Chapter 4 hanamitchi

Keifer's POV

She is so beautiful! I still regret the day I let her go. I

wish I had never agreed to let her transfer to

another section. I wish she was still with me—still

mine.

My fists clenched as I saw her with that man—the

one she chose instead of me. Her smile was so

bright, and it was clear she was happy to be with

him.

Every time I see them together; I want to punch

him. Aries. He stole her from me. Ella. He poisoned

her mind and convinced her to throw away

everything we had in our section.

If only you knew who you're being fought over for,

Michael Aries Fernandez, you'd regret the day you

ever set foot in this school.

Jay-Jay's POV

Hahaha!!! Here I go again! Once again, I'm heading

toward the vipers' den.

I arrived in the classroom, and as usual, nothing

much was happening. Keifer wasn't around either—

not that I cared.

My previous class had been peaceful, and I was

catching up on lessons. The "king cobra" was still

missing.

Lunchtime arrived, and I knew they'd fight me for

food again. I didn't feel like going to the cafeteria, so

I brought myself rice and a few snacks instead.

But where should I eat?

I suddenly remembered the second floor of the

building. The only problem was that the stairs were

blocked by piles of stuff.

But I had no other choice.

I left the classroom and walked toward the stairs.

There were so many things stacked up, but there

was still just enough space to climb through.

I forced my way up, pushing through the dusty air.

With every step, mosquitoes swarmed around me.

Ugh, I might even get dengue up here.

Once I reached the second floor, I peeked around to

check if anyone was there. Seeing no one, I sat on

the stairs, took out my lunch, and ate quietly. I

mulled over my lessons and—of course—wondered

why their class president hadn't been showing up.

"Hey!"

"Pffftttt—damn it!" I choked on my food in shock,

spitting it out.

I turned to see who had startled me—only to find

Keifer, the so-called president and king of cobras.

I thought he wasn't attending today!

His usual smug face was there, and apparently, he

had been hanging out on the second floor all this

time. I glared at him. "You idiot…"

"Whatever," he muttered and sat down beside me.

He glanced at my food. "…What are you eating?"

"Excuse me?!"

"Tsk. I'm just trying to be nice." He scoffed. "Here!"

He suddenly shouted at me, and I flinched.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I lowered my head.

Maybe I had been a bit rude.

"Tsk. Fried leftovers," I muttered.

Since I hadn't cooked, I just grabbed whatever

leftovers I could find—probably from breakfast or

dinner.

I was surprised when he took my spoon without

asking.

"Even if it's just leftovers… let me have some," he

said, scooping up rice and food without hesitation.

I stared at him, dumbfounded. For someone with

such an attitude, he sure ate like a normal person.

He was obviously hungry, I looked, how fast he was

eating.

When he finished, he handed my spoon back. He

had barely taken a few bites, but it was enough.

"You're really starving, huh?"

He didn't answer. I just took a few more bites

before, surprisingly, passing my food back to him.

He was stunned at first, but then he took it again.

"You're hungry too," he muttered.

And just like that, we ended up sharing food, passing

the spoon back and forth.

It was a little gross—sharing utensils and all—but at

this point, who cared? We were just two hungry

people, and food was food.

Looking at him closely, I realized Keifer had the face

of a rich kid. His skin was pale and smooth. He had

always been strong, and I noticed now that his body

was actually muscular. He even had an earring in his

right ear—it was so small I hadn't noticed it before.

Wait… is he actually… handsome?

"Quit staring at me!"

His sudden outburst snapped me back to reality.

"I-I wasn't staring at you!" I protested, my voice

high-pitched.

He smirked. "Oh? Then what were you doing?"

I felt my cheeks heat up. Why was I embarrassed

over something so stupid?!

I coughed to clear my throat, trying to shake off the

awkwardness. "W-why didn't you attend class

earlier?" I asked, changing the subject.

"No reason. Why? Did you miss me?"

My eyes widened. What the hell?!

"Huh?! As if!"

Keifer suddenly burst out laughing. For some

reason, he looked even more handsome when he

laughed.

Wait. What? No. What am I thinking?!

"W-why don't you just buy food from the cafeteria?"

I quickly asked, trying to steer the conversation in

another direction.

"We're not allowed there."

Huh? Not allowed?

"What do you mean? Since when were students

banned from the cafeteria?"

His expression darkened. "It's been a long time… We

just aren't allowed there."

Without another word, he suddenly stood up and

walked down the stairs.

"Hey! Wait!" I called after him.

But he ignored me, walking away like he hadn't

heard a thing.

I sighed, packed up my stuff, and went back

downstairs.

What was his attitude? Possessed? Bipolar?

Abnormal? The power of lightning?!

I returned to the classroom, feeling like a withered

vegetable. My classmates looked just as lifeless—like

they hadn't eaten lunch either.

I slumped into my seat, still not seeing Keifer

anywhere. Maybe he had gone home.

Just then, I remembered—I had snacks in my bag!

I pulled out my pack of chips, and in an instant, my

classmates' heads turned toward me.

"Okay, okay, here!" I sighed, grabbing another pack

and throwing it to them.

They dove for the snacks like wild animals, making

me laugh.

Felix came up to me, pouting. "You didn't save for

me?"

Feeling a little bad, I handed him a pack of Nova

chips.

Thank God my Jansport bag was big enough to hold

a lot of food.

I kept throwing snacks to my classmates until a loud

voice suddenly interrupted us.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Everyone froze.

At the doorway stood a man about Keifer's size. He

had red hair, glasses, and a gym bag slung over his

shoulder.

"Sakuragi's here!"

"That idiot! Hanamitchi!"

"Is he carrying something?!"

"Is he in a bad mood?!"

I glanced at Felix, who had a serious expression

while looking at the man at the door—Hanamichi or

Sakuragi. Wait, isn't that an anime character?

"Dear…" Felix greeted, but the man just stared at

him.

He tossed his gym bag toward one of the students,

who caught it and threw it behind them.

"Who's that?" he asked, his gaze locking onto me.

"S-sir... Jay-jay... The transferee," Felix answered

hesitantly.

The red-haired guy looked around as if searching

for someone. "Where's Keifer? Does he know about

this?"

"Oh—uh…" Felix scratched the back of his neck

awkwardly. "He was here yesterday."

"Keifer didn't do anything?!" he snapped, his tone

filled with anger. Was my presence here really that

big of a deal?

"Okay... I see," he muttered. "That explains why he

still hasn't left."

His anger was obvious. What was his problem with

me? What's so bad about me being here?

I narrowed my eyes. Scary. He reminded me of

Keifer.

I instinctively hid behind Felix.

"Who's that?" I whispered.

"The Yuri Hanamitchi. He's our classmate too," Felix

replied.

"Why is he just showing up now?"

"He was suspended… He went to the cafeteria.

We're not allowed there."

Ah, right. That whole "no cafeteria" thing again.

"But why? I don't get it."

Felix chuckled. "Sorry, Jay. That's not my story to

tell."

Great. Another mystery.

Just then, our teacher, Mrs. Zaragoza, walked in,

cutting the conversation short.

I sighed. Someday, I would figure out what the hell

was going on in this school.

"You!" he suddenly called out, pointing at me. "Why

are you still here?"

I couldn't respond. He was intimidating. His

presence gave off the same commanding aura as

Keifer's. Were they alike?

"And why are you treating my classmates like

dogs?!"

Wait—what? No, no! That's not true! I was just

sharing food with them!

"N-no, I wasn't—"

"Then what were you doing?!"

"I was just giving them food," I explained.

He turned his gaze toward our classmates.

"You've been gone for a few days," one of them

spoke up. "We always go without lunch when you're

not here."

His expression darkened. "And Keifer didn't do

anything?"

Felix sighed. "It's like you don't know him."

"Shhh," the red-haired guy muttered before walking

to the back and sitting down.

And then, as if to add more mystery to the situation,

that red-haired guy appeared in a dramatic scene,

making me want to dig deeper into whatever was

going on.

Wait… Is his hair color natural?

I wanted to ask Felix more questions, but our

teacher walked in before I could.

Mrs. Zaragoza started teaching, just like before.

After a while, she approached me and asked,

"Jay, have you chosen a section?"

The entire class fell silent. I turned to look at my

classmates. They were staring straight ahead, their

expressions unreadable but intense.

I looked back at Ma'am. "N-not yet."

"It's okay," she assured me. "But I hope you choose

one before the first grading period. It'll be difficult

to transfer you once testing begins."

"S-sure…"

Here we go again. Why do they keep trying to make

me switch sections?

Is it because I'm a woman? But then, why do the

students from Section E also want to kick me out?

Still because I'm a woman?

That's ridiculous!

I wish I were a man!

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