Chapter 45 – Collapse
The next morning at HVIS was loud.
Too loud.
Cin was running across the hallway screaming because Rory had stolen his sandwich again.
"THAT WAS CHICKEN."
"It's mine now," Rory answered calmly while eating it.
Felix looked exhausted already.
"It's eight in the morning. Why are we like this?"
"Because God abandoned Section E," Denzel replied.
"Fair."
Meanwhile—
JJ walked beside Freya and Grace holding iced coffee while Percy dramatically complained about life.
"Baby sistah," Percy sighed emotionally, "I deserve financial compensation for existing."
JJ looked disgusted.
"You deserve therapy."
"Rude."
Aries walked beside Ella looking permanently irritated as usual.
And somehow—
despite all the chaos—
everything felt normal again.
For a little while.
---
Combined Sports Practice
By afternoon—
Sections A and E were forced into combined sports practice again.
Which automatically meant violence.
Coach Ramirez blew the whistle loudly.
"Teams split properly this time!"
"No murder attempts!" another coach yelled immediately while staring directly at JJ and Percy.
JJ looked offended.
"That happened ONCE."
"THREE TIMES," Felix corrected instantly.
The court exploded into chaos anyway.
Kiko and Calix immediately started arguing over volleyball rules.
Cin nearly got hit in the face with a basketball.
Freya screamed because Percy somehow stole her water bottle "for emotional support."
And JJ—
laughed.
Actually laughed.
Head tilted back slightly.
Eyes softer.
For a few precious moments—
she forgot everything.
The illness.
The countdown.
The fear.
She just existed there with them.
Alive.
---
Keifer's Call
During break—
JJ checked her phone immediately.
One unread message.
From Keifer.
> Survived another board meeting.
Reward me emotionally.
JJ snorted softly before replying:
> No.
Instant reply.
> Cruel wife.
JJ smiled despite herself.
Then another message came:
> Sports practice today?
> Yup.
> Don't fight people.
> No promises.
> JJ.
> 😇
Somewhere in London—
Keifer sighed deeply staring at his phone.
He missed her terribly.
---
The Practice Continues
"JJ!"
Kiko tossed the volleyball toward her.
She caught it instantly.
"Finally awake?" he teased.
"Unlike you I actually have braincells."
"Debatable."
The game restarted again.
Fast.
Loud.
Competitive.
JJ moved quickly across the court despite slight exhaustion lingering in her body.
Spike.
Block.
Run.
Laugh.
Shout.
Everything blurred together into movement.
But after twenty minutes—
her breathing changed.
Subtly at first.
Then her vision flickered slightly again.
JJ blinked hard.
Not now.
Please.
She kept moving anyway.
Nobody noticed.
Not yet.
Across the court—
Percy yelled dramatically after missing a shot.
"THIS BALL IS RACIST."
"You're just bad," Freya shouted back.
Even JJ laughed weakly at that.
But suddenly—
the court tilted.
Hard.
JJ stopped moving immediately.
The noise around her became muffled.
Distant.
Like underwater.
Her heartbeat sped up violently.
No—
She tried taking another step.
And failed.
The volleyball slipped from her fingers.
Then—
everything went black.
---
Panic
"JJ?"
THUD.
Her body hit the floor hard.
The entire court froze instantly.
Silence.
Real silence.
Then chaos exploded.
"JAYJAY!"
Percy reached her first.
Fast.
Terrified.
JJ lay motionless against the court floor.
Eyes closed.
Too still.
Aries shoved through people immediately.
"MOVE."
His voice cracked slightly.
And that alone terrified Ella.
Because Aries almost never lost control.
Freya knelt beside JJ instantly.
"Why isn't she waking up?!"
Cin panicked immediately.
"GET THE NURSE."
"No— water— WAIT NO THAT'S MOVIES—"
Felix grabbed him aggressively.
"STOP TALKING."
Denzel crouched beside Percy trying to stay calm.
"Check her breathing."
"She's breathing," Percy answered instantly.
But his hands shook.
Badly.
JJ's face looked pale now.
Too pale.
Rory looked genuinely frightened.
"She hit her head?"
"No," Aries muttered sharply.
Then quieter—
"…she just collapsed."
And somehow—
that sounded worse.
---
The Fear Nobody Understood
Students crowded around nervously now.
Teachers rushed toward the court.
Coach Ramirez immediately called for the school nurse.
"Everyone BACK UP."
But Section E refused to move away from her.
Especially Percy.
He held JJ's hand tightly now.
Too tightly.
Like letting go would make something terrible happen.
"JJ," he whispered shakily. "Baby sistah wake up."
Freya looked near tears now.
Even Kiko had gone silent completely.
Then finally—
JJ moved slightly.
A weak breath escaped her lips.
Her eyelashes fluttered slowly.
And everyone exhaled at once.
"JJ?"
Her eyes opened weakly.
Confused.
Disoriented.
The first thing she saw—
was Percy looking genuinely terrified.
Then Aries.
Then the entire chaotic disaster group surrounding her.
JJ blinked slowly.
"…why are you all staring like someone died?"
Half the group nearly started yelling immediately.
Cin looked emotionally destroyed.
"YOU FAINTED."
JJ frowned weakly.
"…dramatic."
"You literally collapsed," Freya snapped.
JJ tried sitting up.
Bad idea.
The dizziness hit instantly again.
She winced slightly.
Percy noticed immediately.
"Nope."
He carefully held her shoulders.
"You're not moving."
JJ sighed tiredly.
"I'm okay."
Lie.
Again.
But this time—
nobody noticed it was a lie.
Because honestly—
everyone was too relieved she woke up.
---
The Excuse
The nurse eventually checked her quickly while everyone hovered nearby like emotional support bodyguards.
"Probably exhaustion and dehydration," the nurse concluded.
JJ immediately grabbed onto that explanation.
"See?"
Percy still looked unconvinced.
"You ate breakfast?"
"…technically."
"What does technically mean?"
JJ avoided eye contact.
Freya gasped dramatically.
"She skipped breakfast."
Aries looked ready to commit violence now.
"You fainted because you don't eat properly?"
JJ pointed weakly.
"In my defense pancakes take time."
"That is NOT a defense," Felix groaned.
The chaos slowly returned after that.
Which honestly reassured everyone.
Because if JJ was arguing again—
then she must be okay.
Right?
Right.
Except—
while everyone kept talking—
JJ quietly pressed her trembling fingers against her wrist.
Trying to ignore how weak her heartbeat suddenly felt.
And somewhere far away in London—
Keifer Watson smiled faintly at another message from her…
completely unaware that something had started breaking apart back home.