NIGHT — JAY'S POV — WHEN TRUTH NEEDS TEETH
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Cin had fallen asleep on the couch hours ago, exhaustion knocking him out mid-sentence. I'd draped a blanket over him, turned off the lights, and retreated to my room.
That was when I pulled out my phone.
One contact.
No hesitation.
Damian.
✉️ Jay:
I need access to the school server.
CCTV footage. Yesterday. Hallways near lockers + counselor wing.
No traces.
The reply came faster than expected.
✉️ Damian:
You always call when you're angry.
Give me two hours.
I exhaled slowly.
That was when another notification slid in.
Keifer.
✉️ Keifer:
Come late tomorrow, Jay.
I frowned.
✉️ Jay:
Why?
The dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
✉️ Keifer:
Just listen to me this time.
That alone told me everything.
He wasn't asking.
He was warning.
I stared at the screen for a long moment.
Then locked my phone.
"I'm sorry," I murmured to the empty room.
But I was never good at staying away when things were burning.
---
I reached school early.
Too early.
The campus was still waking up—janitors sweeping corridors, a few teachers unlocking rooms, sunlight barely cutting through the glass panels.
I didn't go to Section E.
Instead, I slipped into the old academic wing—half-abandoned, rarely used, doors that didn't creak unless you forced them.
I hid.
Not like someone afraid.
Like someone waiting.
That was when I heard it.
A sound that didn't belong in a school.
A dull thud.
A sharp inhale.
Then—
A muffled cry.
I stilled.
Followed the noise.
Each step narrowed my focus until I reached a classroom door at the far end of the hallway.
The door was shut.
But the sound—
Fists.
Bodies.
Pain.
I didn't hesitate.
I opened it.
---
JAY'S POV — WHEN CONTROL SHATTERS
The room froze.
Every single one of them turned.
Section E.
All of them.
Calix against the wall, jaw clenched. Emann and David holding Imelda by the arm—not rough, but unyielding. Felix near the door like a guard. Cin standing stiff.and all of the rest surrounded them...
And in the corner—
Imelda's boyfriend.
On his knees.
Face bruised.
Lip split.
Blood on the floor.
Keifer stood in front of him.
Not moving.
Not hitting.
Just… present.
Which was worse.
"What the hell is going on?" I said sharply.
Keifer's head snapped toward me.
The anger in his eyes wasn't wild.
It was precise.
"What are you doing here," he said flatly.
Not a question.
I stepped inside. Closed the door behind me.
"Violence isn't the answer," I said immediately, voice cutting through the tension. "This isn't how you get the truth."
Cin flinched.
Yuri looked away.
Keifer laughed once.
Cold.
"Funny," he said. "That didn't stop them yesterday."
I met his gaze. "This isn't you."
His jaw tightened.
"You weren't supposed to come."
"And you weren't supposed to do this," I shot back.
The room crackled.
"Do you know what happens when people like them get away with lies?" Keifer snapped. "They do it again."
"And do you know what happens when you cross this line?" I fired back. "You become exactly what they expect you to be."
"Jay—" David started.
"Not now."
I turned back to Keifer. "You told me to come late because you knew I'd stop you."
He didn't deny it.
That hurt more than the shouting.
Imelda suddenly sobbed.
Loud.
Broken.
Her grip on herself shattered when she looked at her boyfriend slumped in the corner.
"Stop," she cried. "Please—stop."
Keifer didn't move.
Didn't look at her.
"You have something to say," he said quietly. "Now would be the time."
She shook violently. "I—I didn't want this."
"Then talk," I said firmly.
Her eyes snapped to me.
Really looked at me for the first time.
Not the rumors.
Not the status.
Just me.
"I was told to," she whispered.
The room went dead silent.
"Told to what?" Yuri asked.
"To accuse him," she said, voice breaking. "To say Cin took the money."
Cin's breath caught.
My spine went cold.
"Who told you?" Keifer asked.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Silence stretched.
Dangerous.
"I can't say," she whispered.
Keifer took one step forward.
I immediately stepped between them.
"That's enough," I said sharply. "She speaks—or this ends now."
He stared at me.
Long.
Then stepped back.
Barely.
Imelda collapsed to the floor, crying. "They said they'd fail me. Ruin my family. They said no one would question it."
"Who," I repeated calmly.
Her lips trembled.
She shook her head.
"I don't know the name," she sobbed. "But… they're not from Section E."
That was all it took.
Because now?
This wasn't school drama.
This was deliberate.
And whoever thought they could play Section E against itself—
Had underestimated all of us.
Outside, the bell rang.
Sharp.
Final.
And somewhere in my pocket, my phone vibrated.
Damian.
The footage was coming.
And when it did?
No one will walk away all clean....
---
The silence after Imelda's words was thick.
Heavy.
The kind that pressed against your ears until your thoughts screamed.
I inhaled once.
Slow.
Then—
"Bring her here," I said.
Every head snapped toward me.
Keifer's eyes narrowed. "Jay."
"Now."
No one argued.
Emann and David guided Imelda forward—not dragging, not gentle either. She stumbled, knees weak, and when she reached the center of the room, they forced her down.
On her knees.
The symbolism wasn't lost on anyone.
I scanned the room once.
Every single boy of Section E watching.
Waiting.
I reached for a chair near the wall.
Dragged it.
The screech of metal against the floor ripped through the room like a warning siren.
No one breathed.
I turned the chair around and sat.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
My elbows rested on my knees as I leaned forward, eyes level with Imelda's shaking face.
She was crying hard now.
"I—I really don't know," she sobbed. "Please, I can't—"
"That's enough," I said quietly.
My patience snapped.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just—gone.
I stood.
And slapped her.
Hard.
The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.
Imelda's head snapped to the side. She gasped, stunned.
Everyone froze.
Cin's breath hitched.
Felix's jaw clenched.
Keifer went very, very still.
"I didn't want to use violence," I said coldly. "But you're at my last thread."
I crouched in front of her again, voice low, deadly calm.
"You don't have to speak," I continued. "You just have to nod."
Her eyes flooded with terror.
"Understand?"
She nodded frantically.
Good.
I straightened and began to pace slowly in front of her.
"Aries."
She shook her head immediately.
"Mykel."
Another shake.
Yuri frowned. "Jay… what are you—"
"There are only a few people in this school who would dare to pull something like this on Section E," I cut in.
The room went quieter.
Yuri's expression changed.
He understood.
I stopped walking.
Turned.
"Ella."
Everything stopped.
Imelda froze.
Her lips trembled.
Then—
A nod.
Barely visible.
But it was there.
The room exploded into tension.
Someone swore under their breath.
Cin sucked in a sharp breath.
I smiled.
Slow.
Cold.
"So it was you," I murmured.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
Perfect timing.
Damian.
Footage secured.
I pulled my phone out and held it up, screen glowing in the dim room.
Then I tilted it toward Imelda's face.
"Now," I said softly, all warmth gone. "You speak."
Her sobs turned hysterical. "She—she told me what to say. She said no one would question it. That Section E was already dirty, it would stick."
"Threats?" Keifer asked, voice lethal.
"Yes," Imelda cried. "Grades. My scholarship. My family. She said my boyfriend would take the fall if I didn't cooperate—"
Her words choked off when I glanced toward the corner.
Where her boyfriend still sat, bruised, silent, terrified.
I didn't raise my voice.
Didn't need to.
"If you lie," I said calmly, "everyone here will know."
She broke completely. "It was Ella. She planned it. She said money would clean everything."
That was enough.
Two of the boys stepped forward immediately.
"Take them to the clinic," Keifer ordered. "Both of them."
They didn't argue.
They moved fast.
Efficient.
Imelda and her boyfriend were escorted out, her sobs fading down the hallway.
The door closed.
The room exhaled.
Keifer turned to Edrix.
"Post the clips," he said. "Anonymous. Full context."
Edrix nodded, already pulling his phone out.
I looked down at my screen again.
The footage played silently.
Clear.
Undeniable.
Cin innocent.
The counselor negligent.
Ella standing exactly where she swore she wasn't.
I locked my phone.
Lifted my gaze.
"This ends today," I said.
Keifer met my eyes.
Dark.
Steady.
"Yeah," he replied. "It does."
Outside, the bell rang again.
But this time?
It didn't sound final.
It sounded like a countdown.
And somewhere else on campus—
Someone was about to realize they should never have tried to play Section E.
Or me...No one was walking away clean..