JAY-JAY POV
I was peacefully lying on my bed scrolling through my phone when it suddenly started buzzing nonstop.
Section E group chat.
Which usually meant one thing:
Chaos.
I sighed and opened it.
Immediately regretted it.
Cin:
WAKE UP LOSERS
Rory:
it's literally 10 pm
Cin:
AND???
Felix:
if this isn't important i'm blocking you
Then suddenly—
a message appeared from the King of Ulupongs.
King of Ulupongs:
SCHOOL TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT
3 days and 2 nights
Section E is REQUIRED to attend
Silence.
Then the group exploded.
Drew:
WE'RE FREE
David:
SECTION E ROADTRIP???
Blaster:
THIS IS A BAD IDEA
Cin:
THIS IS THE BEST IDEA EVER
I stared at the screen slowly.
School trip.
With Section E.
That already sounded like a disaster.
Then another message popped up.
Mayo:
jay-jay is definitely getting into trouble there
I immediately typed back.
Jay-Jay:
i always behave
Three seconds later—
Keifer:
biggest lie i've ever seen
I frowned at the screen.
Annoying.
Absolutely annoying.
I typed back immediately.
Jay-Jay:
don't talk to me
The group instantly reacted.
Cin:
OHHHH SHE'S STILL MAD
Felix:
bro is suffering daily
Rory:
keifer apologize harder
I smirked slightly.
Good.
Let him suffer.
Then—
Keifer:
i already said sorry
I rolled my eyes.
Jay-Jay:
and?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
He was thinking too much.
Finally—
Keifer:
okay fair
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Then Yuri joined the chat.
Yuri:
focus on the trip before the King cancels it because of you people
Cin:
too late
The group turned into full chaos instantly again.
Memes.
Voice notes.
Insults.
Someone even sent a sticker of Keifer crying.
I was about to close the app when—
a private message popped up.
Unknown number.
I frowned.
Opened it.
And froze.
heard you're going on a school trip :)
My heartbeat stopped for a second.
That message felt… familiar.
Dangerously familiar.
I slowly typed:
who is this?
Three dots appeared instantly.
Then—
wow
you forgot me already?
I sat up slowly.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Because something about the way they typed…
felt like a memory I tried to bury.
I typed carefully:
…cyrus?
Section e beat him but still?
This time the reply came instantly.
finally
took you long enough jay
I stared at the screen.
My chest tightened.
But I didn't reply again.
Because I remembered something clearly.
Cyrus and I didn't end properly.
We ended with silence.
And right now…
I wasn't going to open that door again through messages.
Not like this.
If he really came back…
then he would have to face me properly.
On the trip.
In real life.
No hiding.
No texting.
Just truth.
I locked my phone slowly.
And placed it face down.
Outside my room, everything continued normally.
Section E chaos.
Keifer's annoying messages still unread.
But somewhere in my mind…
I already knew.
This school trip wasn't going to be normal anymore.
Because Cyrus wasn't just texting.
He was coming back into my life.
And I wasn't ready.
END OF CHAPTER 36