(Time skips to the results after jays second exams. Ci-N is not smart enough to get 100. He is capable of getting 99.8 like yuri. So, he bet on gett exactly 99.8. Not more, not less. Everything remains the same.)
JAY'S POV :
"The results are out!" someone shouted from the door
A thrill ran through me. Finally — proof. Proof that I'm not just talk. Proof that I have a brain, and it's sharper than theirs.
The crowd drifted toward the bulletin board. I followed, craning to read names. Ci‑N stood beside me, smiling the kind of grin that looked like it had been carefully practiced. Please don't give him 99.8, I thought. Please don't.
I squeezed through until I could see the posted list. Heart knocking, fingers trembling, I scanned for my name.
Jasper Jean Mariano — 100
Yes. A small, victorious laugh escaped me. I pictured Aries' smug face folding in on itself. Payback, I told myself.
Next, Ci‑N. I didn't expect to see his score, but curiosity tugged me down the column.
Ci‑N Peralta — 99.8
I blinked, checked the line above and below, and looked again. Damn. Of course he'd almost match me. Close enough to sting.
"Shooot." The word slipped out like a hiss.
Can I go home now? I thought. They're all occupied with their own numbers. No one will notice me slip away. I edged toward the door, scanning for the chance to make a clean exit.
Aries planted himself in my path. He stood with his gang just like before.
Same posture. Same curled smirk. Same confidence. Same gang clustered behind him like ugly punctuation. Same fake concern in Ella face. Except for kiko. What the fuck?! Dejavu?!
"How much?" Aries asked, like he already knew the answer would be delicious.
I crossed my arms and let the grin form I'd been waiting all morning for.
"100."
His smirk faltered. The cocky tilt of his chin lost ten degrees. Ella went slack, eyes wide with the sort of horror reserved for people who realize their plan has failed. I watched them unravel with a thin, satisfied smile.
"Wait, that's not possible. Go check her marks," Aries barked.
The gang scattered to the board. Minutes crawled. When they returned, their faces were maps of disbelief.
"She's right, bro," one said, voice small and betrayed.
The performance of sorrow was convincing. I felt nothing but a prickle of triumph.
Keifer materialized behind me as if conjured by the drama.
"What happened, Aries? Did she not get lower? Did you lose your chance to humiliate her?" he mocked.
He mimicked my stance with exaggerated folding of arms. Cute.
"You're lying. I'll go check on my own," Aries stammered, and ran back to the list.
He came back flatter than before, color gone from his face. I liked that.
"You cheated," he spat, eyes narrowing.
I chuckled, the sound sharp as glass.
"Only losers accuse others," I said. "I didn't cheat. I don't have to prove anything to your disgusting face."
Aries frowned, the expression attempting menace and failing.
"You're going to leave the house. Remember that," he said, voice low and threatening.
"I always do, Aries. I wouldn't want to stay where people like you live," I shot back.
He started past me, shoulders rigid, and his gang flowed behind like obedient tributaries. Ella paused, shot me a glare that promised petty future warfare, and turned away.
I clapped once without looking. The sudden sound made footsteps halt. Good.
"Where do you think you're going, my dear sweet cousin?" I said softly, and let the phrase hang—ridiculous and deliberately theatrical.
I turned on my heel and walked toward them.
Aries didn't look at me. I closed the short distance and planted myself in front of him.
"Are you upset that you can't insult me today?" I asked in a mock‑sad voice, then laughed, a dry, devilish sound.
"You thought I was dumb, didn't you? That I couldn't get a hundred? What did you call me—'a flirt,' right?"
He glanced down, jaw twitching. The restraint in his face only fed my resolve.
"You've always treated Section E like they're beneath you," I said, letting each accusation land. "You banned us from the canteen, defended people nobody should defend, forced me into humiliating things, underestimated us, humiliated me."
My mouth tasted of victory and something sharper—old hurt.
"And you want me to let it go, as if nothing happened?" I stepped closer, voice low enough that the circle around us strained to hear. "I'm not a brat like you. I don't humiliate my cousin even when he deserves it."
I smiled, but it was a small, bitter thing.
"But I'm not as good as you either."
I turned and walked away to Section E's classroom. Keifer and the others couldn't help themselves; they followed, drawn by the spectacle as much as the scores.
I didn't humiliate him because leaving like that is worse than any humiliation.
Chaos greeted me when we entered. People were standing, cheering, ringing with compliments that felt like sunlight after a long winter.
"Jay, you slayed."
"You were awesome."
"Aries looked ridiculous."
"You defeated him!"
"Bow to the queen!"
They bowed, half in jest and half in genuine adoration. I laughed because it felt good—like the warmth of a lamp after being outside in the cold. I slid into my seat, the applause still buzzing around me. But the satisfaction was a brittle thing. Underneath it, a familiar ache throbbed.
My brother had tried to humiliate me in public. I'd responded in kind. This wasn't a petty sibling quarrel anymore. It was war by inches, a slow erosion of something between us. If things kept going like this, someone would get hurt.
The cheering blurred and pulled me back to our desks. I tried to focus on the noise, on the faces smiling at me, but the thought of Aries' hurt, anger, and wounded pride tangled in my chest. I forced a smile and pretended the victory was enough.
It was a small solace. And I wondered, not for the first time, whether winning against him would ever really feel like winning at all. Suddenly a voice took me back to reality—no, chaos.