Chapter-103 New Friend

Jay-jay's POV

He's not actually that bad. I'm not saying this just because he fed me pizza. He also apologized for pointing the gun at me.

While waiting for Keifer, we were chatting and eating. Even his big, burly companions turned out to be pretty nice.

Wow, I feel so judgmental now.

We talked about all sorts of things. He mentioned that Kuya Angelo had a best friend who was a girl, though he's forgotten her name.

"…We only saw them together a few times… Probably because the girl was in a different section," he continued with his story.

"How did they become best friends if they were barely together?" I asked before taking a bite of pizza.

"Because… she was the only girl who could get close to Angelo. They talked like normal people."

"They are normal people, aren't they?"

He suddenly shook his head. "No, you don't get it. Angelo's different. His aura alone would make you back off. He's the type of person whose stare could kill. Even us, his classmates, were scared to approach him at first. But luckily, he wasn't hard to get along with."

Was Kuya Angelo that intimidating? He must've been really scary. Then again, Keifer did tell me about him before, when we saw his picture.

"So, where's that girl now?" I asked, grabbing another slice of pizza.

"Tch… I don't know. She studied college somewhere else. I haven't heard anything about her since."

That's too bad. I would've loved to meet her. I wanted to ask what Kuya was like when he was younger.

I took a sip of the Coke they gave me.

"Right! I remember the names of the guys who were always with Yuri and Keifer. There were four of them always trailing Angelo back then," he said. I stopped and looked at him. "…Percy and Aries were the names of the other two. They were always following Angelo and called him Boss."

Oh, right. Keifer did mention they were all friends before, but their friendship fell apart when they thought Percy died.

Wait, Boss?

That's what Keigan said to me before. That must be it—maybe that's why Keifer shut him up when he started talking.

"Hahaha… I remember Keifer. He and Aries were always at each other's throats. They were constantly compared, so they were the ones always fighting. Yuri was the quiet one, always observing. Percy, on the other hand, was the crazy one, sharp-tongued, and always laughing."

I felt a pang of sadness at his words. The word 'sayang' (what a shame) came to mind. If that accident hadn't happened, their friendship wouldn't have fallen apart. And then the issue with Ella just made things worse.

"I don't see those two anymore… I don't know what's up with them," he said, reaching for a slice of pizza, only to realize I'd eaten it all.

I was too busy talking…

"It was so good… Sorry," I said, flashing a peace sign.

He just pursed his lips and had no choice but to drink his Coke. Right when I glanced at the clock, the door suddenly swung open, and there stood Keifer, absolutely furious.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Keifer's POV

"Is this a joke?!" I asked irritably.

After fighting my way past everyone who tried to stop me from getting here, this is what I arrive at?!

"Relax, Keifer…" that annoying Tiger said.

"We've good now… He already apologized," Jay-jay said sipping her Coke.

Apologized? Has this girl lost her mind?

"Apologized? He pointed a gun at your head! And now you're okay just because he said sorry?!" I said angrily.

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. I can't believe this.

"Didn't he do anything bad to you?" Yuri asked Jay-jay.

"No… He just fed me pizza."

"You let yourself be won over because of pizza?!" I asked, glaring at her.

"Ugh! I don't know with you, Keifer! You're so hard to explain things to! Is your brain that small that you can't understand what I'm saying?!" she snapped at me, hands on her hips.

"Don't talk to me like that!" I shouted, pointing at her.

"Well, it's because your head's so thick!"

"It's because your head's so stubborn! If you think about it, this is your fault. If you had just let Yuri pick up Drew, we wouldn't be here right now!"

"I wanted to come! I was worried about—" she stopped mid-sentence when she saw Drew's face. "Why does Drew look like that?!"

He didn't answer, but everyone turned to look at me. Tss.

"You idiot! Why did you hurt Drew?!" Jay-jay asked me angrily.

"Because I wanted to!"

"Are you stupid, or do you really just have no brain?!"

Did she just call me brainless?

Unbelievable! I'm the one she's calling brainless.

"You're the one who's brainless between the two of us!" I said, raising my voice even more.

"You're so annoying! Why did you even come here with—Wait! Where's Ci-N?!"

We all turned to where Ci-N had been standing. He was practically right next to Drew just a moment ago, but now he was gone.

Great! Another search and rescue operation.

"The kid?" Tiger asked. "…Oh, there he is. He's dancing with the performers."

We all turned to where he was pointing. Ci-N was dancing with the girls.

"Damn it! Kit, Rory, Calix, and Edrix—go get Ci-N!" I ordered.

I faced Tiger, who was clearly enjoying the spectacle. He was starting to get on my nerves.

"Didn't you want to see me fight?! Where's the one I'm supposed to fight?!" I asked him angrily.

He chuckled. "No need… I already enjoyed your fight with Jay-jay."

Jay-jay's POV

"Thanks, Tiger!!" I shouted, waving.

"Bye, Jay! Say hi to Angelo for me!" he shouted back.

We started walking away, but this King of Snakes was still glaring at me.

"I still want to dance, ugh!" Ci-N whined.

He'd been dragged off the stage he was dancing on earlier by Calix. Kit and Rory held his arms, while Calix and Edrix carried him by the legs.

Such a handful…

"Then stay here! We're going home!" Keifer, that jerk, said angrily.

Look at this guy, acting all possesed again. I put my arm around Ci-N.

"No way… Want me to tell Rakki on you?" I whispered to him.

"Let's go! Time to head home! This place is so lame!" he shouted, taking the lead as he walked.

Hahaha…

We were all walking together, this bunch of snakes. Apparently, no taxis pass through this area, so we had to walk further. Keifer and the others didn't bring their cars either, saying the place was full of carjackers.

"Let's eat first!" Felix shouted, and the others agreed.

"Where are we eating?" I asked.

"AT EMAN'S!" they all shouted in unison, making Eman scratch his head.

When we reached the main road, these idiots rushed to hail taxis. They even cut off other people and nearly got cursed out by the drivers.

We arrived at Eman's resto. They were in such a hurry to order, you'd think someone was going to beat them to it.

As if they even have money to pay.

The resto looked a bit different now. It was more organized, and they had more crew members. It's a good thing Eman's dad recovered quickly.

I noticed Mayo holding a piece of paper, looking like he was filling something out.

"What's that?" I asked as I approached him.

"Registration form for the school I want to enroll in," he answered.

I nodded and read the parts he'd already filled out.

"So you're planning to take mechanical engineering?"

I saw the course he'd written down.

Jay-jay's POV

"Yeah… What about you? What course are you taking? And where are you studying?" Mayo asked me back.

I paused to think. I haven't actually decided on a course yet. I don't even have a target school. I used to think I wouldn't make it to college.

"I don't know yet… I still haven't figured out where."

"You should start thinking about it. It's tough if you get there and still don't have a plan."

He's right. What if graduation comes, and I still don't know where to enroll for college? I'll get left behind, and I don't want that.

"Just go to Hemilton University," Kit chimed in on our conversation.

The others started gathering around us too, like what we were talking about was super important.

"Why? What are you guys talking about?" Ci-N asked, sitting next to me.

"The school Jay-jay's going to choose," Kit answered.

"Just go to my school!" Ci-N invited me enthusiastically.

"Where's your school?"

"Oxford…" he answered quickly.

I grimaced at his response. As if that school's just around the corner and so easy to get into.

"Ci-N… We're not on the same level of intelligence."

He just grinned while rubbing the back of his neck. Sometimes, I really just want to smack this kid.

But seriously, where am I going to study? And what course should I take? I don't know that either.

"Or you could go to Yuri's school," Rory said.

"Where's he going?"

"Japan! Hahaha…" he answered quickly, laughing.

I looked at Yuri. He's studying in Japan? That's another country, so far away. I felt a wave of sadness.

I looked at all of them, and it hit me just now that we're all going our separate ways. It might be a long time before we see each other again—or maybe we won't.

I don't think I want to be far from them.