August 17 (Saturday)
12:09 PM.
The battlefield shifted from Room 406 to the ground floor.
The Cafeteria.
At a crowded table near the center, the Circle of Friends had already secured their base. Ivyn, Mona, Cicille, Niewi, Mira, and Cosma were settling in, unpacking their bags and preparing for the midday feast.
Since Jiro strategically left his heavy glassware lunch box at home to survive the Raging Road commute earlier, his HP was currently running low. He needed sustenance for the upcoming vlog quest.
Leaving the girls at the table, he marched toward the cafeteria shelves, his eyes scanning the options like a hawk.
Target acquired.
He grabbed a sealed cup of instant noodles. The classic college survival ration. He ripped off the outer plastic cover, then carefully peeled back the foil cup seal just enough to let the water in.
He approached the communal water dispenser. He checked the machine's status—the lights were on, and the thick black cord was definitely plugged into the wall socket.
System operational. Let's go.
He positioned his cup under the red nozzle and pushed the hot water section.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhh.
The sound of water filling the cup was satisfying. But as the liquid level rose and he held the paper cup with his bare hands, his spider senses suddenly tingled. Something was terribly wrong.
He tapped the side of the cup.
Wait. Oh, it is warm... why is it not HOT??
Jiro stared at the dispenser in betrayal. He quickly pressed the foil seal back down, hoping to trap whatever pathetic, lukewarm heat was inside the cup.
Ughh. A critical failure.
He turned around and headed to the payment counter to finalize the transaction.
The queue was... well, calling it a queue was a compliment to organized society. There was no clean line. It was just a messy, overlapping blob of hungry college students shoving their money forward like a zombie horde.
Using his agile, 17-year-old frame, Jiro managed to squeeze his way to the front. He slammed his warm-covered noodles firmly on the counter.
Luckily, the staff woman caught his ninja move.
"Ay, what is yours?" she asked, looking over the chaotic crowd.
Jiro simply pointed a finger at his sad cup of noodles.
"Okay, that is 30," the staff said.
Jiro pulled out a crisp 50-peso bill and handed it over.
As the staff turned away to the cash register, Jiro stood at the counter, his internal monologue kicking into overdrive.
Should I tell her? Should I report that the water dispenser is a traitor and not working well? He glanced at the messy horde of students pushing behind him, then back at the stressed cafeteria workers.
Nah, nah. That would be a complete waste of time. It is too busy right now. I wouldn't distract them with minor technical difficulties in the middle of a lunch rush.
He looked down at his lukewarm cup of noodles.
And oh, my noodles are not that hot. Is that fine? Will the noodles even soften, or will I be eating crunchy wires? Maybe, I'll just eat it whatever... I will just accept my fate. He sighed deeply.
Plus, I don't even have rice today. A true tragedy.
The staff woman suddenly reappeared, cutting off his dramatic internal plotting.
"Oh, here is the change," she said, dropping a solid 20-peso coin into his palm.
Jiro nodded his thanks. He pocketed the heavy coin, grabbed his cup, and executed a swift dodge maneuver, weaving through the messy queue with expert precision.
He successfully escaped the crowd and navigated his way back to his COF's table.
As soon as he sat down at his designated spot, Mira's radar locked onto his meal.
"Uy, Jiro, how much is that?" Mira asked, pointing her spoon at the sealed cup.
"Thirty," Jiro replied casually.
"Ohhh oh," Mira reacted, nodding at the price.
Jiro stared at the cup, a cynical smirk forming on his face. "But it is not even hot, eh," he revealed, letting out a dry laugh. "Hahahaha. It looks so cold."
The Circle of Friends instantly rallied to his defense.
"Hala! You should have told the staff at the counter!" Niewi exclaimed, looking offended on his behalf.
"Ay true! You should have complained!" Ivyn backed her up.
"Yeah, they need to fix that," Mira added.
Jiro just waved a hand, dismissing their battle cries. "Ay, just let it be. I will just eat this whatever happens."
Mira squinted at the cup, throwing a final piece of motherly advice. "Are you sure the noodles are cooked, ah?"
"This is fine," Jiro insisted.
He peeled back the foil cover once again to assess the damage.
Status check. The noodles were sitting there in the lukewarm broth. It was, as expected, barely cooked.
And then, a second realization hit him like a critical strike.
Wait.
How do I eat this?
He forgot his weapon. The fork.
"Ay," Jiro sighed, standing up from the bench. "Guys, just watch my noodles for a bit, ah."
He pressed the foil seal back down to preserve the pathetic 1% heat remaining inside. He marched back to the chaotic counter queue. He dodged and weaved, skipping the line slightly just to catch the attention of the same woman staff member.
"Uh, Miss, can I get a fork po?" he asked.
The staff spotted him, nodded quickly, and handed him a white plastic fork.
"Thanks," Jiro muttered.
He retreated from the frontline and headed back to his chair. But as he looked at the factory-issued plastic fork in his hand, his Shonen-level hygiene protocols activated.
Wait. Something is forgotten.
This fork must be... hmm... let me wash it first.
He abruptly turned around and walked out of the cafeteria entirely. Just beside the main entrance door, there was a communal sink.
He turned on the faucet. First, he washed his hands thoroughly. Then, he scrubbed the plastic fork under the running water, shaking off the excess drops.
I just want clean stuff before eating. Survival rule number one.
With his hands and weapon purified, Jiro returned to his seat for the final showdown.
He opened the cover once and for all. He stirred the sad, pale noodles with his freshly washed fork, trying to loosen the stiff block. He twirled a portion and took a bite.
Crunch? No.
Soft? Definitely no.
It was barely cooked. It was right in the middle—not too hard or crunchy as he had feared, but absolutely not soft. A chewy, lukewarm compromise of reality.
This is fine, Jiro thought, chewing rhythmically.
Mira watched him eat the sad cup of noodles with a mix of pity and concern.
"Uy, won't you eat rice?" Mira asked, looking at his pure carbohydrate-on-carbohydrate meal.
Jiro shook his head, swallowing. "Ay, it is just okay."
"Hala, you might get hungry later with just that!" Mira followed up, warning him of the impending afternoon crash.
"Nah, it is fine," Jiro dismissed it again with a wave of his fork.
He continued eating the barely cooked instant noodles in peace, letting the chatter of the COF wash over him.
Lunch break wrapped up smoothly. The girls finished their meals, their chika sessions, and their retouching. It was time to return to the high ground.
"Tara, let's go up now," Niewi suggested.
They stood up to leave. Jiro packed his minimal inventory: he grabbed his heavy insulated tumbler, shoved his wallet into his pocket, and secured his phone. As they walked out of the cafeteria, he tossed the empty, lukewarm noodle cup into the large trash bin outside the entrance.
Quest complete. HP partially restored.
Now, it was time to climb back up to Room 406.
12:24 PM.
They arrived at the fourth floor. Room 406 was buzzing with post-lunch lethargy.
Jiro shifted from survival mode into squad leader mode. Group Falcon, assemble.
He surveyed the room to locate his members.
On the left side of the room, Nica and Mekayla were huddled together with their own extended COF—Cristel, Rechele, Zherel, and Tiffany. They had arranged their armchairs into a tight circle and were still actively eating their lunch, laughing and chatting.
Jiro approached them. "Uy, guys, let's begin the vlog activity now," he announced.
Nica looked up, her mouth still half-full. "Yah, just wait, we are almost done," she responded, gesturing to her container. Mekayla nodded in agreement.
"Okay," Jiro nodded.
He pivoted and crossed to the other side of the room. There, Windy was deep in conversation with Princess Cleria and Aprille Bolente.
"Uy, Windy, vlog shooting," Jiro called out.
Windy turned around, flashing an apologetic smile. "Go, go, wait please ah."
Okay, that's three members secured. Just waiting on the cooldown timers.
Jiro scanned the room one more time. Wait. Where is the Treasurer?
Lindsey was nowhere to be found.
He pulled out his phone and tapped into their MMW group chat. He wasn't the only one looking.
Lindsey Soliko: "Where are you guys na?"
It seemed she was still stranded downstairs, lost in the post-lunch shuffle.
Windy Viyago: "Here in the room."
Shortly after the digital beacon was lit, Lindsey emerged from the doorway, slightly breathless from the stairs, and entered the room.
Jiro peeked out into the hallway and looked down over the balcony railing. Below, in the open grounds and corridors, he could see other groups from BEEd 1-A already running around, holding phones, striking poses, and shooting their own VMV videos.
The competition has already started.
He walked back into the room, standing at the front to command the attention of Group Falcon.
"Okay, listen up," Jiro announced, his strategist aura flaring. "Strategy meeting. We will shoot our scenes here on the fourth floor first. Hallway and inside the rooms. So that we only go down once later for the ground shots."
He checked his watch. The final boss of the day was looming.
"And we have to finish the whole activity before Mr. Casto arrives. Our PE 1 professor comes at 2:00 PM. So we only have one and a half hours. Let's move!"
With the urgency successfully installed in their brains, Jiro successfully corralled Windy, Niewi, Nica, Mekayla, and Lindsey. The six members of Group Falcon finally gathered in the hallway outside Room 406.
Phase 1: Logistics and Equipment Check.
"Okay," Jiro started, taking inventory. "Whose cellphone are we going to use for the main video? And we need another phone and earphones for the voice recordings."
The group stared at him. Then, the excuses rolled in like clockwork.
"Ay, I am full storage na eh," Lindsey grimaced, showing her phone screen. "No space for videos."
"My camera is blurry po," Nica offered apologetically.
"Mine too, not that good for vlogs," Windy added.
Mekayla shook her head immediately. "Pass, guys. It is not allowed for mine."
Jiro sighed. The classic group project dilemma. No one wants to risk their tech.
"Fine," Jiro conceded. "I'll provide my phone and my earphones for the voice recorder. But I cannot do the video. My battery won't survive."
The group looked around, waiting for a savior.
"Okay, fine, just use my phone," Niewi finally volunteered, pulling out her device. "Even though it's a bit of an old model and it's almost full storage, the camera quality is still really good. I'll give it a go."
MVP acquired.
"Nice," Jiro nodded. "Okay, let's start shooting."
They stood in the hallway, looking at the long, copied text of the KSU Vision, Mission, and Core Values on their phones.
"Wait, Jiro," Mekayla asked, looking up from the script. "What kind of acting or execution should we do?"
The Director Mode switched on.
"For the Vision," Jiro instructed, "we shouldn't shoot it here. The Vision is the ultimate goal, so we shoot that outside the campus, right at the campus gate. And it has to be synchronized. In unison, not one by one. It looks more powerful that way."
The group nodded, impressed by the immediate vision. "Oumm, true. Good idea."
"Okay, so for here on the fourth floor, we clear the Mission and Values," Jiro explained.
They got to work. First up: The Values.
They found Room 407 completely empty. It was the perfect soundstage. They marched inside, moved the armchairs out of the way, and set up a tactical formation in the center of the room. They performed the Core Values with coordinated poses and line deliveries, feeling slightly ridiculous but fully committed to the Shonen energy of the project.
Next: The Mission.
"For the Mission," Jiro directed as they moved back out into the hallway, "it's too long to say together. So we chop it up. Different people will present different phrases to the camera."
They began shooting in the corridor. It was a chaotic masterpiece of jump cuts. One by one, they popped into the frame, delivering fragments of the academic text.
Just dropping random words for a video activity.
"To foster..." Nica said to the lens. "Advanced instruction..." Windy followed up. "In sustainable, research..." Lindsey added.
It was exactly what the chapter title implied: just a rapid-fire sequence of random, deep English words being thrown at Niewi's camera while students walked past them in the background.
By 1:20 PM, Jiro called cut on the upper floor sequences.
"Okay, fourth floor cleared," Jiro announced. "Let's go down for the Vision and our Intro."
They navigated the stairs down to the ground floor and walked out to the campus facade.
When they stepped outside, the weather had surprisingly cooperated. It was a gloomy day—thick, gray clouds completely covered the sun. There was no heatwave, no blinding glare.
Weather buff activated.
Before setting up their shot, they approached the small guardhouse at the gate.
"Excuse me po, Kuya Guard," Lindsey asked politely. "Can we shoot a video activity just here in front of the gate?"
The guard looked at them, recognized the blue uniforms, and nodded. "Okay, go ahead. Just don't block the actual entrance."
"Thank you po!"
They moved to the outer wall of the KSU campus, right beside the metal gates. There was a long, concrete plant box there. It was the perfect makeshift stage.
"Lindsey, you hold the phone for this one," Jiro assigned the roles.
Lindsey took Niewi's phone and stepped back to frame the shot. Jiro, Niewi, Nica, Windy, and Mekayla sat in a line on the edge of the concrete plant box.
"Okay, we recite the Vision together," Jiro reminded them. "But Meka, on the last line, you stand up and walk toward the camera to give it some dynamic movement."
"Got it," Mekayla nodded, getting into position.
"Okay. One, two, three. Go!" Lindsey called out.
They recited the lines in unison. Their voices blended perfectly with the gloomy aesthetic of the campus gates. As they hit the climax of the text, Mekayla smoothly stood up from the plant box and stepped directly toward the lens, delivering the final words with dramatic flair.
"Stop!" Lindsey laughed. "Wait, one more. Don't laugh guys."
It took them about three takes to get the perfect run without any sudden laughter or stuttering.
"Okay, Vision is done!" Windy cheered.
"Last part: The Intro," Jiro said, shifting into full cinematography mode. "The intro should be us literally entering the campus building."
He positioned Lindsey with the camera.
"Lindsey, the shot we need is a mid-shot, but a tilt-down," Jiro taught her, physically guiding her hands. "Start by pointing the camera up at the top of the KSU building. Then, very slowly, tilt the phone down until you catch us walking into the frame towards the entrance."
"Ah, okay! Like a movie," Lindsey grinned, adjusting her stance.
"Exactly. Let's start!"
Lindsey pointed the phone high, capturing the white and blue facade, then smoothly panned down to reveal Group Falcon confidently striding toward the hallways. It was pure anime opening energy.
"Nice!" Lindsey confirmed.
"Okay, second montage for the intro," Jiro continued, not wasting a second.
He took Niewi's phone from Lindsey and walked over to the ground floor hallway corridor. He crouched down and placed the phone directly on the floor, leaning it against the bottom of the handrail to get a drastic low-angle shot.
"This is for the footsteps," Jiro explained. "Just our shoes walking past the camera. It sets the mood."
"So aesthetic," Windy giggled.
"Okay, walk past... now!"
They walked past the camera. But just as they did, a group of upperclassmen strolled through the hallway, their feet mixing into the frame.
"Ay, wait, retake!" Jiro groaned, picking up the phone. "We got extra feet."
They had to reset and wait for the hallway traffic to clear. They did the footstep montage a few more times, battling the unpredictable spawn rate of random students passing by.
Finally, Jiro checked the footage. The tilt-down was smooth. The footstep montage was clean. The audio recordings on his phone were loud and clear.
He checked his watch. 1:52 PM.
"Cut! It is a wrap!" Jiro announced, handing Niewi her phone back. "We got everything."
"Whooo! Finally!" Nica cheered, stretching her arms.
"That was actually fun," Mekayla smiled.
"Alright, let's go back up to the room," Jiro said, letting out a long exhale. "We need to rest and prepare. Mr. Casto is coming at 2 PM for PE 1."
With the vlog quest officially completed and safely stored on Niewi's old model phone, Group Falcon turned around and began their final ascent.
They stood at the foot of the stairs. The bold, red letters stared back at them: DOWN ONLY.
Jiro smirked. Rules are just suggestions during rush hour.
"Let's go," he muttered.
They bypassed the legal route and hiked up the forbidden staircase once again. It was the ultimate leg day torture. First floor. Second floor. Third floor. By the time they reached the Fourth Floor, their chaotic energy was entirely depleted, replaced by heavy panting and sweaty foreheads.
They dragged their bodies into Room 406.
They immediately collapsed into their looted armchairs, taking out their mini fans, wiping their sweat, and trying to fix their disheveled hair. It was time to rest and recover HP before their PE 1 professor arrived.
As Jiro sat there, letting the artificial breeze of his mini fan cool him down, his tactical radar swept the room.
He noticed the empty seats.
Wait. The battlefield is only half-full. He looked around. The elite faction—President Hidy and her group—were nowhere to be seen. A bunch of other classmates were also missing in action.
Ah, Jiro realized. They are still out there. Trapped in the VMV vlog quest. Group Falcon had speed-run the activity, but the others were clearly still battling the elements outside.
2:03 PM.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway. Not the chaotic shuffling of students, but the measured, confident steps of an adult.
A figure stepped through the doorway.
It was their PE 1 professor, Mr. Edwardo Casto.
Jiro observed him instantly. Character unlocked. Mr. Casto looked like a genuinely friendly guy. He had very distinct, handsome Filipino features, probably in his early 30s. As expected of a physical education instructor, he was visibly fit, wearing casual attire, standing at a perfectly average, solid height of 172 cm. He radiated the aura of a cool, athletic mentor.
But right now, the cool mentor was entirely distracted.
He walked into the room with his head down, his eyes completely glued to the screen of his cellphone. His thumbs were tapping away rapidly.
He stopped near the teacher's table, still not looking up from his phone, and asked the room casually.
"Uh, are you all complete now?" Mr. Casto asked.
The sparse BEEd 1-A cohort looked at each other.
"Ay, not yet po, Sir," a few students responded from the front row. "There are still others missing. Especially Pres Hidy and the other groups po. They are still shooting their videos outside eh."
Mr. Casto finally paused his typing and looked up, nodding in understanding.
"Ay, alright," he said, flashing a quick, easygoing smile. "Let's wait for them for a bit. I am still talking to someone on the phone eh. I will just stay outside the room ah."
He turned right around and stepped back out into the hallway.
Jiro watched from his seat in the second row as the fit professor leaned casually against the open corridor fence. He rested his arms comfortably on top of the concrete railings while holding his phone, completely engrossed in his call, perfectly content to chill while the rest of the class scrambled.
A chill prof? Nice. Threat level: Low.
But while Jiro was analyzing the professor's chill vibes, someone else in the room was executing a tactical maneuver.
At the back of the room, Reo Bairo—the 29-year-old veteran of life and current SGT/Peace Officer 2—went into full reconnaissance mode.
She stood up slightly from her seat, raising her smartphone. From her vantage point, she had a clear line of sight through the windows. She perfectly framed the back of Mr. Casto as he leaned against the corridor fence.
Click.
Stealth photo acquired.
Reo immediately opened the KSU Taytay BEED 1-A main group chat. She attached the photo of the professor's back and fired off the warning flare.
Reo Bairo: "We have a prof now, guys!"
To ensure maximum panic, she didn't just drop the message. She went for the direct hit.
Reo Bairo: "@Hidy Medona"
Jiro saw his phone light up on his desk. He tapped the screen, saw the photo, and a slow, anticipating smirk spread across his face.
The beacon is lit. The professor is waiting. Somewhere out there on the sweltering campus grounds, the President and the remaining groups were about to experience the true, terrifying meaning of a rush hour. Let the panic begin.
END OF THE RANDOM WORDS