Chapter , 47: Welcome Back to Section E
(Jay Jay's POV)
Three weeks passed faster than I expected.
Which was honestly unfair.
Because three weeks ago I was recovering from a gunshot wound, sneaking snacks, and arguing with Keifer about chocolate.
And now…
I was standing outside school.
Actual school.
With students walking everywhere.
Backpacks.
Uniforms.
Teachers yelling about being late.
The smell of cafeteria food in the air.
I stared at the huge school gate like it had personally betrayed me.
Jay:
"I hate this place already."
Beside me Keifer adjusted his bag casually.
Like this was completely normal.
Keifer:
"You haven't even entered yet."
Jay:
"I miss fighting criminals."
Keifer smirked.
Keifer:
"Give it five minutes."
Jay:
"I give it two."
He chuckled and started walking toward the building.
I followed beside him.
Students immediately started whispering.
Because of course they did.
A girl near the lockers whispered to her friend.
"Isn't that Keifer Watson?"
Another one whispered.
"And Jay Jay?"
Apparently disappearing for weeks had made us interesting.
Great.
Keifer leaned slightly toward me.
Keifer:
"Try not to start a war."
Jay:
"No promises."
We reached the hallway that led to our classroom.
12th Grade – Section E.
I stopped at the door.
For a moment everything felt… weird.
Normal.
Too normal.
Keifer noticed.
Keifer:
"You okay?"
Jay:
"Yeah."
I sighed.
Jay:
"Let's get this over with."
Keifer pushed the classroom door open.
And chaos exploded.
"THEY'RE BACK!"
"KEIFER!"
"JAY JAY!"
"FINALLY!"
Before I could react—
People rushed toward us.
First was Ci N.
Loud as always.
Ci N:
"YOU TWO DISAPPEARED!"
Right behind him came Felix, grinning like an idiot.
Felix:
"Bro we thought you transferred schools!"
Calix leaned against a desk with a smirk.
Calix:
"Took you long enough."
Then Mayo walked over calmly.
Mayo:
"You both look alive."
Jay:
"That was the goal."
From the back of the room Kit raised his hand lazily.
Kit:
"So are we getting an explanation or…?"
Blaster leaned forward dramatically.
Blaster:
"They joined the mafia."
I blinked.
Jay:
"…That escalated fast."
Edrix laughed.
Edrix:
"Blaster watches too many movies."
Rory walked over shaking his head.
Rory:
"You two missed three weeks of exams."
Jay:
"…I might faint."
Drew slapped Keifer on the shoulder.
Drew:
"Good to see you back man."
David approached last.
Calm.
Collected.
Mature as always.
David:
"You two had serious issues to deal with."
I looked at him suspiciously.
Jay:
"How do you know that."
David shrugged slightly.
David:
"You both disappeared without warning."
He crossed his arms.
David:
"That usually means something important happened."
Keifer gave a small nod.
Keifer:
"You could say that."
Behind him Denzel leaned over a desk.
Denzel:
"Did you at least bring snacks?"
I froze.
Jay:
"…Maybe."
Eman immediately appeared beside me.
Eman:
"YOU BROUGHT SNACKS?"
Eran joined him instantly.
Eran:
"WHERE?"
And finally Josh leaned back in his chair laughing.
Josh:
"I knew Jay Jay wouldn't come back empty handed."
Keifer groaned beside me.
Keifer:
"Absolutely not."
Jay:
"Traitor."
Ci N pointed dramatically.
Ci N:
"THE SNACKS ARE A CLASS RESOURCE."
Felix nodded seriously.
Felix:
"Communal snacks."
David rubbed his temple.
David:
"You people are unbelievable."
The entire class was now talking at once.
"Where were you?"
"Did something happen?"
"Did you travel?"
"Did you fail exams?"
"Did you fight someone?"
I leaned toward Keifer.
Jay:
"I told you this would be chaos."
He chuckled quietly.
Keifer:
"You kind of missed them."
Jay:
"…Maybe a little."
Right then the classroom door opened again.
The teacher walked in.
And instantly froze.
Because the entire class was standing around us.
Teacher:
"Why is everyone out of their seats?"
Ci N immediately pointed at us.
Ci N:
"They came back from the dead!"
The teacher blinked.
Slowly.
Teacher:
"…Sit down."
Everyone rushed back to their seats.
Still whispering.
Still staring.
Keifer and I walked toward our desks.
Which were still next to each other.
I sat down and leaned back in the chair.
Jay:
"Normal life."
Keifer sat beside me.
Keifer:
"Normal life."
But from across the room…
Blaster whispered loudly.
Blaster:
"I still think they joined the mafia."
I buried my face in my hands.
Keifer leaned closer and whispered.
Keifer:
"Technically he's not completely wrong."
I tried not to laugh.
Because somehow…
After everything that happened…
Being back in Section E felt strangely perfect.