Jayjay's POV:
Yuri's house was a whirlwind of chaos.
Bags unzipped, clothes thrown, Ci-N and Felix arguing over a stolen hoodie.
This was it, Section E.
A group of people VERY bad at packing luggages.
I don't understand how April convinced Angelo. He was quite stubborn and made things work his way. Sure, what Yuri said about her manipulation skills was true.
A t-shirt hit my face straight.
Who the hell? I saw Drew hiding behind Denzel.
"DREW?" I yelled.
"NOT ME! IT WAS APRIL!" Drew shouted.
My head snapped towards April.
"I SWEAR IT WASN'T-"
I hit the t-shirt right at her face.
"OW-" April shouted, "BETRAYER! JAY, IT WAS NOT ME! IT WAS... UM, KEIFER-"
Definitely isn't Keifer.
"Stop." Yuri deadpanned. He just used one word, and the whole chaos just stopped. So, now we know who makes the chaos. You know, I know, we know.
April went back to checking her checklist.
"OKAY, EVERYONE," she announced, "DO WE HAVE A CAMERA? I LEFT MINE AT HOME."
"Bring it!" Ci-N protested.
"Ugh, fine," April stated.
"Little master, your grandfather is calling you and Miss."
"He's calling me?! WHY?"
…Wait.
Was April scared?
Wow, something new!
"Let's go," Yuri took April's hand and pulled her away from the chaos.
They just left. April survives.
Inspiration. She has the same issues. Yet, she's more... open, friendly. How?
Why is it that my mother doesn't care? She cared enough to birth me, but then just let me go.
I will never forgive her. She doesn't deserve me.
Jeana. She separated me from my dad.
Gave me hell. Pulled me into a mess.
She doesn't deserve me, never. Ever.
"WHAT THE HELL?" April yelled as she was walking into the room.
Yuri followed behind her; he looked calmer than April.
"Why not the same?" April asked Yuri.
"Because of mom!" Yuri yelled.
We were already familiar with April and Yuri's yelling; no matter what and how long their fights go, they still stand at each other's side.
"But... it was supposed to be us together!" April shouted.
"I know, what do we do? I'll ask her." Yuri answered.
"NOPE, I'M TALKING," April argued.
"WHAT HAPPENED," Keifer asked them.
I blinked.
"His mom put us into two flights."
"Wait, wait.. hold on. Like SEPARATE separate? Not 'same flight, different seats' separate?"
April turned to me. "Different. Flights."
"…That's insane."
"THANK YOU," April pointed at me like I just won her case in court.
"Also," I continued, because clearly no one else was going to say it, "you can't just switch like that. Tickets have names. This isn't a group project where we swap roles at the last minute."
Ci-N paused. "Oh."
Felix blinked. "Oh."
Drew gasped. "Oh no."
"Yeah, oh no," I nodded. "Unless one of you plans to become the other person mid-air, this is not happening."
"I can act like Yuri," Drew offered.
"No, you can't," five of us said at the same time. April shouted.
Keifer snorted.
April ran a hand through her hair; she messed her hair. "So what, we just… go separately? I'm not going without you..."
"Technically? Yes," Yuri said. "Practically? You're going to complain the entire time."
"I am NOT-"
"You absolutely are," I cut in. "You're going to sit there, look out the window dramatically, and act like the plane personally separated you."
"…I hate how accurate that is," Ci-N muttered.
Yuri exhaled slowly. "It's just a few hours."
"Yeah, but it's the principle," I said immediately. "Also, the drama. Mostly the drama."
Calix nodded. "Definitely the drama."
April pointed at Yuri. "See? Even Jay gets it."
"I get everything," I said. "That's my problem."
A beat.
"Okay but wait," I clapped once, because this was spiralling in circles. "Logistics. Who's in which flight?"
Yuri hesitated.
That was already suspicious.
"Yuri," April said. "Why are you pausing? I don't like pauses. Pauses mean bad news."
"…I'm on the earlier flight," he said.
"And?" I pushed.
April looked at him.
He looked at literally anything else.
"Oh, this is bad," I muttered.
"And?" I repeated.
"…She's in the later one."
Silence.
I turned to April.
Slowly.
"Oh, you're going to be unbearable," I said.
"I AM NOT-"
"You are going to text him every five minutes."
"I WILL NOT-"
"You're going to track his flight."
"…Okay, maybe that one."
Drew gasped. "This is long-distance for like… four hours."
"Don't say it like that," April snapped.
"Guys," Felix cut in, trying to be useful for once, "maybe we just focus on packing first?"
A bag fell over.
Right on cue.
"No," I said immediately. "We cannot 'focus on packing' when half of you don't even know which flight you're going on."
"Give me the phone." April said, deadpan.
No one questioned it.
Which was already concerning.
April grabbed her phone like she was about to negotiate a hostage situation.
"Don't say anything," she warned, pointing at all of us.
"That has never stopped us before," I said.
She ignored me.
Dialed.
Put it on speaker.
Oh.
So we're all involved now.
It rang once.
Twice.
Three.
"Hello?" a calm voice answered.
April straightened immediately.
"Hi, po tita! It's me... April."
Her tone?
Sweet.
Respectful.
Almost unrecognizable.
I blinked.
"Who is that?" I whispered.
"Shh," Ci-N elbowed me.
"Yes, po, we just found out about the flights from grandfather…" April continued, pacing slightly now. "I just wanted to ask... why were we put in separate ones?"
A pause.
We all leaned in like this was a live broadcast.
"Oh, it was just more convenient for the bookings," the voice replied. Calm. Casual. Dangerous.
April smiled.
Not a happy one. An angry one.
"Ahh, okay, okay, I understand," she said. "But… is there any way we could change it? Like, be on the same flight?"
I mouthed: good luck.
Another pause.
Longer this time.
"Hmm… that might be difficult," Yuri's mom said. "Tickets are already confirmed, dear."
I nodded slowly.
Called it.
April didn't give up.
Of course, she didn't.
"But if we cancel and rebook—" she started.
"That would be really expensive."
Immediate shutdown.
Clean.
Efficient.
April froze for half a second.
Recovered just as fast.
"Oh! No, no, that's fine, I was just asking," she said, still smiling through the phone. "I just thought it would be nicer if we travelled together, you know?"
Silence.
Then:
"I understand, dear," the voice softened slightly. "But it's only a few hours. You'll be fine. Plus, you come directly to our home. We'll be waiting at the airport."
Across the room, Yuri didn't say anything.
Just watched.
April stopped pacing.
"…Right," she said.
Still smiling.
Still polite.
"Okay, thank you, po."
Call ended.
Silence.
April lowered the phone slowly.
"Well?" Calix asked immediately.
She looked up.
"…She said no."
"Expected," I said.
April fell on the chair, messing her hair. CURLY HAIR TANGLED SUCCESSFULLY.
"Unbelievable."
"Very believable," I corrected.
"She didn't even consider it!"
"She considered it," I said. "For like… three seconds."
Ci-N winced. "That's rough."
Yuri finally spoke. "I told you."
April's head snapped toward him.
"ARE YOU NOT A HANAMITCHI?"
Silence.
Immediate. Violent silence.
"…I-" Yuri blinked.
"AREN'T YOU RICH?" she continued, standing up now. "Like, actually rich? Not 'I can buy snacks' rich... like 'I can fix problems' rich?"
April was pacing now.
"I'LL PAY TOO!" she added. "I'LL GET MONEY... KEIFER!"
Keifer, who had been minding his business for exactly two minutes, looked up.
"Why am I involved?"
"YOU'RE BASICALLY THE CEO OF WATSON ENTERPRISES-"
"I am NOT the CEO-"
"ALMOST!" she argued, "I'LL BORROW FROM YOU!"
"No, you won't-"
"Yes, I will! I'M YOUR SISTER."
"No, you won't."
"Yes-"
"STOP VOLUNTEERING MY MONEY," Keifer snapped.
Ci-N was fully invested now. "Wait, how much money are we talking?"
"Enough to fix this," April said dramatically.
"Enough to bankrupt you," Eman corrected.
Denzel nodded. "And him."
Keifer looked personally attacked.
I crossed my arms, watching this unfold.
"Just to be clear," I said, "you plan to throw money at a fully booked flight and hope it rearranges itself?"
"Yes."
"…That's not how planes work."
"It SHOULD be."
Yuri finally spoke, calmer than everyone combined.
"April."
"No," she pointed at him. "Don't 'April' me. This is solvable."
"It's not."
"It IS."
"It's not."
"It-"
She stopped.
Paused.
Then-
"I hate this," she declared, dramatically dropping back onto Yuri's bed.
The room exhaled.
Felix leaned over to me. "She went through all five stages of grief in like… thirty seconds."
"Speedrun," I nodded.
Keifer rubbed his temples. "I'm not giving you money."
"I didn't ask nicely yet," April replied instantly.
"You're not asking at all."
"Details."
Ci-N whispered, "I kinda want to see her try, though."
"Same," Felix admitted.
Yuri just sighed.
Still calm.
Still steady.