"No books," he said with a wink. "Just teamwork." Translation: sleepover. All boys plus us three Marianos. Ma had laughed when I begged to go. "Be good, or I will drag you three you home."
Keifer's parents had gone out so by 8 PM, the Watson living room was a war zone of pizza boxes, soda cans, and controllers. Keifer's game room had every console known to man, a massive screen, and beanbags that swallowed you whole. C‑in and Drew were battling it out on some racing game, Josh drumming the coffee table, Blaster curating a chaotic playlist.
"Truth or Dare!" I yelled when the pizza ran out. "Who's first?"
Keifer groaned from his spot against the wall. "We're not 12."
"Scared, King of Ulupongs?" I poked.
His eyes narrowed. "Fine. You start, Mariano."
Truth or Dare: Round 1
C‑in: Dare. Chugged a mystery soda mix (Mayo's evil creation). Nearly died.
Drew: Truth. Admitted he owes everyone 10,000 . Keifer fake‑laughed.
c-in complained about his 9 peso debt
blaster: Dare. Beatboxed the entire alphabet. Legendary.
Me: Truth. I confessed my Snorlax obsession started because Pa got me one after I fell off the roof trying to "fly." Everyone howled.
Keifer's turn hit like a truck.
"Jay. Dare." His smirk was dangerous.
I crossed my arms. "Hit me."
"Reveal your crush ."
" Nuh uh " I replied "
" fine then you have to remove of of you clothing so I removed my jacket
Easy. I. Section E lost it. Even Keigan cracked a smile from the doorway.
Dares escalated:
Rory had to text his crush "I like turtles" (it was erin).
Edrix prank‑called Denzel pretending to be a ghost.
Keifer got dared to let Blaster style his hair with gel and clips. He looked ridiculous. I snapped a pic. "Blackmail gold."
Truths got real:
Yuri admitted he had a crush on someone in the room. Eyes darted. Jane blushed? Nah, couldn't be.
Keifer's truth: "Worst fear?" He paused. "Letting Dad down." Room went quiet.
By midnight, we were wiped. Keizer appeared with sleeping bags. "Lights out. Upstairs." Girls (me + Jane) got the guest room; boys crashed in the game room and lounge.
I woke up at 2 AM, throat dry, stumbling toward the kitchen in the dark. Mansion hallways are a maze. Wrong turn.
Then—movement.
In the dim lounge light, I saw Yuri and Jane. My sister. pressed against the wall, kissing. Full‑on, hands‑in‑hair, no‑air‑left kissing.
My brain short‑circuited.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
Scream echoed like a bomb. Lights flicked on. Section E boys bolted upright—hair wild, eyes panicked. Keifer tripped over a beanbag. C‑in yelled, "Intruder?!"
Jane and Yuri sprang apart, faces tomato‑red.
"Jay?!" Jane shrieked. "What the—?!"
"You—him—kissing—WHAT?!" I flailed. "MY SISTER AND YURI?!"
Jare lunged at yuri but denzel and Eman held him back
Jare shouted first. "Yuri, you dog!"
Drew: "Plot twist!"
Josh started drumming the air. Blaster hit record on his phone. Keifer rubbed his eyes, then smirked. "Called it."
Keigan appeared, pjs still perfect at 2 AM. "Everything alright?"
"NO!" I yelled. "MY TRIPLET SISTER IS SMOOCHING YURI !"
Jane grabbed my arm. "Jay, shut up! It's not—"
Yuri stammered, "We were just—talking and—"
"Talking with tongues?!" I gasped.
Laughter exploded. Keiren (the 10‑yo chaos goblin) poked his head out. "Kissing? Gross!"
Keifer crossed his arms, grinning at me. "Your family's a disaster, Mariano."
"Shut up! You're all disasters!" I pointed wildly.
Keifer yelled, calm as ever. "Back to bed, everyone. Drama tomorrow."
We scattered, whispers flying. I dragged Jane to our room.
"Explain. NOW."
She buried her face in a pillow. "He's sweet. We've been talking since day one. Don't tell Pa."
"You kissed him!"
"Quiet! Or Jare will kill him!"
Downstairs, boys chanted "Yuri! Yuri!" until Keifer shut them up.
I flopped onto my sleeping bag, mind racing. Two weeks at HVIS, and now this? Truth or Dare had ripped open secrets. Jane + Yuri? Section E knew everything now.
Sleep? Impossible. Tomorrow would be chaos. And somehow, I couldn't wait.
To be continued… 💥😱