraid of starting a ï¬ght and my enemy is Angelo, so I'll just go back to the cliff I threw myself into," I was scared by what he said so I hit him. I guess he forgot that he almost died in that cliff. Then here he is and he wants to joke about it. "Why?" "Don't make a joke of what happened to you. It's scary." He suddenly laughed. "It's about my sister." He even managed to be cute with me. I was just embarrassed so I smiled to make him stop. I just grabbed something to eat and sat down next to him. We ate together and occasionally talked. Lunch was over but the two of us were still in the kitchen. "Sometimes it seems like Angelo is going too far with you guys," he said, stopping me. "It's right to be strict with you if something goes wrong. I'll do the same to Felix and Dalia if that happens, but he. . . is even stricter than the strict Dad with the children." Kuya's hurtful words came back to me on their own. I just accepted the rest of them because I knew I was wrong, but I couldn't help but feel bad. When I answered him, it felt like my conscience was eating me. Especially when I scolded him for not being my Dad. I remember feeling like he was hurt. I didn't want to question his treatment of me. He still took good care of me. There was no criticism for the help he had given me or for the way they took care of me. I once dreamed that he was my real brother. But now, it's like Kuya talks to me differently. I just don't want to think about it because I feel like I have no right to feel that way about him. He's also shown me many times that I'm important to them too. "When you think he's too much and you can't handle it anymore, tell me . Even if there's trouble, I'll take you here," he said seriously. "But of course if we're ready for trouble. I'm not yet." he suddenly took it back and laughed. I winced. Sometimes I really don't know how his brain works. Maybe because he's so angry, his own brain couldn't handle it. We continued talking about Kuya. He also told me how they met. It was the same story Keifer told me back then. Even his adventures with the four of them and how Felix would get upset with him because he was often away from home. I even laughed at his story about how Kuya would carry him by the back of his collar like a puppy. Percy the puppy. I suddenly remembered the day Mykeliling beat Aries at school. Kuya came that day and that's when I heard the gossip about Kuya's life from Yuri. "Do you know the story about him burning down the school?" I asked my step-brother Tukmol and he thought for a moment. "Not exactly. I think that was the time when he became distant from us." "Did Kuya become distant from you?" He nodded. "It was like we suddenly didn't exist in his life. Maybe he was just busy with his own life then." It seemed like a lot had happened to Kuya that they didn't know about. After all, they couldn't be close to Kuya 24/7. Maybe Aries knew something too but he wouldn't say anything. He would just get angry with me if I asked about it, say I was a troublemaker. Then he would suddenly report me to Kuya. "The one you should be teasing is Tiger. They used to always be together." Yes, apart from Sir Alvin, Tiger is also his friend from high school. I rarely saw him after he and Doctor Claudia went to Kuya's unit. Then I drank glue after they left. Hey Keigan. I'll understand you because of your illness, but I really hope that doesn't happen again with Keiren. We talked a lot, mostly about school or Kuya Angelo. But during our long conversation, he didn't mention my Papa. I don't know if he was just being careful or if he really forgot the real story of my life and my Papa. I also wanted to ask him but I thought that maybe someone would hear us and Mama would ï¬nd out. Maybe she would get really angry and not let Percy come here. By the time we reached the afternoon, he was planning to have dinner if he hadn't received a text message from his Mom. . . his real Mom. He and Aries almost ran into each other, who had just come home from school, because he seemed to be in a hurry. "Are you okay?" my Horoscope sister asked me. Why didn't you guess? "I'm ï¬ne," I replied and smiled. I was about to turn away from her to go to my room but she spoke again, making me stop. "Keifer told me what happened. Are you sure you're okay ?" I blinked. It was a bit strange that Keifer talked to her. I hope it was in a casual way and not like they were going to ï¬ght and argue . Naks, the frennys started talking. "Yeah, I'm not hurt." She nodded. "That's good." I didn't leave for now. I watched her for a moment and I saw her sigh. She looked very tired. It seemed like she had a lot to do at school besides studying and flirting with her boyfriend. She might have cleaned the entire school. She's a janitor now. A lot of part time. Aside from reading fortunes, she's also a janitor now. That's great, it's like Brother Angelo has a lot of sidelines. That's why the rich are getting richer. I'm also going to look for a sideline, maybe I'll get rich. I'll sell food at school, but I might not make any money because I'll be the only one eating. I'll just sell cellphone load, but I might lose money. My schoolmates are rich, their cellphone numbers are probably listed . I think I'm just another sideline. "What?" he asked when he noticed what I was doing. "You and Keifer didn't ï¬ght?" He was obviously surprised by my question. "What makes you think we're going to ï¬ght?" "Don't you always do that when you see each other?" He laughed. "Didn't we tell you? For your sake, we'll talk again." Of course. They only agree when it has to do with me. I'm happy to think that they're being truthful about what they're saying. Because if they can agree now, maybe next time, they'll be friends forever. It's clear to me that they might not be the same as before because a lot has changed but at least I know they're okay. You can still be friends with someone even if you talk to them too much. I just nodded at him and went straight to my room. I immediately grabbed my cellphone. I had a message from Keifer, Yuri, David and the Ulopong group chat. They were just saying hello. The others were concerned about Blaster, but he didn't come in today. It looked like he was auditioning. But of course someone reminded them of the review for tomorrow at Sir Alvin's house. They obviously didn't want to go but they couldn't do anything because Kuya Angelo arranged it. I feel like I want to be ashamed of them because of that. Kuya, because he was stressed because of the dead lizard.