JAY'S POV — Morning Chaos Level: Upgraded
Nope.
Not today.
Not again.
I forced the fakest smile known to mankind.
"Kuya, please… let me eat first."
Angelo squinted at me like he was inspecting a forged passport.
Aries just shrugged and said, "Breakfast makes her tell the truth, maybe."
Angelo nodded.
Stella kicked Aries under the table.
Aries glared at her.
Stella glared back harder.
And in the middle of this unholy staring contest—
Tita Gema walked in holding a tray of pandesal.
"Good morning, children! Why does Jay look like she escaped prison?"
I choked on air.
Angelo opened his mouth—probably to interrogate me again—
But then—
DING DONG.
Everyone froze.
Angelo frowned.
"Who's delivering something this early?"
Tita Gema went to the door and came back with—
Two parcels.
One with a Harvard seal.
One with Manila University's crest.
My heart stopped.
Stella gasped.
Angelo blinked.
Aries sat up straighter.
Tita Gema read the labels.
"One is for Jay… and one is for Aries."
She handed them over.
Silence.
Actual silence.
My fingers shook as I opened mine.
I hadn't told them.
I applied quietly.
Just to try.
Just because… maybe law wasn't as impossible as I thought.
Aries ripped his open first.
And his eyes widened.
"Tangina," he whispered. "I got in. Manila Uni. Business program."
Tita Gema screamed. "AY PUT— LORD, THANK YOU!"
She hugged him like he just won Miss Universe.
Stella clapped loudly, cheering.
Angelo grinned proudly.
"Good job, Aries..!"
Aries fist-bumped him, trying to hide his smile.
Then—
Everyone looked at me.
My unopened envelope.
My shaking hands.
Stella whispered, "Open it… go."
I swallowed.
And tore it open.
The words hit me like a dream I didn't know I was allowed to have:
"Congratulations…
You have been accepted into Harvard University's Dual Program:Business Management & Law with full scholarship and living expenses paid.."
I froze.
Stella slapped both hands over her mouth.
Tita Gema gasped like she saw Jesus descend.
Aries choked on his coffee. "WHAT—"
And Angelo—
Angelo stood.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
"Jay…" he whispered.
"Law? Harvard? Business? YOU—WHEN DID YOU—HOW—WHEN—WHY—WHAT—"
He malfunctioned.
Fully.
I swallowed.
"I applied… secretly."
"SECRETLY?" he exploded.
"You applied to HARVARD in SECRET?!"
"I didn't think I'd get in—"
"You DIDN'T THINK YOU'D GET IN?" he yelled. "YOU? YOU—THE ONE WHO DID ACCOUNTING WORKSHEETS FOR FUN—"
Stella snorted.
He whirled to her.
"You knew?"
Stella raised both hands.
"I'm innocent—this time."
Angelo turned back to me, still stunned.
"You… applied for law?"
I nodded.
"I… wanted it. But I wasn't sure. And I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up. So… I tried quietly."
He didn't speak.
He just stared.
Then he pulled me into the tightest hug.
"Jay," he said softly.
"You deserve this. All of it."
My chest tightened.
Aries came over next, hugging me from the other side.
Tita Gema joined, crying as usual.
Stella wiped fake tears.
"I raised you well," she sniffed dramatically. "Kind of."
Then Angelo pulled back, serious again.
"Jay."
Oh no.
Here it comes.
"That's amazing," he said gently. "But now you REALLY need to tell me why you were limping this morning—"
"OH MY GOD," I screamed.
Stella burst into laughter so loud Tita Gema dropped her spoon.
Aries nearly spit out his coffee.
Angelo narrowed his eyes.
"Harvard girl. Talk."
I backed away.
Stella backed away with me.
Angelo stepped forward.
Aries whispered, "RUN."
I grabbed my acceptance letter.
And I ran for my life.
Badly.
Very badly.
Because my legs still hated me.
And of course—
Angelo yelled behind me like a furious dad:
"JAY FERNANDEZ MARIANO, HARVARD DOES NOT EXEMPT YOU FROM EXPLAINING WHY YOU'RE WALKING LIKE THAT!"
Stella screamed-laughed into the couch.
And I swore loudly.
Because somewhere out there…
Keifer Watson
was probably drinking coffee
completely unaware that he was the REASON I looked like a newborn deer on ice.
I slammed my bedroom door shut behind me, panting like I'd just escaped a pack of wolves.
Aka:
Angelo.
My acceptance letter was clutched to my chest like a holy artifact. I slid down to the floor and covered my burning face.
HARVARD.
HAR. VARD.
And a dual program.
And a scholarship.
What is my life?!
Before I could even process it, my phone BUZZED BUZZED BUZZED like it was having a seizure.
Section E Groupchat was EXPLODING.
100+ new messages.
Oh no.
I opened it—
And the first message I saw was:
Drew: GUYSSS CHECK UR MAILS
Calix: BRO I GOT IN
Cin: WAAAAAAH UPDATES NOW
Yuri:I got in the Japan university?!
Felix: Eman restaurant later? CELEBRATION??
Rory: YES. 7 PM. BE THERE OR BE A FAILING STUDENT.
My eyes widened.
OH CRAP.
THEY were celebrating.
THEM.
NOT ME.
And I can't even lie because EVERYONE got results today.
If they see mine…
I'm dead.
A new message popped in:
Yuri: Jay? You quiet.
Cin: Jay what'd you get?
Josh: Girl?? Update?
Edrix: Don't tell me you didn't apply anywhere
David: Jay, answer or I'm calling you.
Keifer:Jay did you get in?
I swallowed.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Stella barged in without knocking.
"HEY—why are you hiding—OH MY GOD YOU'RE STILL ON THE FLOOR—ANYWAY—WHAT'S WRONG?"
I shoved the phone at her.
Her eyes widened.
"Ooop. Groupchat interrogation."
I whispered, terrified:
"I CAN'T TELL THEM, STELLA. THEY'LL FREAK OUT. AND THE RUMORS—AND THE QUESTIONS—AND WHAT IF THEY THINK I'M BRAGGING—AND—"
She slapped a hand over my mouth.
"Jay. Relax. You're not telling them. Period."
I nodded rapidly.
She grinned like she was plotting a heist.
"Text them something simple. Play it cool. Neutral. Something that says 'I exist' but reveals NOTHING."
She grabbed my phone, typed, and handed it back.
Jay: Still opening the envelopes guys. ✌️ I'll update later.
Immediately—
Cin: OMG GOOD LUCK
Felix: GANBATTE
Percy: Tell us agad ah
Rory: See you at 7
Yuri: Don't hide anything later
David: We're celebrating ALL results.
My stomach died.
Stella snorted. "Good luck not walking weird by 7 pm."
"STELLA."
She dragged me up from the floor.
"Don't worry, bestie. Just avoid Angelo, avoid Aries, avoid Keifer, avoid Section E—"
"That's literally EVERYONE."
"Exactly. Good luck!"
I groaned into my hands.
Great.
Amazing.
Fantastic.
Now I have:
a Harvard acceptance
a full scholarship
a suspicious kuya
a friend group wanting answers
a body still recovering from Keifer Watson
a dinner later where EVERYONE will probably ask me what school I got into
And the worst part?
My phone buzzed again.
A private message.
From Keifer.
Keifer: Good morning, sunshine. Legs still shaking?
I screamed into Stella's pillow.
She screamed with me.
Tonight was going to be hell.
And the day had only just started.
DOWNSTAIRS — Angelo's POV (AKA THE WORST WAY TO FIND OUT)
Angelo decided to "clean the kitchen," which actually meant "pace around and monologue like he was solving a murder."
Aries watched him while eating pandesal.
"Kuya, relax—"
"NO. I will NOT relax," Angelo snapped, dramatically pointing at the ceiling like I was floating above it. "Jay is hiding something. Something BIG. Something PHYSICALLY noticeable."
Aries snorted. "You mean her limp?"
Angelo glared. "YES. THAT. DID SHE FALL? WAS SHE IN A FIGHT? DID SOMEONE HURT HER? DID SHE DO PARKOUR AGAIN? WHAT—"
DING.
His phone lit up.
Angelo looked at it.
Then frowned.
Then squinted.
Then slowly turned the phone to Aries.
It was a photo.
Sent by Percy.
A group selfie from last night at the event Apparently after they had left.. Section E photobombing. Jay. And Keifer… standing WAY too close behind her.
Angelo froze.
Aries froze.
Angelo zoomed in.
Keifer staring at Jay like she hung the moon. Jay staring in another direction like she was PRETENDING NOTHING WAS HAPPENING.
Angelo inhaled sharply.
"Aries."
"Yes?"
"Is that…?"
"Yes."
"That is—?"
"Yes."
Angelo stared blankly into nothing.
Then whispered:
"...WATSON."
Aries nodded sympathetically.
Angelo's face slowly morphed into pure, unfiltered, older-brother rage.
"My sister. Was with him. Last night."
Aries: "Yep."
"And she limped home."
Aries: "Yep."
Angelo closed his eyes.
Took a deep breath.
And said the most terrifying sentence in existence:
"I'm going to kill him."
JAY'S POV — PREPARING FOR CERTAIN DEATH
By 6:20 PM, I had taken:
one shower
two painkillers
eight minutes convincing myself I could walk normally
zero minutes convincing myself I wasn't going to hell
Stella sat on my bed, watching me get ready like I was a contestant on "Who Wants To Survive Tonight."
"You look good," she said.
"You look alive."
"You look like you can walk without limping—"
I took one step.
She winced.
"—okay maybe not alive."
I threw a hairbrush at her.
My phone buzzed.
Keifer: Do NOT wear a skirt.
Your legs might give out.
I screamed internally.
Stella cackled.
"You're doomed."
---
DOWNSTAIRS — Angelo's Rage Aura Is Visible
I took a deep breath and started walking downstairs.
Carefully.
Slowly.
Like a wounded Disney princess.
Angelo was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
Arms crossed.
Zero expression.
The calm before a nuclear explosion.
Aries was beside him eating a cookie like he was watching a telenovela.
I reached the last step.
Angelo didn't speak.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe.
Then he said, very quietly:
"Jay."
My heart shut down.
"Yes… kuya…?"
He looked at me like he already knew the crime, the motive, and the murderer.
"I know."
…
OH
MY
GOD.
I froze.
Stella froze.
Aries froze mid-chew.
Everything froze.
Angelo continued, voice soft and terrifying:
"I know who you were with last night."
I swallowed hard.
"I—uh—who—"
He lifted his phone.
A picture.
THE picture.
Jay.
Section E.
And behind me…
Keifer Watson standing MUCH too close.
I died.
I literally died and resurrected.
Angelo looked at the photo, then at me.
"You didn't even try to hide it," he said in disbelief.
"You didn't even move away."
"You stood there like it was NORMAL."
"Kuya—" I croaked.
"Jay," he cut me off, "you know I'm not stupid."
Silence.
Pure, deadly silence.
Then—
He exhaled sharply.
"Just… be careful."
…
WHAT???
I blinked.
"Wait—what?"
Angelo rubbed his forehead.
"I can't control who you like… or who likes you."
I blinked harder.
"You're not… gonna kill him?"
"Oh I AM."
He glared.
"But later."
"Right now… you're going out."
He stepped aside.
"Go. Your friends are waiting."
I stared at him.
Suspicious.
Confused.
Still alive??
He walked past me and whispered:
"But Jay… if you come home limping again—
I don't need a picture.
I'll know."
STELLA SPIT OUT HER WATER.
I ran out of the house as fast as my traitor legs could handle..