JayJay POV
So early in the morning! I'm still sleepy! So annoying!
My eyes barely wanted to open as I prepared my stuff for Sir Alvin's. Kuya also told me to bring a change of clothes because we'd be staying there until tomorrow.
I don't know why we have to stay that long. Kuya Angelo has a different kind of idea. He probably wants me to study all the lessons for the entire year.
Hello? I'm often absent. Maybe he wants me to become Albert Einstein.
It would be great if we had the same IQ or if my brain worked the same way. Mine just runs in reverse.
I turned toward the door when I heard knocking and Tita Gema's voice. "Jay, eat first."
I answered, but it seemed like Tita didn't hear me because she still opened the door to check on me.
"Come on, eat. Your Kuya Angelo is already eating," she urged.
I yawned before walking up to her. Tita held my hand as we walked together to the dining room.
"Did you stay up late last night? Why are you so sleepy?" she asked.
"Yes, I was talking to my classmates last night."
She chuckled. "Why? Are you all excited to go to Sir Alvin's place?"
I hope they are, because that's not what it seemed like in the group chat last night. They were all cursing at each other and looking for their missing notes. Apparently, no one had anything to use for today. Someone even blamed others for not having written down any notes.
They're blaming others for their own laziness.
"No, I just stayed up late," I answered before she let go of my hand as we reached the dining table.
Kuya Angelo was sitting down, focused on reading his iPad while holding a cup of coffee in one hand.
Aries was also seated, already eating.
"Sit down, Jay, and eat," Tita instructed, and I obeyed. I forced my eyes open, even lightly slapping my cheeks to wake myself up.
"Give it here, I'll slap you to wake you up," Aries said, but I glared at him.
"I'm already awake."
He just laughed at me.
I started scooping food onto my plate. We stayed quiet at the table until Kuya finished reading.
"You have nothing to do today, come with us, Aries."
Both Aries and I froze at what Kuya said. That coffee must have hit him hard if he even wanted to bring Aries to the review session. Did he forget that my brother is in the Top 10 highest in the class?
He probably guesses the answers. The power of the Zodiac.
"What for? I have a group that helps me study better," Aries asked, confused.
I was also wondering what Kuya was up to. But at least his words completely woke me up. Even more than a strong cup of coffee.
"I'm not asking you to study. I want you to help them study." I grimaced.
The Ulupong still weren't completely okay with Aries. I knew that because whenever he was with us, some of them still gave him dirty looks. The others just played along to be polite.
"Do I look like a teacher? Sir Alvin doesn't need any help from me," Aries immediately protested.
I glanced at Kuya while chewing on my food. It was obvious he didn't like my brother's answer. Great, now he's mad.
"When I say come with us, you come with us," Kuya said calmly, but I could tell he was close to losing his temper.
"No, I don't want—" Aries didn't even get to finish because of our cousin's deadly glare.
"L-Let me see what I can do."
Did he really think he could refuse? I wanted to laugh out loud. He thought he was tough and could say no to our cousin. Did he forget that Angelo is the law? Anyone who opposes him is doomed.
"And you," Kuya said, pointing at me. "Chew your food, don't just swallow it."
I was chewing! I don't even know why he suddenly picked on me.
Kuya stood up and left. My brother and I exchanged glances. Kuya stood up and left. My brother and I were left exchanging glances. I couldn't even read what he wanted to say—I'm not a fortune teller.
.
I ignored him and continued eating. After that, I went back to my room to finish packing. Once I made sure I had everything Kuya told me to bring, I headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready.
So annoying. This should've been our rest day. It's the weekend, and we're spending it studying for the exam. Is it really necessary to get high grades? He was fine with my grades at first even if they weren't that high, but they've been dropping with every exam.
That's because I'm so diligent about going to class.
After getting ready, I stepped out of my room with my school bag and travel bag. Both Kuya and Aries were already in the living room. Aries looked annoyed but couldn't complain.
"Finally," my cousin said before walking out.
Before my brother could follow, his phone suddenly rang. He stopped to answer it, so I walked past him. I put my things in the car's trunk before getting in.
"Aries, let's go!" Kuya called, but no Aries came out the door. My cousin went back inside the house because he seemed extremely impatient and wanted to leave already.
I was fine even if we didn't leave at all.
But when they came out, instead of getting into Kuya's car, Aries walked toward his own car. I immediately asked my cousin, who seemed irritated, "Why? He's not riding with us?"
"Ella had an emergency," he answered before starting the car.
I just kept looking at Aries's car, which left almost right after us.
What happened to Ella? I'm annoyed with her, but I wouldn't wish anything bad on her.
Just maybe something like… her stomach suddenly acting up in a crowded place. And she can't hold it in. I hope it's nothing too serious.
.
.
.
I grabbed my phone to text my brother. I knew he wouldn't reply right away, but maybe later. I also messaged the Ulupong group chat to see where they were.
Ulupong GC
Me:Sa@n nHa kHyOuh?
Ci-N:Huh? Is that a curse?
Eren:There he goes again! 🤦🤦
Eman:Jay seriously needs eyeglasses.
Denzel: I don't get it!
Edrix:This is making me cry. 😭😭
Rory:Cry to Friend. 😭😭
Here they go again, mocking my typing. They should just admit they're idiots who can't read properly.
Keifer:He's asking where you guys are, Jay says.
Felix:HAHAHAHAHA my translator.
They should be grateful to the King of the Ulupongs. He even translates for them. The others quickly answered where they already were. As usual, most of them will just hitch a ride with whoever has a car.
I told them that I was already on the way and that I was with Kuya.
Drew:Jay's brother might get mad. Hurry up!
Blaster:I'm already at the corner, please pick me up.
Josh:Just walk, he said.
Calix:Don't mess with him, or Edy might get roasted. He's stressed right now.
Blaster:Say it louder!
Calix:HE'S STRESSED RIGHT NOW!!!
He said not to tease him, but he's the one teasing.
Blaster really did look stressed. He was cursing non-stop. He didn't say why, but maybe it had to do with him skipping school yesterday.
I didn't reply anymore. Most of them were getting picked up, so they were probably on their way. They all knew how to get to Sir Alvin's house.
While we were driving, I noticed how irritated Kuya was. He kept glancing at the rearview and side mirrors. I didn't want to ask; he might just breath fire at me.
I looked out the car window. The route seemed different. I don't know the route to Sir's place that well, but there were still some familiar buildings or houses that I remembered.
"Jay, fasten your seatbelt, please," my brother ordered. I obeyed immediately. Uh-oh. Is he about to go Fast & Furious?
"Kuya?"
"We'll be fine. I just want to make sure of something," he answered, but I couldn't help feeling uneasy.
He took a different route. Turned into a narrow alley. Switched to another road. I had no idea where we were anymore. I clutched my seatbelt tightly when he sped up even more.
My fear only faded when he pulled into an underground parking lot.
"They're gone," he muttered, but I still heard him.
"What was that all about?" I asked.
"Nothing. I just thought someone was following us."
He thought?
With the way he sped and the number of turns he made, it was just a thought? Did my cousin, who pretends to be an angel, overdose on coffee? His drink must've been stronger than the strongest brew.
We continued to our destination. Thankfully, he was driving properly again. It didn't take long before we arrived at Sir's house. Keifer and some of the other Ulupongs were already there.
"Good morning," Yuri greeted me first.
"Good morning," I replied as I grabbed my stuff.
Yuri was about to help me, but a hand suddenly snatched my things away.
"Let me take that," Keifer said, even winking at me.
So early in the morning.
"Where's Alvin?" Kuya asked Yuri.
"He's inside, talking to Ma'am Cindy."
Kuya just nodded and left us. Before going in, he even bumped into Keifer, who was blocking the door. The King had no choice but to step aside.
I laughed at his expression. Then I yawned as I started walking, and Yuri noticed.
"You're so sleep-deprived," he observed while following me.
"Yeah, how could I not be when our group chat was still active until the early morning. You probably don't open Messenger."
"I don't have an account anymore. I already deactivated it."
I froze. I immediately took out my phone to look for his social media. Just recently, I was sure his account was still active.
"Why?"
"I wasn't using it anymore, so I just deleted it," he said with a smile. "You can still reach me on my phone number."
Well, we didn't chat often anyway.
Inside the house, my things were placed beside the others' belongings. Felix, Edrix, and Rory were also there. They greeted me one after another, and I did the same to them.
"Have you eaten? There's food in the kitchen," Keifer said, grabbing my hand to pull me there. I didn't resist and just let him.
Of course, why would I refuse? It's food.
He wasn't lying—there was food set on the table. It looked like Ma'am Cindy had prepared for our arrival. The King immediately seated me and made sure I had something to eat.
As if I hadn't had breakfast.
"You?" I asked. "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet. Let's eat together."
He grabbed a plate, but before he could put it in front of me, someone snatched it away.
"Thanks. The President of Section E is really sweet," Rory said, stealing the plate.
He sat beside me with a wide grin. Following him were Edrix and Felix, who were laughing at him.
"Dude, if you piss him off, that plate might get imprinted on your face," Edrix said as he grabbed his own plate.
"Nah, Keifer loves me." Rory smiled even wider before pouting at the scowling King. "Mwuah!"
Keifer just shook his head and took another plate for us. Felix also got one for himself.
They started scooping food one after another. I was about to do the same, but the King already did it for me. I couldn't help but feel awkward since the three ulupongs were secretly laughing at me.
I hope you all choke.
"Let's eat," the King said, smiling.
I did, but I kept glancing at him as he scooped food onto his plate. When he finally started eating, that's when I focused on my meal.
"What got into your brother that he decided to organize a review?" Rory suddenly asked.
I choked.
Keifer quickly handed me water. It felt like rice had gone up my nose.
That hurt!
This is my fault. Kuya got annoyed at me, so he suddenly talked to Sir Alvin. How was I supposed to explain that they got dragged into this because of me?
This must be the curse of a dead lizard.
"That's good, so you won't have to cheat off me," Edrix said to Rory.
"You wish! You're the one who cheats off me!" Rory shot back, stuffing his mouth with hotdog.
"You jerk! You even stabbed me with a ballpen because I didn't let you copy!"
"You're the jerk! You kept poking me for answers!"
We all watched them argue while eating. It was like watching a soap opera—a cheaters' quarrel.
But this wasn't new. Soon enough, they'd be fine again, like a couple after a petty fight.
They're lucky they can copy from each other.
"Good morning!" yelled the most mischievous kid in Section E.
Who else could it be? None other than the little tbrat. He immediately approached us, followed by David, Josh, Denzel, and Calix. They all got excited when they saw the food on the table.
There it is—their spirits have awakened.
"Food! Food!" they all shouted almost in unison.
"Give me some!" Ci shouted and grabbed the ham from my plate.
"Hey! That's mine!" I shouted, about to snatch it back, but it was already in his mouth. "Get your own plate!"
The chaos only grew when more people arrived. I immediately noticed Blaster's scowling face. Everyone started grabbing food for themselves. Some didn't even bother using plates—they just snatched the hotdogs and ham with their hands.
It's like they haven't eaten in ten days.
"Can we have some? Is there any left?" Mayo asked, holding a plate of fried rice.
"Come on, share!" Eren said irritably, but no one paid him any attention.
The food, which could have fed an entire village, was gone in an instant. They even checked the pots and pans on the stove to see if there was anything left. I felt embarrassed in front of Ma'am Cindy—these guys rummaged through everything in the kitchen.
"Oh, nothing left," Drew said sadly. "Eman, cook something."
"Idiot, this isn't my house. I'm not going to meddle," Eman replied.
The table was completely cleared. Some of them nearly fought over the food on their plates. We all stopped, however, when Kuya Angelo, Sir Alvin, and Ma'am Cindy walked in.
Oh, right. We hadn't even greeted them good morning yet.
"That's it? Everything I cooked is gone?" Ma'am Cindy asked.
They all avoided her gaze—except for David.
"Thank you for the breakfast, and also, good morning," he said.
When we realized what he had just said, we all quickly followed and thanked her. Fortunately, most of them volunteered to clean up and wash the dishes. Ma'am didn't want them to, but the Ulupong wouldn't take no for an answer.
I smiled. They used to be so lazy when it came to cleaning, sometimes even leaving it all to me. But lately, I've noticed they've started doing it on their own. Before, I had to yell at them or threaten to hit them before they would listen. Now, they do it even without me saying anything.
While the others were busy, Sir called us to the backyard. He handed us our school bags. There were carpets and throw pillows set up, along with a small table and bean bags. Of course, there was also a whiteboard, which Yuri was pushing into place. It looked like we'd all be studying here.
Honestly, this place seems more suited for napping than studying.
Sir asked us to get ready. It wasn't long before the rest of the Ulupong joined us. Keifer sat at the front beside Yuri, apparently one of the ones teaching us. I thought Ci-N would sit with them, but instead, he sat beside me, holding a notebook and a pen.
"Let's sit together," he said with a smile.
"You don't even need to review—you're so smart."
"Jay, intelligence dulls if you don't use it," Blaster said from in front of us. "That's why he has none left. It hasn't been used in a long time." He pointed at Ci-N, who clearly didn't care.
Once everyone had settled, including Sir and Ma'am, they started the lesson. They asked if we had any specific topics we wanted to review. We all gave the same answer—since none of us had been listening.
At first, I could follow along with Sir's explanations because some of the lessons were still familiar. But as time went on, my mind started to drift again.
I couldn't help but watch Keifer. He looked like a professor, focused on reading his notes and writing things down.
Damn, he's handsome.
For a moment, he glanced at me, and our eyes met. I winked at him, and suddenly, his face turned red. He quickly hid behind his notes, making me laugh. Then I noticed Mayo watching me.
"You're so flirty," he muttered, even though he was whispering.
I rolled my eyes at him and tried to focus back on Sir's lesson. But my attention wandered again—back to Keifer, who was exchanging notes with Yuri. He would write something down, then ask Yuri about it.
I waited for him to look my way again, but he never did, making me pout.
It's the first time I've seen him so focused on studying. Usually, since I sit at the front and he's at the back, every time I glance at him, he's either sleeping or talking to someone. I even thought he didn't have any notes in his bag—it always seemed so light when he carried it. He's proven he's smart, but I've never actually seen him study properly.
Wish I was that smart too.
"Jay," Ci whispered.
I turned to him, and he showed me his drawing. It was of a person standing in front of a wall or window. I laughed quietly—it looked like the person had fish eyes. They were huge, with just tiny dots in the middle.
I only realized he had drawn Sir Alvin when he added details to make the "window" look like a whiteboard. I decided to add to his drawing. While we were doing that, we were quietly laughing. I was just surprised when someone suddenly snatched Ci's notes.
.
Ci screamed, making everyone stop and look at us. I quickly stood up to face him.
"K-Kuya."
"What is this? You're disrespecting your teacher?" His voice was calm but filled with anger.
"N-No, we were just—"
I didn't even get to finish before he suddenly slammed the notebook down. I couldn't help but feel scared.
"Who told you this was the time to fool around? You've barely started reviewing!"
"Angelo, it doesn't matter—" Sir tried to intervene, but Kuya cut him off.
Kuya still didn't take his angry gaze off me. "How hard is it for you to listen and study? This is all you have to do, and you still can't do it! Who are you even doing this for?"
Please don't yell at me in front of them.
I bit my lip. Tears were already welling in my eyes. I could accept the scolding, but not in front of my friends. It wasn't new for Kuya to reprimand me in front of them, but this time felt different.
"We take full responsibility for your school expenses! Not all kids have the same opportunity as you! Your only enemy in studying is yourself, Jay!"
"That's enough!" Keifer shouted angrily.
"Stay out of this! You're just enabling her!"
Keifer was about to step forward, but Sir Alvin and Yuri held him back. I didn't want him to interfere—I didn't want Kuya to think I always needed someone to defend me.
But I wished he would just stop.
"I arranged this review class so you could learn, but here you are, messing around again! You even had the audacity to disrespect your teacher! What exactly are you so proud of?"
"I-I drew that," Ci said beside me while raising one hand.
Blaster immediately pulled him away from me, but Kuya ignored him.
"You yourself said you wanted to fix your life! Prove it! Aren't you ashamed in front of your classmates?" He tried to make me face them, but I resisted. "Look at them! Some of them don't even plan on going to college, yet they're still here studying!"
"Huh? How did he know that?" I heard Denzel whisper before someone shushed him.
"If you can't even study properly now, how much worse will it be in college?" Kuya shook his head, clearly disappointed in me.
He let out a deep sigh before glancing at my classmates.
He turned around and left us. I took the chance to wipe my cheeks and eyes.
Keifer and Yuri immediately came up to me.
"Hey, it's okay. He's just hot-headed," Keifer said and tried to make me face him.
I pushed his hand away and simply looked at the Ulupongs who had seen how my cousin lectured me. Some of them looked worried, others forced a smile to say it was okay, and some just looked away and seemed to not care. I felt embarrassed in front of them. It was shameful—they got dragged into it too.
.
"Your Kuya is really grumpy," Ci said. "I won't greet him anymore."
I picked up his notebook and tried to straighten the crumpled pages before handing it back to him.
"Jay. . . " Yuri called to me but I ignored them.
I just sat down again even though my tears kept flowing. I tried to calm down but my sniffles and sobs kept coming.
Sir tried to go back to what he was doing but his attention was still on me. He clearly felt sorry for me, but he didn't want to add to my embarrassment.
Am I really that bad?