Ang Mutya Ng Section E (Book - 2) English

Jay-Jay's POV

"How's Mayo?" Edrix asked as I stepped out of the clinic.

"He's fine... The nurse is taking care of him."

"Tsk! You really pack a punch. Even stronger than Kit's," he said, shaking his head.

Well, that's something.

"I just made him angry," I admitted, but I couldn't help but laugh.

I sat down in the waiting area outside the clinic, and Edrix joined me. I wasn't in the mood to go back to the classroom—I knew I'd just be bombarded with annoying questions.

"What were you and Mayo fighting about?" he asked.

"N-nothing... Just some nonsense," I replied, avoiding his gaze.

Edrix seemed to get the hint and didn't push the topic further.

Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up, and I immediately noticed Freya's face as his wallpaper.

Sigh… Just like Kiko said.

"She has a new boyfriend," Edrix muttered, showing me his phone.

It was a Facebook post—Freya posing with a good-looking guy, captioned 'My new love.'

Great!

"That was my dream…" Edrix whispered. "…For her to post a picture of us instead and proudly declare her love for me."

I could feel the pain in his voice. Had he been holding onto his feelings for Freya all this time?

"H-have you ever tried talking to her?" I asked.

He shook his head without looking up from his phone.

"I can't… She hates Section E, remember?"

That's true. And from what I saw, that resentment was still there when I first met her.

"If I could help you with her, I would. But I'd probably end up fighting her instead," I joked with a forced smile.

Edrix chuckled, but I knew he was hurting. To this day, I still didn't fully understand what had happened between Freya, Yuri, and Keifer.

"Love is difficult, isn't it?" a voice suddenly said.

We both turned toward the clinic door. Mayo stood there, holding a tissue and an ice pack.

He walked over and sat beside me, putting me in between him and Edrix.

"Haaah… Your punch really hurt, Jay," Mayo said, pressing the ice pack to his face.

"That's your fault… You pissed me off," I shot back.

He let out a small laugh. Edrix and I exchanged glances—maybe Mayo was just feeling sleepy, or perhaps my punch had actually rattled his brain.

"Sorry… I didn't mean what I said earlier. You're nothing like Ella," he admitted with a small smile.

I'm different from her…

"I just got carried away by my anger," he added.

"S-sorry for hitting you," I said, smiling back.

"It's fine! You two are good now," Edrix said as he stood up. "Let's head back."

Mayo glanced at his phone. I saw the time as well—we had been there longer than I thought.

"We still have another class," he reminded us.

I hesitated. I really didn't feel like going back to the room right away.

Edrix sat back down. "Alright, later then."

"So, what were you two talking about?" Mayo asked.

"Chicks," I answered with a grin. Edrix immediately shot me a glare. "…Edrix's girl."

"Girlfriend?" Mayo asked.

"No," Edrix replied.

"He's just dreaming," I teased.

Edrix glared at me again, but I just laughed.

"Have you told her how you feel?" Mayo asked.

Edrix shook his head and lowered his gaze. "I don't even know if she notices me… or if she even knows I exist."

"You're just watching from a distance?" Mayo asked.

"That's how it is."

"At least you still have hope. I know I love her, but she avoids me," Mayo said, pressing the ice pack harder against his face.

"I guess that hurts even more."

I watched them quietly, listening to their conversation. It was nice—simple and honest, with no pretense.

Leaning back, I sighed. "Love is hard."

Mayo and Edrix turned to me at the same time.

"You say that, but you already have two people who like you," Edrix pointed out, making me frown.

"You've got Yuri, and you've got Keifer," Mayo added, fueling the conversation.

Wait, what? Lies!

"Maybe she likes someone else. Not either of them," Edrix mused.

"Oh? Who is it? Tell us," Mayo prodded.

Yeah, right!

"Keifer will be mad if he finds out," Edrix teased.

"Poor Yuri. Heartbroken again," Mayo added.

"Enough already!" I snapped at them. "You guys are saying too much! I just got caught up in your drama!"

"But seriously, are you saying you don't like either of them?" Edrix asked again.

"It's... not like that," I mumbled.

"Then you can't decide?" Mayo pressed.

I lowered my head, biting my lower lip. Annoying! I hate these kinds of questions.

Both of them were clearly waiting for my answer, but I remained silent.

"If it were up to me, you'd end up with Yuri," Mayo suddenly remarked, making us turn to him.

"Why Yuri?" Edrix asked curiously.

"Keifer doesn't count. His biggest problem is that he's selfish when it comes to women. That's why he even took Yuri's last remaining friend away," Mayo explained.

Something about that felt off. The way Mayo talked about Keifer now reminded me of how Ci-N used to talk about Yuri.

Yuri once mentioned that Keifer was possessive when it came to relationships. Now that I was hearing it from someone else—and even experiencing it firsthand—it still felt hard to believe.

"Stole? Who did Keifer take from Yuri?" Edrix asked.

"It was Ella! Yuri was supposed to be her choice, but Keifer stepped in and took her for himself," Mayo said.

Yuri was supposed to be the one?

But Yuri told me Ella never loved him. So how could he have been her choice?

"What happened to Yuri?" I asked.

"I don't know… Ella just ended up saying he was the one she wanted," Mayo replied.

That doesn't make sense. I was about to ask more when I noticed Rakki approaching us.

She looked thinner and more exhausted compared to the last time we met.

"Hey, Rakki!" I greeted her.

"H-hi… What are you guys doing here? Don't you have class?" She asked.

"It's her fault," Edrix and Mayo answered in unison, both pointing at me.

"Hm?!"

"Hahaha! I bet you all just ditched class together," Rakki teased.

"No way! Jay-Jay is really to blame," Mayo insisted, pointing at his bruised face.

"That's karma," Rakki chuckled, then turned to me. "By the way, how's Ci-N? I heard he's staying with you now."

Ugh… I knew this was coming.

"He's fine… As long as he knows how to do laundry and clean up after himself," I muttered.

Because guess what? I'm the one doing his laundry! This is so unfair!

Lazy bum!

"You can't expect much from guys like him. Just get them to fetch water and run errands," Rakki said, shaking his head.

She wasn't wrong. Even with us, Ci-N acted the same way. He was used to having things handed to him, being the youngest and coming from a wealthy family. He rarely heard 'no' from anyone—except maybe his older brother, who actually kept him in check.

"Anyway, I've got to go. I need the nurse's signature for this," Rakki said, waving a paper before heading inside.

"She looks like she lost weight," Edrix commented.

I thought the same thing.

"Probably stress… It's the whole issue with Section A," Mayo added.

I frowned. "What issue?"

Mayo briefly glanced at the clinic door before turning back to me.

"Since Rakki sided with us, Section A has been cutting off all their section's privileges. Now, she's stuck trying to reclaim the benefits that were supposed to be theirs," Mayo explained.

Poor Rakki. She is still the president of her section, so all the responsibility fell on her shoulders.

"Don't tell Ci-N about this," Edrix suddenly warned.

"Why not?"

"Do you want more chaos?" he replied sarcastically.

Good point. If Ci-N found out, he wouldn't just pick a fight with Section A—he'd probably take on the Guidance Counselor and Principal, too.

We moved on to other topics, mostly discussing our classmates.

I also found out that Josh's girlfriend had passed away. No one knew exactly when, but they suspected it was around the time he started acting strange.

Meanwhile, Drew had apparently been caught sneaking around near an alley by the school, up to no good again. That guy just never learns. He still hadn't paid off his previous debt, and yet here he was, getting into trouble all over again.

Time passed without us noticing.

"...We should be on break soon—"

"Ehem!"

We all froze at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"...We've been looking for you everywhere, and here you are!"

Uh-oh.

Slowly, we turned around.

Standing there, arms crossed, was the King of Snakes himself, glaring down at us.

I forced a smile, but it didn't work.

"Get back to class… NOW!" he bellowed.

We scrambled to our feet and bolted back to the classroom.

"This is all your fault, Jay-Jay!" Mayo accused as we ran.

I shot him a glare. "Says the guy who started the fight in the first place!"

"Enough! Quit fighting already! Keifer's right there—MOVE!" Edrix yelled.