Chapter 79
Milk Tea and Missing Pieces
The moment the final bell rang, Jay had exactly one plan.
Go home.
Sleep.
Ignore humanity.
A perfect plan.
Unfortunately, Ci-N existed.
"JAY."
She immediately kept walking.
"JAYYYYY."
Faster.
"JASPER JEAN MARIANO-FERNANDEZ."
Jay stopped.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
The hallway became quiet.
Ci-N smiled nervously.
"...Hi."
"I was considering murder."
"Understandable."
"Continue."
Ci-N immediately pointed toward the school gate.
"We're getting milk tea."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"Ci-N."
"Jay."
"I'll throw you."
"You say that every week."
"Because every week you deserve it."
The idiot looked proud.
Absolutely proud.
Jay hated him.
Not really.
But still.
Before she could escape, Blaster appeared.
Then Rory.
Then Edrix.
Then Drew.
Then Felix.
Then Josh.
Then David, who looked half asleep as usual.
One by one, Section E gathered around her.
Like a trap.
An annoying, loud trap.
"We're all going," Blaster announced.
"I wasn't informed."
"You are now."
"I decline."
"Request denied."
Jay stared.
Blaster stared back.
Rory sighed.
"Just come."
"I have a home."
"And?"
"I like it there."
"And?"
"I don't like people."
"That's unfortunate."
Jay considered violence again.
A very tempting option.
Then she heard another voice.
"Come on, Watson."
Keifer.
Traitor.
Absolute traitor.
Jay looked at him.
"You too?"
"You need sunlight."
"It's four in the afternoon."
"Exactly."
The betrayal continued.
Twenty minutes later...
She was sitting in a milk tea shop.
Against her will.
Mostly.
Not really.
But she'd never admit that.
The shop was crowded with students.
The smell of sugar and tea filled the air.
Ci-N had somehow already ordered enough food to feed a small village.
"Why are there fries?"
"Because I ordered fries."
"This is a milk tea shop."
"And?"
Valid point.
Unfortunately.
Everyone squeezed into two large tables.
Immediately chaos erupted.
Drew was complaining about money.
Blaster was arguing with the menu.
Rory was making fun of both of them.
Edrix was regretting being born.
Normal things.
Jay sat quietly, watching.
Listening.
For the first time in a while...
It felt familiar.
Comfortable.
Like she'd slipped back into an old hoodie.
Then Ci-N ruined everything.
"So."
Everybody froze.
The tone.
That tone.
It meant trouble.
"So?" Rory asked carefully.
Ci-N pointed dramatically at Jay and Keifer.
"No."
"YES."
"No."
"YES."
"Ci-N."
"I have a question."
Jay immediately sighed.
Keifer looked entertained.
Which was suspicious.
Very suspicious.
Ci-N slammed both hands on the table.
"When did you two become disgusting?"
Silence.
Then absolute chaos.
Blaster nearly inhaled his drink.
Drew started laughing.
David woke up.
Felix covered his face.
Josh looked disappointed in humanity.
Jay looked ready to commit crimes.
"What?"
Ci-N pointed again.
"You share food."
"So?"
"You wear his hoodies."
"So?"
"You look for him when he leaves."
Jay froze.
The table froze.
Ci-N froze.
Because even he realized he'd accidentally hit something.
Jay immediately grabbed a fry.
"You're imagining things."
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"Am I though?"
"Ci-N."
"Okay."
He immediately sat down.
Smart.
Character development.
The conversation moved on.
Eventually.
The laughter returned.
The teasing returned.
The noise returned.
And for a while...
Jay simply listened.
Then Rory spoke.
Quietly.
Unexpectedly.
"You know..."
The table gradually became quieter.
Rory looked at his drink.
Spinning the straw slowly.
"We thought you hated us."
Nobody spoke.
The air shifted.
Subtly.
But everyone felt it.
Jay's hand paused around her cup.
Nobody interrupted.
Not even Ci-N.
Rory laughed softly.
Without humor.
"After everything happened."
Another pause.
"We genuinely thought you hated us."
The words landed heavily.
Because they were true.
Jay looked down.
The plastic cup suddenly became very interesting.
"I didn't."
The answer came quietly.
The table went silent.
"I was angry."
Another pause.
"Hurt."
A bigger pause.
"But I never hated you."
Nobody spoke.
Nobody joked.
Nobody laughed.
Because somehow...
That answer hurt more.
Felix looked away.
Josh stared at the table.
Edrix swallowed.
Even Blaster was quiet.
Which was terrifying.
Then Ci-N suddenly stood.
"Nope."
Everyone looked at him.
"Nope."
"What?"
"We are not crying in a milk tea shop."
"Nobody's crying."
"I AM CLOSE."
The table immediately burst into laughter.
The tension cracked.
Broken.
Destroyed.
Gone.
And somehow...
Everyone breathed easier afterward.
As if they'd all been carrying something heavy.
Something nobody knew how to talk about.
Until now.
Jay smiled.
A real one.
Small.
But real.
Keifer noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
The idiot noticed everything.
At that exact moment, Jay's phone vibrated.
Once.
Then again.
Then again.
Her smile disappeared.
Only for a second.
A tiny second.
Nobody noticed.
Except Keifer.
Jay glanced at the screen.
Unknown number.
The expression in her eyes changed.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Just...
Recognition.
She immediately declined the call.
Locked the phone.
Put it away.
Then continued talking like nothing happened.
Nobody noticed.
Except one person.
Keifer watched quietly.
Thoughtfully.
The same way he always did when something didn't make sense.
Jay felt his gaze.
Ignored it.
The conversation continued.
The laughter continued.
The milk tea disappeared.
The sun slowly began setting outside.
And for the first time since returning from the island...
Something felt different.
Not fixed.
Not perfect.
Just...
Better.
Like a broken bridge finally finding its first plank.
One step closer.
One step at a time.
---
etimes healing doesn't arrive with grand speeches or dramatic apologies. Sometimes it arrives disguised as milk tea, bad jokes, and thequiet realization that nobody really wanted to let go in the first place.