(Jayjay's POV)
"Jayjay… wake up."
No.
I buried my face deeper into the pillow and pulled the blanket over my head like it was armor. Morning light slipped through the curtains anyway, bright and annoying.
"Jayjay," Mom called again, her voice dangerously cheerful.
I groaned.
"Five more minutes," I mumbled.
"You said that fifteen minutes ago."
That sounded like something I definitely would do.
A gentle knock followed, and then the door opened. My mom, Jeana Mariano Fernandez, stood there with her usual calm smile, already dressed like she was about to attend a business meeting.
Meanwhile I looked like a sleepy potato.
"First day of school," she reminded me.
I peeked at the clock.
7:10.
Why did schools hate happiness?
"I can go tomorrow," I suggested.
Mom laughed softly. "Nice try."
I sighed dramatically and dragged myself out of bed. If suffering had a face this morning, it would definitely be mine.
After a shower and an unnecessarily long moment deciding which bracelet looked best with my uniform, I finally went downstairs.
The house smelled like toast and coffee.
Angelo was already there.
Of course he was.
My cousin stood near the dining table, looking way too serious for such an early hour. He worked with Dad at the company, which meant he had developed this permanent "I supervise chaos for a living" expression.
"Good morning," I said sweetly.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Jayjay."
Translation: Behave today.
I sat down and grabbed a piece of toast.
"You're attending Higher Value International School now," Angelo began, arms crossed like he was about to deliver a court verdict. "It's not a playground."
"Schools are technically playgrounds with homework," I replied.
He ignored that.
"Stay away from trouble. No chaos. No fights. No silly pranks."
I blinked innocently.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because," he said slowly, "trouble seems to like you."
Rude.
Mom hid a smile behind her coffee cup.
A car horn sounded outside.
That meant Aries.
I grabbed my bag and rushed toward the door before Angelo could give another lecture.
"Jayjay," he called after me.
I turned.
"Remember what I said."
I gave him a bright thumbs-up.
"Zero chaos. Absolutely no fights. No pranks."
He looked unconvinced.
Honestly… so was I.
The ride to school was quiet at first.
Aries drove with the calm confidence of someone who had everything in his life under control. My older brother always had that serious vibe, like he belonged in a leadership meeting even when he was just driving a car.
"So," I said, leaning back in my seat, "what class am I in?"
He glanced at me briefly.
"Room 3-E."
I frowned.
"That sounds suspicious."
"It should."
Great.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
Aries sighed.
"Your classroom has… a reputation."
"Define reputation."
"Rowdy students. Trouble makers. Prank wars. People the teachers are constantly watching."
My eyes lit up slightly.
"That sounds fun."
"It's not."
He paused, then added something that made my curiosity spike even more.
"And Jayjay… try to avoid someone there."
"Ooooh," I said immediately. "Mysterious warning. I love those. Who?"
Aries' grip tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
"Mark Keifer Watson."
The name sounded oddly familiar.
"Why?"
"He's the school president," Aries said. "And the class president."
"So… scary student council guy?"
"Not exactly."
Aries glanced at me again.
"People don't just respect him. They fear him."
Now that sounded interesting.
"What's he like?"
"Cold," Aries said simply.
He parked the car inside the large school parking area.
Students were already walking around the campus. Expensive cars. Perfect uniforms. Loud chatter.
HVIS definitely looked like the kind of school where rich kids ruled the world.
Aries turned off the engine.
"One more thing," he said.
I looked at him.
"Stay away from Keifer."
I tilted my head.
"Why?"
"Because," Aries replied calmly, "he's not someone you want attention from."
Too late.
My curiosity had already woken up.
And when curiosity wakes up, it doesn't go back to sleep.
I stepped out of the car and took a deep breath.
First day.
New school.
New chaos waiting somewhere.
And apparently…
One very dangerous boy named Mark Keifer Watson.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Aries grabbed his bag and stepped out of the car first.
"Remember what I said," he told me, already walking toward the main building. "Room 3-E. And stay away from Mark Keifer Watson."
"Yes, yes," I waved lazily. "Avoid scary president guy. Got it."
Aries gave me one last don't-cause-trouble look before disappearing into the crowd of students.
I leaned against the car door for a second, taking everything in.
The campus of Higher Value International School was huge. Perfect lawns, shiny buildings, students walking around like they had stepped out of some expensive magazine.
Fancy cars.
Perfect uniforms.
And here I was… the scholarship girl who still wanted to sleep ten more hours.
"Okay, Jayjay," I muttered to myself. "New school. New life. No chaos."
Angelo's warning echoed in my head.
Avoid fights. Avoid pranks. Avoid chaos.
Easy.
Probably.
Hopefully.
I adjusted my bag and started walking toward the building.
Students were everywhere, talking loudly, laughing, rushing to class. Someone bumped into someone else, lockers slammed, and somewhere a teacher was already yelling about tardiness.
Typical school energy.
I was just turning around the corner of the parking lot when—
THUD.
I ran straight into someone.
Hard.
My bag slipped off my shoulder and I nearly lost my balance.
"Oof—!"
I grabbed the person's sleeve to steady myself before I could fall flat on the ground. That would have been a very embarrassing first-day introduction to the school floor.
"Sorry!" I said quickly, brushing invisible dust off my uniform.
The person in front of me didn't move.
At all.
Which was weird.
Most people would say it's okay or watch where you're going or something normal.
So I looked up.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
And a face that looked like smiling had been permanently banned.
Wow.
Someone woke up and chose ice instead of personality this morning.
"Sorry," I repeated politely. "First day nerves."
Still no reaction.
Okay… awkward.
I tilted my head slightly.
"Do you normally stand in the middle of the road like a statue, or did I interrupt something important?"
His eyes narrowed just a little.
Progress.
"Well," I continued, crossing my arms playfully, "since we've already had our dramatic collision scene, I feel like introductions are necessary."
He said nothing.
Not a single word.
Wow.
This guy was really committed to the silent treatment.
I held out my hand anyway.
"I'm Jayjay. What's your name?"
For a moment, he just looked at me.
Then finally, in a calm, low voice, he spoke.
"Keifer."
The name hit my brain like a lightning bolt.
…Keifer?
Wait.
Keifer?
My eyes widened slowly.
My brother's warning replayed in my head.
Stay away from Mark Keifer Watson.
My hand, still hanging in the air, slowly froze.
I blinked.
Then blinked again.
"…Keifer?" I repeated.
His expression didn't change.
I felt the realization sink in like a dramatic movie moment.
Oh.
Oh no.
My heart did a tiny, embarrassed flip.
I had just crashed into the exact person Aries told me to avoid.
Brilliant start, Jayjay.
Absolutely brilliant.
I cleared my throat and tried to act normal.
"So… funny story," I said carefully. "My brother literally warned me about you like five minutes ago."
Keifer raised one eyebrow slightly.
"And yet," he said calmly, "you ran straight into me."
I gave a small sheepish smile.
"Well… technically walked into you."
His gaze stayed on me for another second, unreadable.
Then he picked up the bag I had dropped and handed it back to me.
Our fingers almost touched.
For some reason, that made my heart skip in a very confusing way.
"Watch where you're going," he said simply.
Then he turned and walked away toward the school building.
Just like that.
Cold.
Calm.
Unbothered.
And somehow… the entire crowd seemed to shift slightly as he passed, like people automatically moved out of his way.
I stood there in the parking lot, staring after him.
So that was Mark Keifer Watson.
The boy everyone feared.
The boy my brother warned me about.
And the first person I had bumped into on my first day.
I sighed dramatically.
"Well," I muttered to myself, adjusting my bag.
"So much for avoiding him."
Day one.
And I had already broken rule number one.
This school year was going to be very interesting.