Jay-jay's POV
Pick-up and drop-off! Over my bald head will I agree to pick-up and drop-off. As if I'd ever follow that, Kuya. Yes, I'm scared of him, but… damn! I'm a rebel, man!
We were already in our last class for the day. I managed to survive without making much contact with the Ulupong—except, of course, with the person sitting next to me.
"Time to go home!" he shouted loudly, louder than the school bell itself. "…Let's eat ice cream."
"I don't want to," I replied quickly while fixing my things.
Ci's shoulders drooped, but he forced a smile at me. "Come on…"
"I don't want to."
"Please…"
"Ci-N," I called his name, and he turned serious toward me. "…I don't want to. Please understand the word 'don't want'."
I didn't wait to hear what he was going to say. I walked out of the room and kept going without stopping, even though I could still hear them calling out to me. I had no intention of letting Yuri give me a ride.
I quickened my pace, and when I reached the school gate, I saw the familiar car of my annoying stepbrother. I ran over and knocked hard on the window.
"Wazzup?!" he greeted me, his eyebrows going up and down.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Picking up Felix. Why?"
I thought it was me… Ouch!
"Nothing. Just asking," I replied lifelessly.
Suddenly, he flashed a wide grin. "You missed me, didn't you?"
This one's got some nerve. Solid rock! Hardcore to the max. I grimaced at his words.
"You wish," I mumbled loud enough for him to hear.
His phone rang, and he turned his attention to it. He tapped on it for a bit before facing me again.
"Well, it's your lucky day," he said as he slipped the phone into his pocket. "…Felix won't be riding along. They've got a meeting. Get in!"
A meeting?
The Ulupong have a meeting. They're probably going to talk about something again. Hopefully not about me.
I got into Percy's car and settled into the passenger seat. I buckled my seatbelt as he started driving, singing as he kept his eyes on the road.
"🎶I'm so handsome! So handsome! I'm the most handsome of them all!🎶" he rapped.
I felt like opening the car door while it was moving and just jumping out for fun. He was starting with his nonsense again. And mind you—he wasn't even drunk.
That's just him normally... Normal!
The car stopped at a red light. He kept on rapping. I tried to divert my attention because I was starting to get annoyed.
I looked at a group of teenagers walking by. They were holding skateboards and wearing helmets. They were laughing and teasing each other, and one of them even rode the skateboard for a bit.
"Do you want to try that?" Percy asked me.
I hadn't realized he was also looking at what I was looking at. He had already started driving again, but my attention was still on the kids.
"I want to try," I said.
I thought he hadn't heard me because he kept driving and didn't reply. I turned to him, about to repeat what I said, but I stopped when I noticed he seemed to be looking for something along the road.
"Where is it? It should be around here," he muttered.
I looked around too, but all I could see were different establishments—clothing stores, shoe shops, and even a spa with a salon. Then he finally stopped the car in front of a bike shop.
The bikes were beautiful!
"Let's go!" Percy urged me.
He got out of the car, and I did the same. I first took a moment to admire the bikes displayed outside before entering the shop.
It was a large store filled with branded bike and motorcycle parts. But it seemed they didn't just sell bikes—there was an entire wall dedicated to skateboards.
"Cool..." I said with a smile.
They seemed to have every type imaginable. They also had helmets and protective gear for knees and elbows.
"What are you looking for?" a man asked me.
He looked like one of the salesmen—he even had a name tag pinned to the left side of his chest.
Percy answered him. "A skateboard for a first-timer."
"For you, sir?" the salesman asked.
"No. For my tomboy sister," Percy replied seriously.
I shot him an annoyed look. He'd been like that for a while now, saying all sorts of things. He even keeps saying I'm actually a guy.
Transginger bro, transginger.
The man just laughed. The two of them talked about what things I should get. I was listening at first—then I noticed a pair of roller blades, for kids and adults alike.
They kept talking, and since I couldn't understand half of what they were saying anymore, I decided to just look around at the bikes on display.
I couldn't help but be amazed. The models here were much better than the ones from the shop where I bought before. If only I had known there was a place like this, I would've bought from here instead.
Bike lover vibes…
As I kept looking around, I started to feel something strange. It was as if someone was watching me—observing me. I looked around, and I wasn't wrong.
Three guys were staring at me. One had blond hair, another had brown hair, and the smallest one had black hair. They were whispering to each other and smirking, as if teasing.
What's their problem?
I was about to go back to Percy when I happened to glance at the glass wall of the shop in front of me. You could see the parked vehicles through it—and I clearly saw the big motorcycles that had chased me before.
I looked back at the guys who had been staring at me earlier. That's when I noticed the black jackets they were wearing—the same ones worn by the riders of those motorcycles.
Shit! It's them… They're the same jerks who chased me!
I quickly went back to Percy. He was already at the counter, paying. The man we had talked to earlier handed him four large paper bags.
"I picked everything out myself... You suddenly disappeared," he said as I approached.
I took a deep breath and briefly glanced back at the guys, but I couldn't see them anymore.
"I-It's okay... S-should we go now?"
I saw the confusion on his face, but he chose to hide it and brush it off.
"Just the receipt," he said, turning back to the cashier. "Where do I sign?"
He signed something, then the man handed him the receipt along with his credit card. He took the paper bags and handed them to me.
"I paid. You carry them," he said, then walked ahead.
"Such a gentleman! Wow!" I said sarcastically.
He just laughed. When we stepped out of the store, the motorcycles were gone. The guys must have already left.
What could they possibly want from me?
I placed the shopping bags in the backseat of the car. What puzzled me was how much he had bought. I got in right after fixing everything.
"So where are we going?" I asked Percy.
"To the park," he replied quickly and started the car.
The drive was short since the park wasn't far from the store at all. The strange thing about this park was that it was all concrete—no grass. There were trees, but only around the edges.The ground wasn't flat; there were ups and downs, curves, and even small hill-like structures with flat tops. What really caught my full attention was the center. There was a large bowl-shaped pit.The skateboarders would slide down into it, then pop up on the opposite side going upward. So cool!
"Put this on," Percy said as he handed me the helmet.
I did as told. He also passed me the protective gear for my knees and elbows. And lastly, the skateboard.
"Do I look cool now?" I asked.
"Do you need a ref to be cool?" he asked sarcastically.
The excitement I was feeling vanished and was replaced by annoyance. This guy I'm with is such a pain!
As if only refs can be cool?!
He was cleaning up the trash and plastic wrappers he'd removed. While he was doing that, I decided to take out my phone and take a picture.
"You can take pictures later," Percy said boredly. "Let's go."
Such a killjoy!
We started walking toward the people skateboarding. Instead of going near the crowd, I chose to position myself in a corner. I felt shy because I'm not good at it at all.
"Are we really starting here?" Percy asked while dusting off a bench with his hand.
"Here for now... I'm shy," I said as I set the skateboard down.
I stepped on it with one foot. I watched the experienced skaters first, copying what they were doing.
They push it with one foot while the other foot is on the board. Then, once they're sure of the speed, they put both feet on.
When it slows down, they push again.
I felt nervous, but also excited.
I tried pushing off with one foot. I went slowly—I didn't realize that once you step on, it actually wobbles. I tried again, this time pushing harder and going a bit farther.
"Wrong," someone commented.
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. It was a girl! She approached me carrying her own skateboard.
"First timer?" she asked.
"Y-yeah... I'm still figuring out how to do it," I said, glancing briefly at Percy.
"Let me see," she said, referring to my skateboard.
I picked it up and handed it to her. She inspected it closely, like she really knew what she was doing.
"It's brand new... Still stiff and no scratches," she commented, then handed it back to me. "...I'll teach you some basics. I'm Rheanna Raine, by the way. You?"
"Jasper Jean, just call me Jay-jay," I replied, and we shook hands.
"Come on, let's go over to my friends so you'll have more space to practice," she invited, heading toward another group that was skateboarding.
I looked at Percy, and he just signaled for me to follow Rheanna.
I approached slowly because, honestly, I was still feeling shy."This is her..." Rheanna said to the two girls she was facing."...Jay-jay! These are Sherri Ann and Kay-kay, my friends."
They waved at me, and I waved back.
Hi Kay-kay, I'm Jay-jay.
"We'll teach you," Sherri said with a smile.
They started teaching me what to do. They even showed me the proper way to stand on the skateboard. I had more space to move around compared to earlier.
I glanced at where Percy was. He looked bored, standing there all alone. I gestured for him to come over. He didn't want to at first, but it was obvious he was getting really bored. He even had his hands in his pockets as he walked toward us.
So you ended up coming anyway...
"This is my brother—Percy," I introduced him to them.
Suddenly, Sherri's cheeks turned red as she waved at Percy. Rheanna kept elbowing Kay-kay nonstop while staring at the guy I'd just introduced.
I turned to Percy, but he didn't seem to notice the three of them. "Percy... This is Rheanna, Sherri, and Kay-kay."
Percy smiled at them, and that made the girls squeal and almost start pushing each other in excitement. I could only grimace.
Oh boy, here we go...
"Tsk! I really am handsome," I heard Percy whisper to himself.
It suddenly felt like a strong wind blew by. So strong I almost got swept away. I glared at him, but he just laughed.
We chatted with Rheanna and the others for a bit, but Percy seemed to be enjoying himself way too much. He even grabbed my phone and took pictures of me. He made me stand on the skateboard with both feet, too.
"Have you learned a lot from them?" he asked.
"A little," I answered hesitantly.
"Let's see then," he said with a mischievous smile.
All of a sudden, he pushed me hard. In my shock, I forgot everything they'd just taught me. I couldn't even remember how to stop the skateboard. I panicked even more when I realized I was heading straight toward what looked like a drop-off.
I'm going to fall!
"Jay-jay!" One of them shouted.
I just closed my eyes and felt my body hit the floor after the skateboard hit my head. Good thing I was wearing a helmet.
"Nice! This is going viral!" Percy shouted as he ran toward me.
"You still alive?"
"What happened?"
"That looked painful!"
I heard people saying as they rushed toward me. I couldn't bring myself to get up because of the embarrassment. Everyone there who was skating had seen it happen.
I wished I had just passed out.
"Jay-jay! What hurts?" Sherri asked while helping me stand up.
"Should we call an ambulance?" Kay-kay said.
When I stood up, pain shot through my back. I had fallen hard, landing on my back first. Good thing I was wearing protective gear—but even that didn't fully save me.
"It hurts..." I whispered while trying to reach for my back.
Sherri and Rheanna helped support me so I could walk and sit properly on the bench. Kay-kay carried my skateboard.
And Percy? There he was! Watching the video he'd taken, absolutely delighted. He was even slapping his thigh in amusement. We could only stare at him.
"Look at your face, Jay!" he said, turning my phone toward me. "...You look like all the blood drained from your face!"
That jerk!
In my extreme annoyance, I swatted his hand that was holding my phone. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. My phone flew through the air, hit the helmet of a guy skateboarding nearby, bounced again, smacked into a lamp post, and finally crashed onto the ground.
I thought that was the end of it, but then a skateboard rolled over it—not just one, not just two... three! It got run over three times, and the result? My phone's screen was completely shattered.
Holy cow—calabao!
I forgot all about the pain I was feeling. I rushed to my phone lying on the ground. It was dead. Totally dead. Gone.
"The screen's broken," Percy commented, now standing beside me.
And he actually had the nerve to come closer!
I glared at him and started whacking him on the head with the phone.
"You idiot! This is all your fault!" I yelled, continuing to hit him with it.
"Ow! Ow! W-wait! Hey! Stop it!"
Rheanna and I also came closer to us. Kay-kay was still holding my skateboard.
"It's already broken and you're still hitting him with it. You're just making it worse," Sherri said.
I stopped hitting Percy but I still couldn't take my eyes off him. I was about to cry because of this guy. My Highblood was going to rise for him.
"Let me see..." Kay-kay said, holding out her hand. "...maybe it can still be fixed."
I handed her my phone. She tried turning it on. It lit up for a moment, then died again. She tried once more, and it turned on again—this time staying on longer than before.
"It can still be saved... Let's take it to my brother. He can fix it," she said.
"No need! I'll just buy you a new one," Percy said.
Wow! Rich kid energy...
I immediately smacked him on the back of the head. "I don't want a new one!"
"Come on! Let's take it there... It's really close by," Kay-kay said.
I nodded at her. She and the others started walking ahead, and this crazy stepbrother of mine followed. After a short walk, we were already out of the park and had arrived at the place Kay-kay was talking about.
A Cellphone repair shop.
"Kuya!" Kay-kay called out as she put down her things.
Rheanna also put down the skateboard she was holding and sat on a long bench. Sherri went inside the shop along with Kay-kay.
A tall guy came out. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and had some grease on his face. Kay-kay talked to him and handed over my phone.
"It's just the screen… the phone still functions," he said to me.
I just nodded and let him fix my phone. It took him quite a while. Rheanna and Sherri started getting bored, so they went back to the park. Kay-kay followed them soon after, leaving just me and Percy waiting.
I took off the protective gear from my elbows and knees. I removed the helmet too. I was still glaring at this jerk with the blue eyes.
Should I just poke his eyes out?
Night had already fallen by the time Kay-kay came back—she said her friends had gone home. I was so tired from waiting that I was about to fall asleep. I was even thinking of lying down on the long bench when the guy working on it called me.
"Miss..." he said. "...Your phone screen is fixed now, but I noticed something."
I approached him curiously. He turned my phone toward me and showed me an app that I didn't recognize.
"O-T-J-101?" I read the name of the application questioningly. "What is that?"
"It looks like a virus, but it functions like a normal app. And look..." He tapped the icon to open it. "...It's asking for a password."
I couldn't remember downloading anything like this. I didn't even know what it was for. I took my phone and tried to uninstall the app, but it asked for a password again.
"Why is it like this?" I whispered to myself and tried again.
"It really looks like a virus... Do you want me to format the phone?"
I didn't know anything about this stuff. I also had no idea what it could do to my phone. I glanced briefly at Percy and could see how impatient he was getting.
I turned back to the repair guy. "M-maybe tomorrow instead. It's already late."
He nodded at me. I turned to Percy and signaled for him to pay the guy. Percy pouted as he approached and pulled out money from his wallet.
We thanked him and left.
We went back to where his car was parked. I put the skateboard in the backseat again. I was already seated next to Percy and fastening my seatbelt. I looked at my phone again—it looked brand new, freshly repaired!
"What could this be?" I asked, trying to open it.
"What is it?" Percy asked, glancing at what I was doing.
I showed him the app. He didn't react at all. He just started the car and drove off.
This Application is a big puzzle to me. It's just so powerful. I really don't know anything about this, so I don't know what to do.
"Why don't you try asking your classmate?" Percy said seriously, which surprised me.
"Why would I ask them?"
His eyes stayed on the road. "You have a classmate who is good at computers."
I thought for a moment. There was only one person I knew who was good with computers. And he's also the only one I know who had tinkered with my phone before.
Edrix Knight Peñaflor