Chapter 8- Photo

Jayjay's POV:-

Kuya took his phone before facing me again. "Clean this mess. I'll call Alvin and talk to him about your grades. Looks like you're going back to high school, oh wait you are so stupid I should send you to elementary school."

He turned his back and left the room. I was stunned. I'm not excelling, but I'm not failing either. Is it because of the dead lizard that I have to repeat school? Am I really that stupid?

I cried as I cleaned Kuya's table. I threw away the trash and pocketed the coins. I made a neat coffin for the lizard using a page from my notebook, and I used dust and sand to bury him. I even added some stones, and the rest I'd use for his funeral outside.

I heard my phone ring. King Ulupong Calling. I picked up.

(Do you need anything?), he asked. I was feeling a bit hungry so I answered "Food"; he chuckled a bit and said "Ok," and then he cut the call. I turned back to the lizard.

He never had a proper resting place. Neither his friends nor family knew what happened to him. He deserves a proper funeral.

Justice for the lizard.

I set him aside for now and arranged my notebooks.

Some pages were jammed. But I had a good notebook too. I often copied from David so I could properly record everything I needed, my handwriting is still okay but his looks like he wrote his notes when he was drunk.

Fortunately, I'm slowly getting used to reading his handwriting. I guess that's how it is when someone's handsome—there has to be something ugly to balance it out. His handwriting is that ugly. That's why I know I must be really beautiful—because my life is such a mess.

Haha.

I turned to the door when Kuya came in again. He put down his phone and looked at me, clearly disappointed. I'm sorry

"Alvin will arrange a review class for the whole weekend. You're attending," he ordered.

"With whom?"

"Who else? Probably your classmates who don't seem to have any plans for college!"

I snorted. Kuya was acting like our lives were about to fall apart. But we can still recover. There's still one grading period left, and then there's the post-final exam—which is like a college entrance test—and of course, a chance to make up for our grades.

He moved my things away from the table. He said he lost the motivation to help me review. He just sent me back to my room. I wore my bag and picked up the lizard's tiny corpse.

"What the fuck is that?" he asked, holding my hand before I could leave.

"The dead lizard. I made him a coffin," I answered, and he looked surprised. I thought I was doing a good deed.

"Poor thing. He died without anyone knowing."

It was like he suddenly lost faith in my sanity. But he tried to hold on to his senses.

"Then let his family know," he said, irritated. "They'll put you in jail. The crime scene is your bag."🫤

I was stunned. "Yes, no—they'll think I killed him."😶

Kuya slapped his forehead. "Just leave before this room becomes YOUR crime scene" 🤦🏻‍♂️

I immediately went to my room. I dropped my bag and rushed to carry the dead lizard's coffin outside. Kuya was even more annoyed, but he still humored me.

I first looked for something I could use to dig, but I only found a stick. I went straight to the garden outside the fence of the house. I quickly looked for a place to bury it and started digging. When I was sure, I buried the lizard deep. I placed the remaining stones I found in my bag as a marker for its grave.

"May you go to heaven."

When I stood up, I was shocked by the person standing across from the gate of our house. Tangina! mini heart attack. He wore a black helmet, black jacket, and black pants. I was about to walk inside when he approached me, and I instinctively stepped back.

"W-Why?" I asked, frightened.

I couldn't help but be scared of him. First of all, he suddenly appeared. Second, he wasn't saying anything—he just kept walking toward me.

He held out his hand to me, but instead of giving in to whatever he was planning, I ran toward the gate. I didn't realize he was following me until he grabbed my arm. I tried to get away and screamed:

"KUYA ANGELO!"

He seemed startled by what I did. He pulled me harder, but I resisted. My foot also lashed out in panic—It hit something but I was swishing kicks around in the air. Until he finally let go, and I took the opportunity to run back into the house—but he grabbed me again.

"KUYA!"

"HEY! LET GO OF MY CHILD!" Mama shouted from the door.

The man looked panicked and shoved me away. I tripped and fell to the ground. Mama ran after the man, chasing him away from the house. I saw Kuya Angelo and Aunt Gemma rushing to me.

"Who was that?" Tita asked while helping me up.

Kuya followed Mama, and soon they returned.

"Call the police. Make sure he gets caught," Mama ordered my cousin before turning to me. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. They helped me into the house. I slowly sat on the sofa, aching all over.

"What happened? Did he do anything bad to you?" asked Aunt Gemma.

I shook my head. "He just grabbed me really hard."

"I thought Jay-Jay would be safe here. What is this? Why would someone want to kidnap her?" Mama asked angrily.😠

I looked down. If only they knew—I've already had several close calls here in the subdivision. Nothing serious has happened so far, so I kept telling myself it's safe. Keifer had been keeping me safe.

Aunt Gemma turned and went to the kitchen. When she came back, she had a glass of water and handed it to me.

"Drink this first."

I accepted it and quickly emptied the glass. My breathing was heavy, and my chest felt tight. That man was so bold—even inside our yard, he planned to take me.

Kidnapping again. That's enough.

We were interrupted by someone calling from outside.

"Man! Bossing!"

I was startled, but the voice sounded familiar. Aunt Gemma peeked outside to see who it was.

"Percy," she said, then turned to me.

Kuya Angelo immediately stepped out to meet my stepbrother.

"Do you need something?" Kuya asked.

"I was going to eat," he answered, laughing.😆 "But I actually wanted to talk about something. Then I saw this at your gate—it wasn't even delivered properly."

I stood up to take a look. I immediately noticed the envelope in Kuya's hand as he was opening it.

"Jay, stay inside and rest," Mama ordered, but I ignored her.

Percy looked up when he saw me. "You didn't go to school?"

He was about to approach me when I saw what was inside the envelope Kuya was holding. I walked up and snatched it from his hand.

They were photos of me—inside and outside the school. Some with the Ulupongs. But what scared me more were the photos taken inside the classroom, when I was alone. There were also pictures from when I was in the hospital. I didn't understand how someone managed to take photos even in the private areas of Section E.

Who's taking these pictures?

I looked at the back—and I was right. Another death threat. But this time, it came with a final message:

"Can't wait to finally get back to you."

Could it be Cyrus?