Author's pov:
The silence in section E wasn't the peaceful kind. It was heavy, a suffocating blanket of dust and unsaid words. For years, Section E had been defined by noise—shouting, the scraping of chairs, and lately, a girl who had no business being there, yet became the only reason they became who they are right now.
Now, the seat in the middle of the room was empty. Keifer sat thinking he could see her for one last day before leaving for London. Sir Alvin took attendance. He didn't call Jay. Every one noticed.
Ofc they did!
Ci-n was the first to ask.
"Sir why didn't you call Jay" ci-n asked unaware his ST has left.
Sir Alvin looked around.....disappointment flickering his face.
"She left the country yesterday....I mean the humiliation was too much. I heard what happened."
The silent echoed. They knew that they cannot reach her....Because it was too late. They had no idea where she belonged. she never said. they never forced.
There was no grand goodbye. Just a transfer slip and a locker cleaned out when no one noticed. They had unspoken words. too many....regret and guilt specifically.
Ci-N and felix weren't laughing. For the first time since anyone could remember, the group's joker and the childish one was sitting perfectly still, staring at a crumpled candy wrapper on Jay-jay's empty desk. He had tried to crack a joke that morning many times. but the punchline had died in his throat. Without jay's playful shove him "Ang korny mo, Ci-N," the air in the room felt too thin to carry a laugh. How she used to be big sister both of them.
And to felix she truly was. He regrets involving himself. Only if time could be rearranged to fix mistake of them past. Maybe he would have never agreed with the plan. Revenge blinded him. Blinded them.
Yuri was leaning against the chair, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He was usually the one who kept the peace. But his eyes were dark, fixated on the door. He felt a different kind of burn—the sting of a protector who had failed to give her a reason to stay.
He knew Section E was a mess, a collection of broken parts, and they had relied on her to be the glue. Now that the glue was gone, the parts were beginning to rattle. Broken.
ci-n whimpered silently. silent tears. no one noticed. Or they did. they just pretended not to. Because she left because of them. It was their fault in the first place to begin with. "I should have spoke up for her....I lost her....my ate....The only one who cared for me...."
"She's not coming back, is she?" Felix muttered, his voice cracking. The question was met with a chorus of silence. No one wanted to be the one to confirm the nightmare.
In the center of the storm was Keifer.
He sat at his desk, his posture rigid. His knuckles were white where his hands gripped the edge of the desk. He hadn't looked at the door once since the bell rang. He couldn't. He knew that if he looked he might actually lose his mind. But still he kept his posture and face emotionless like he didn't care about her. section E noticed but kept their heads down. Guilt was swallowing them like venom spreading across a body which was dying slowly.
To Keifer, Jay-jay wasn't just a 'Mutya'. She was the only person who looked at him and didn't see a title, a bank account, or a broken boy. She saw him.
The desk next to him felt like a black hole, pulling all the light out of the room. He remembered the way she used to scribble in her notebook, the way she would hold him, Kiss him, how he missed her touch and the way she smelled like a mix of vanilla and sunshine.
"keif," Edrix started, his voice cautious. "Maybe we should go to her house? Maybe we can—"
"Shut up," Keifer's voice was a low growl, vibrating with a raw, jagged edge that made even the boys flinch.
he was devastated on the inside. But still acted like he didn't care.
As the afternoon sun bled into the classroom, the reality settled in.
Mayo and Drew were unusually quiet, lacking their usual energy. The 'notorious' Section E looked less like a gang of rebels and more like a group of lost children. they had forgotten how to function without the girl who taught them they could be better.
The 16 boys of Section E were a brotherhood built on strength, but Jay-jay had been their vulnerability. And now that she was gone, that vulnerability felt like an open wound.
Keifer finally stood up, the screech of his chair against the floor sounding like a scream in the quiet room. He didn't look at his friends. He walked away whispering:
"do whatever you want....I..I don't care about her."
"She thinks she can just leave?" Keifer whispered. His voice wasn't a threat this time, it was a plea inside a silent car.
They realized that Jay-jay hadn't just changed the rules of their class, she had changed the chemistry of their souls.
Without her, they were just 16 boys in a room, waiting for a bell that signaled the end of a story they weren't ready to finish.
In his room that night, Keifer stared at the hair tie on his nightstand. He realized that the worst part wasn't that she left. The worst part was that she took the best version of him with her, leaving behind a version he no longer recognized—and one he no longer wanted to be.
Section E was still a section. But without their Mutya, they were just a letter in the alphabet, drifting in the dark.
He hated that the only person who loved him had left him. Hated himself for hurting her. He had to protect her for the inheritance. From his enemies. For his brothers to be protected. He had to sacrifice her. His happiness.
They tried tracking her phone. She was too smart for that. She had already thrown her phone into the river before leaving without a goodbye.
Keifer just looked at the ceiling sobbing. Not loud.
"I'll find you Jay. This is my promise. Once I get my inheritance I'll look for you. I need you. I can't live without you...."
The world tilted. His eyelids heavy. His eyelids closing and opening until they were fully closed with heavy black atmosphere.
He just wish she was their when he opened his eyes. Even in his sleep he looked for her. Her warmth.