Ang Mutya Ng Section E (Book - 2) English

Jay-Jay's POV

I've been eating alone in the dining area for the past few days. Morning and night, it's just me—always alone. Aunt Gema and Brother Angelo have been keeping an eye on me, making sure I don't go home. I haven't even seen Mama, who just arrived.

All I've seen is her suitcase.

Even my illness didn't reach them. Luckily, I wasn't hospitalized that day. Thanks to Yuri, who took care of everything.

I had just finished showering and was getting ready when I heard my phone ring. Only two people ever text me—

Yuri or the Crazy Duck.

I picked up my phone. As expected, it was the second person.

📩

From: Gagang Baliw

Message: Good morning! Take care of yourself.

Reading his texts has become part of my daily routine. I don't stop him from texting me anymore. It's as if he's become a part of my phone.

As always, I didn't reply. I just continued getting ready and quickly left my room. Tita's maids were cleaning the house.

"I'm leaving," I said as I passed by them.

"Take care," they replied.

As soon as I stepped outside the gate, I wasn't surprised to see Yuri waiting for me—leaning against his car, focused on his phone.

I walked up to him, and he immediately noticed me. He smiled and opened the passenger seat door.

"Good morning," he greeted me.

"There's nothing good about the morning," I replied flatly.

He just laughed before closing the door. I wouldn't say we were completely okay, but I gave him a chance—just like Ci-N. The two of them have been persistent in trying to win me over.

He explained that he had realized his mistakes. He told me that by marrying him, I could escape Keifer's plan, but I would be tied to another problem.

He also admitted that he wanted to call off the wedding after seeing how I felt about it, but he couldn't do it right away. I asked him what his family said about the cancellation, but he didn't answer. I have a feeling things didn't go well for him.

"Do you have any plans later?" he asked.

"It depends," I replied quickly.

He glanced at me. "Depends on what?"

"If you're inviting me to eat, then I'm free. But if it's something else, I have things to do."

I heard him chuckle softly. He thought I was joking. I wasn't. If it's about food, I can clear my schedule, but if not, I have a lot to do.

"I'll take you to a Japanese restaurant," he said.

"That's it! I'm free, completely available," I answered immediately.

He laughed again.

When we arrived at school, I waited for him to park before stepping out of the car. Today felt like a normal day.

The rumors about Aries and Mykel had died down quickly. Even the talk about Kuya's arrival and his threats to our Guidance Counselor weren't circulating anymore.

I guess they're afraid of Kuya.

The demolition notice was still posted beside our building, but no start date was listed.

I continued walking toward the classroom. Yuri followed behind me, and as we entered, I immediately noticed something was off.

Something was definitely wrong!

Some of the tables and chairs were missing. Before, there were extras, making it easy to switch seats. But now, there were just enough for everyone.

There were 16 of them, and including me, 17. The only empty seats were the King's seat at the back and my previous seat in the middle, where David and Ci-N were sitting next to me.

"Why... like this?" I whispered to myself.

"Good morning, Jay!" Ci-N greeted me cheerfully as he ran toward me.

"What happened? Why are the tables missing?" I asked, pointing at the empty space.

"They're not missing. Not exactly," he clarified, raising an eyebrow. "...Because before, it was too much. Now, it's just right."

Due to the seating arrangement, I had no choice but to return to my previous seat in the middle. Ci-N happily pulled me up and helped me sit down.

I almost smiled when I saw the chair. The lace of my skirt got stuck—just like before. This is the same bench where my skirt used to catch. I chose to ignore it and began arranging my things. As I did, I noticed David looking at me.

That annoying guy was smiling like an idiot.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I asked irritably.

"I missed having you as my seatmate," he said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. Missed me? Well, he always slept when we sat together. He only woke up when he smelled food. Am I supposed to be touched?

When I looked to the other side, Ci-N was watching me with a mischievous grin.

"I missed this," he said, raising his eyebrows playfully.

Someone clearly forgot to take their meds.

I winced. Looking around, I saw that everyone was smiling at me. I frowned.

They thought I was okay now? That what they did to me was just a joke? Yes, I gave Yuri and Ci-N a chance, but that doesn't mean I've forgiven the rest of them.

The audacity!

Sir Alvin arrived, forcing everyone to face him. Even he was surprised by the new seating arrangement but chose to ignore it.

During class, something small hit my head. I looked around but saw nothing. It continued into the next subject. When I finally found one of the small objects, I saw it was a crumpled piece of paper.

I rolled my eyes, but those Judases acted like nothing had happened. Why do I feel like this has happened before? Déjà vu?

As the class went on, more and more tiny paper balls hit me. I was starting to get irritated. What kind of weird prank is this?

Lunchtime arrived. The bell was still ringing outside when Ci-N suddenly grabbed my hand before I could stand up.

"You'll eat here," he said cheerfully.

Before I could protest, he dragged me toward Eman, who was preparing lunch.

"I-I can't," I said, and they all looked at me. "...Someone is waiting for me."

"He won't come," Felix said with a smirk. "...I texted Kuya and told him you'd be eating with us."

His words hit me like a punch. I wasn't going to eat here. If I did, it would mean they had won, and I had lost. I still hadn't forgiven them.

Annoyed, I stormed back to my seat and sat down, fuming. My stomach growled, but I ignored it. For the sake of my pride, I would endure.

Pride, Surf, and Tide. Sometimes Bonux and Ariel.

"Come on, Jay. Eat," Drew said, standing beside me.

I shot him a glare. "Don't talk to me. We're not close."

He just scratched his head and walked away. Damn it! He still hasn't paid me back what he owes me. And now he's acting all friendly?

A moment later, someone placed a plate of food in front of me. It was stew—any kind of meat that could be stewed. And of course, since this is our usual dish, there was corn.

Corn—just like the author's jokes.

I looked up to see who had placed the food there. Yuri stood in front of me, smiling.

"Eat," he said, but I quickly shook my head. "...What?" he asked.

"If I eat that, I lose," I said firmly. He sighed.

Just then, I looked toward the door and saw Josh carrying a plate full of food. I knew it wasn't for him. It was for his pet cat—the one Ci-N had named Edy because he claimed it was EvereaDY.

An idea suddenly came to my mind. I quickly stood up, took the plate, and walked out without looking at the Serpents, even though they were calling my name.

Outside, I spotted Josh sitting on a large tree root near the side of our building, where it was less crowded. He was feeding a black cat.

"Do you need something?" Josh asked without looking at me.

That eerie feeling struck me again—he's so unsettling!

"Give this to Edy," I said, handing him the plate.

He stood up without glancing back. "It's nice sitting here because there's not much to see," he remarked before turning to face me with a smirk. "...If you want to feed Edy, do it yourself."

He walked back toward the room, but as he passed me, he added something cryptic.

"Enjoy feeding Edy," he said, his tone laced with hidden meaning.

Then, he left, leaving me alone. I had no idea what was going on with him—was an evil spirit possessing him again?

Maybe he's been cursed?!

I looked at Edy, who was happily eating. Just as I was about to place the plate in front of him, my stomach suddenly growled—loudly. It was an embarrassing sound, practically screaming, Food! Food! Food!

I glanced down at the plate in my hands. If I ate it, I'd lose. I'd be giving up in this unspoken battle of pride. But if I didn't eat, my stomach would hurt, and my breath would stink.

The little cat might complain.

I looked around. Josh was right—no one could see me here. I quickly checked my surroundings again before approaching a bench nearby. I sat down and took a bite of the rice and side dish.

One bite, but I couldn't taste anything. Another bite—it felt greasy. One more—I could taste it a little. A few more chews... and another bite.

I glanced at my feet when I noticed Edy staring at me. He meowed, as if asking for food.

"I would give it to you, but I'm starving. If I don't eat, I might end up eating you instead," I told him.

Edy simply licked his paw and wiped his face. I turned back to my food.

That creepy guy was right! No one could see me eating here. This way, I wouldn't lose face. I could just say I gave the food to Edy.

So that's what Josh meant before leaving—Enjoy feeding Edy.

Or maybe he meant enjoy feeding myself.

I was nearly finished eating when someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder. Startled, I jumped up, nearly choking on the corn in my mouth. I almost dropped the plate.

Mica looked just as surprised—she had only grabbed my shoulder.

"S-Sorry," she said.

I bit the corn, then quickly pulled it from my mouth. "It's fine. Why are you here?"

She forced a small smile. "I just came to visit you."

Visit me? I wasn't sick or anything. What's with her? It's not like we hadn't seen each other for days. She should be visiting Calix instead.

Then, I noticed her sad eyes. She looked troubled, as if she needed someone to talk to.

"Sit down. You startled me—I was still eating," I said.

She sat on the bench, and I finished my meal before speaking again.

"Here," she said, handing me a small pouch containing alcohol, tissues, and sanitizer.

I took it and began cleaning myself.

"So, why are you visiting me?" I asked while wiping my face.

She didn't respond. I turned to look at her—only to freeze, my eyes widening slightly.

She was crying.

She wiped her tears and tried to look away, but it was too late—I had already seen them.

"Did something happen?" I asked, worried.

"Calix and I are breaking up," she finally said, her voice cracking as tears spilled down her face.

I was stunned. Immediately, I grabbed a tissue from the pouch and handed it to her. She took it.

"W-Why? W-What happened?"

She didn't answer—she just kept crying. It was as if she had been holding back so much pain and was finally letting it all out. I was even more confused.

Did he do something stupid?!

"I-Is Calix seeing another girl again? What? Is he back to being a playboy? What did he do? Did he say something? W-What's the reason?" I fired off question after question.

She forced herself to sit down and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She took a few more deep breaths and started explaining me.

"I know what they did to you..." I paused. "...I got angry with Calix, and we fought. He said I didn't understand, so I shouldn't get involved. I chose to stay silent..." Mica bit his lower lip. "...but I can't just stand by and watch you struggle."

"Is that why you two don't talk?"

I first noticed it on Ci-N's birthday when they weren't speaking, and later, Rakki confirmed it.

She nodded. "I don't know why he had to join. He wasn't ashamed anymore. You helped us get back together, and then he did this."

I lowered my head. Mica was right after all. I was angry with them for what they did to me, but I never wanted them to suffer as much as I did.

Revenge is for the weak.

I didn't want to sympathize with Mica. I didn't want her to get hurt either. I held my breath.

"But don't you think that if you break up, all my efforts to bring you two back together will go to waste? It will all be for nothing, and you'll end up hurting each other again," I explained. She looked at me, and I knew she understood what I meant. I also knew she was just worried about me, but what happened and the pain I felt were mine alone.

I'm ugly, so I'm the only one who suffers.

"B-but Jay—"

I immediately cut her off. "Calix is right. You shouldn't get involved. This problem is between them and me. If anyone should do something about it, it's them, not you."

She lowered her head and clenched her fists.

"Don't let your relationship fall apart over something so small," I said, patting her shoulder.

I stood up and handed the pouch back to her. She took it and stood as well.

"Thanks for your concern," I added with a smile.

She smiled faintly and put the pouch back in her bag. As we walked back to the room, I stopped her at the door. She looked surprised at first but complied.

I entered and searched for Calix. He was sitting, listening to Eren and Denzel talk.

"Calix!" I called, and almost everyone turned to me.

Are you all Calix?

He stood up, clearly waiting for what I had to say. I signaled for him to look outside. He did so. Fast forward to four o'clock, and he was already running toward Mica.

I didn't watch what happened outside. Instead, I walked to my seat but stopped. Something was on my table—snacks. Nova, Chippy, and Piattos.

I glanced at the Ulupongs, but each of them avoided my gaze. They were all pretending not to notice. I turned to Ci-N, who was busy playing on his phone.

"Ci, is this yours?" I asked. He quickly shook his head.

"Then whose is it?"

He snorted. "Yours."

I raised an eyebrow. It's really hard to talk to him when he's glued to his phone. I turned to David, but he was asleep.

Does the impact always result in a lack of sleep?!

I smacked his forehead. He opened his eyes and looked at me in surprise.

"Why are you squinting?" he asked irritably.

"I can't do that..." I leaned in and whispered, "...but Ci-N can."

He immediately stood up and walked over to Ci-N. Without warning, he smacked him hard on the forehead. The brat dropped his phone and glared at David, his eyes welling up with tears.

"That hurt! What's wrong with you?!" he complained.

"You were disturbing me. I was sleeping," David said flatly before returning to his seat.

Before he could fall asleep again, I spoke up.

"Did you put it there?" I asked.

He stared at the snacks for a moment before answering. "No. And I don't know who did."

So, my only lead is the person next to me... What a shame.

The lazy guy went back to sleep. I scratched the back of my neck and sat down, shoving the snacks into my bag. Whoever gave them to the Ulupongs just wasted their money.

But honestly… this feels familiar. Like it happened before, but under different circumstances.

Weird.