Jay-jay's POV
Pick-up and drop-off! Yeah right. As if my stepbrother is going to follow that. Sure, I'm scared of him but... damn it! I'm a rebel, man!
We were down to our last class for the day. I managed to survive without having too much interaction with those Snakes. Well, except for my seatmate, of course.
"Time to go home!" Ci shouted so loudly it beat the school bell. "...Let's get some ice cream."
"No." I quickly answered while packing my things.
Ci's shoulders slumped, but she forced a smile at me. "Come on..."
"No."
"Please..."
"Ci-N." I called his name seriously, and he finally stopped pestering me. "...No. Try to understand the word no."
I didn't wait for his response. I walked out of the room, ignoring the voices calling after me. I had no plans of getting a ride home with Yuri.
I quickened my pace, and when I reached the school gate, I saw the familiar car of my annoying stepbrother. I ran over and knocked on the window.
"Wazzup?!" he greeted me, wiggling his eyebrows.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Picking up Felix. Why?"
Oh... I thought he was here for me. Ouch.
"Nothing. Just asking," I replied lifelessly.
Suddenly, he flashed a wide grin. "You missed me, didn't you?"
The audacity of this guy! He's got a face of solid rock. Hardcore, man. I grimaced at his words.
"You wish," I mumbled loud enough for him to hear.
His phone rang, and he focused on it for a moment before turning back to me.
"Well, it's your lucky day," he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. "Felix won't be coming with me. He's got a meeting. Hop in!"
A meeting? Those Snakes must be planning something again. I just hope it's not about me.
I got into Percy's car and settled into the passenger seat. I buckled my seatbelt as he started driving, singing as he kept his eyes on the road.
"🎶I'm so handsome! So handsome! I'm the most handsome of them all!🎶" he rapped.
I wanted to open the car door and just jump out while we were moving. His corniness was reaching dangerous levels. And mind you, he wasn't even drunk! This was him sober.
Normal. This was his normal.
The car stopped at a red light. Percy kept on rapping while I tried my best to ignore him, already feeling my patience thinning.
My attention shifted to a group of kids walking by with skateboards and helmets. They were laughing and teasing each other. One of them hopped on his skateboard and cruised along.
"Do you want to learn that?" Percy suddenly asked.
I didn't even realize he had noticed where I was looking.
The car started moving again, but my eyes stayed on those kids.
"I want to try," I said.
I thought Percy hadn't heard me because he kept driving without replying. I turned to repeat myself, but I stopped when I noticed him scanning the road like he was looking for something.
"Where is it... it should be around here somewhere," he mumbled.
I looked out the window but only saw a mix of clothing stores, shoe shops, and a spa with a salon. Then Percy finally parked in front of a bike shop.
The bikes looked amazing!
"Come on!" Percy urged.
We got out of the car, and I admired the bikes displayed outside before following him into the shop.
The store was huge, filled with branded bike and motor parts. But it wasn't just bikes—they had an entire wall dedicated to skateboards.
"Awesome," I whispered, grinning.
They had every kind of skateboard you could imagine, along with helmets and protective gear for knees and elbows.
"Looking for something specific?" a salesman asked, approaching me.
Percy answered for me. "A beginner's skateboard."
"For you, sir?"
"No. For my tomboy sibling here," Percy answered with a straight face.
I shot him a glare. He's been at it with these comments for a while now. Always joking about me being more of a guy.
Transginger, bro. Transginger.
The salesman just laughed, and the two of them started discussing what gear I'd need. I listened at first, but eventually, I got distracted by a set of rollerblades.
While they kept talking, I drifted toward the bikes. They were so much nicer than the one I'd bought before. If I'd known about this store, I definitely would've come here.
Bike lover vibes.
As I admired the bikes, I started feeling uneasy—like someone was watching me. I glanced around and, sure enough, three guys were staring at me.
One had blonde hair, another had brown, and the smallest had black. They were whispering and smirking like they were making fun of me.
What's their problem?
I was about to go back to Percy when I looked at the glass wall of the store in front. I could see the parked cars there. And I could see the big motorbikes that chased me before.
I looked back at the men who were looking at me earlier. That's when I noticed the black jackets they were wearing. The same as the motorbike drivers.
Shit! They're the ones... They're the ones who chased me!
I quickly turned back to Percy. He was currently at the cashier and paying. The man we were talking to earlier handed him four large paper bags.
"I was shopping... You just disappeared." He said as I approached.
I took a deep breath and looked back at the men for a moment but I couldn't see them anymore.
"O-okay... S-let's go?"
I could see his surprise but he chose to hide it and ignore it.
"Just the receipt." He said and faced the man again. "...Where do I sign?"
He signed someone and handed him back his credit card along with the receipt. He took the paper bag and handed it to me.
"I paid. You carry it." He said and started walking.
"You're a gentleman! Awesome!" I said sarcastically.
He just laughed at me. When I left the store, the motorbikes were gone. The men must have left earlier.
What do they need from me?
I put the groceries in the backseat of my car. I just wondered why he bought so many. I got in as soon as I got ready.
"Where are we going?" I asked Percy.
"To the park." He quickly answered and started the car.
The trip was only a short one because the park wasn't far from the store. The only thing that was different about this park was that it was paved---no grass.
There were trees but only around it.
The ground is uneven, there are ups and downs, there are curves, and there is a small mountain that is flat at the top. What really caught my attention was the middle. There is a big hole. Those on skateboards will slide down and then they will emerge on the other side, which is up. How cool!
"Wear this." Percy ordered while handing me the helmet. I did so. He also handed me the protective gear for my knees and elbows. And last of all, the skateboard.
"Do I look cool now?" I asked.
"Are you cool enough to be cool?" he asked sarcastically. The excitement I was feeling disappeared and was replaced by annoyance. I'm a bit of a jerk! Can only a cool thing be cool?! He was tidying up the trash and plastic that he had removed. While he was doing that, I thought about taking out my cellphone and taking a picture.
"I'll take a picture later." Percy said bored. "...Let's go."
This is really annoying!
We walked closer to the skateboarders. Instead of approaching the crowd, I chose to take a seat in the corner. I was embarrassed because I wasn't a good person.
"Are we really here?" Percy asked while waving his hand at a bench.
"Here for now... I'm embarrassed." I said and put down the skateboard.
I rode it with one foot. I first watched the experts who were playing. I would imitate what they did. They push it with one foot while the other is on the ground. Then they put both feet on the ground when they were sure of the speed. When it slowed down, they pushed it again.
I was nervous but excited.
I tried pushing with one foot. I only did it slowly, I didn't know that it would shake a bit when it was on the ground. I tried to do it again with a bit more force and a longer distance.
"Wrong." Someone commented.
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. Girl! She came to me with her skateboard.
"First timer?" She asked.
"O-yes... I'm still learning how." I said and looked at Percy for a moment.
"Let me see." She said, pointing to my skateboard.
I took it and handed it to her. She looked at it as if she knew exactly what she was doing.
"It's new... It's still hard and has no scratches." She commented and turned it back to me.
"...I'll teach you a little bit of the basics. By the way, I'm Rheanna Raine.
You?"
"Jasper Jean, just Jay-jay." I replied and shook hands.
"Come on, let's go to my troops so you have a wide training ground." She said to me and approached another group that was skateboarding.
I looked at Percy and he just motioned for me to follow Rheanna. I approached slowly because honestly I was still shy.
"Here he is..." Rheanna said to the two women in front of her.
"...Jay-jay! These are my friends Sherri Ann and Kay-kay."
They waved at me and I did the same.
Hi Kay-kay, I'm Jay-jay.
"We'll teach you." Sherri said while smiling.
They started telling me what to do. They even taught me how to stand on a skateboard properly. I was able to move around more widely than before.
I looked at Percy's place. He looked bored because he was alone. I motioned for him to come closer to us. He didn't want to at first but it was obvious that he was bored. He even got bored when we approached him.
You're coming too...
"This is my brother... Percy." I introduced them.
Suddenly Sherri's cheeks turned red as she waved at Percy. Rheanna kept her elbow on Kay-kay while not taking her eyes off the person I introduced. I faced Percy but he didn't seem to notice the three of them.
"Percy... Rheanna, Sherri, and Kay-kay." Percy smiled at them and that caused them to shiver and almost push each other. I just grinned. They're...
"Tsk! I'm really handsome." I heard Percy whisper.
The wind suddenly seemed to get stronger. It was so strong that I almost got carried away. I looked at him evilly but he just laughed at me.
Rheanna and I talked for a while but Percy seemed to be having a hard time. He took my cellphone and took a picture of me. He even made me jump on the skateboard with both feet.
"Did you learn a lot from them?" He asked.
"A little." I hesitated to answer.
"Let's see." He said and smiled stupidly.
He suddenly pushed me hard. In shock, I forgot everything they taught me. I didn't even remember how to stop the skateboard. I was even more panicked when I saw me going straight into a cliff.
I'm going to fall!
"Jay-jay!" One of them shouted.
I just closed my eyes and felt my body hit the floor after the skateboard hit my head. Good thing I was wearing a helmet.
"Nice! This is viral!" Percy shouted as he approached me.
"Still alive?"
"What happened?"
"That hurts!"
I heard the people who came up to me say. I couldn't get up because of the embarrassment I felt. All the people here and skated, they saw that. I just lost consciousness.
"Jay-jay! What's wrong with you?" Sherri asked while helping me stand up.
"Should we call an ambulance?" Kay-kay said.
When I stood up, I felt pain in my back. I tripped and fell first. It was a good thing I was wearing protective gear but my back still couldn't be saved.
"It hurts..." I whispered while trying to hold my back.
Sherri and Rheanna were helping me walk and sit on the bench properly. Kay-kay was carrying my skateboard. Percy? There! He was watching his video while he was so excited. He was still smacking his leg. We were just stunned by him.
"Look at your face, Jay!" He said while holding my phone to me. "...Your face is covered in blood!"
Really annoying!
I pushed away his hand holding my phone.
Everything seemed to be in slow motion. My cellphone flew and hit the helmet of a skateboarder near us, it flew again and hit a light pole and crashed to the floor.
I thought it was over but the skateboard hit it, not just once, not just twice....three! Hit it three times and the ending? My cellphone screen was broken.
Holy cow calabao!
The pain I was feeling disappeared from my mind. I immediately approached my phone on the floor. No life! No more! It was booming!
"The screen is broken." Percy commented who was already next to me.
And he actually managed to come closer to me! I glared at him and slammed the cellphone on his head.
"You animal! It's your fault!" I shouted while continuing to hit him with my cellphone.
"Ouch! Ouch! Wait! Enough!"
Rheanna and I also came closer to us. Kay-kay was still holding my skateboard.
"It's already broken and you're going to beat it. It's even more broken!" Sherri said.
I stopped hitting Percy but I still couldn't take my eyes off him. I was about to cry because of this guy. My Highblood was going to rise for him.
"Let me see..." Kay-kay said while holding out her hand. "...maybe it can be fixed."
I handed her my cellphone. She tried to turn it on. It lit up but then died again. She tried again and it turned on again, taking longer than before.
"It can still be done... Let's take it to my brother. He can do it." She said.
"No! I'll just buy you a new one." Percy said. Wow! Richkid be like...
I immediately shot him. "I don't want a new one!"
"Come on! Let's take it... It's right here." Kay-kay said.
I nodded to him. They walked first and my crazy Stepbrother followed. We just walked a little and we were out of the park. We arrived at what Kay-kay was talking about.
Cellphone repair shop.
"Kuya!" Kay-kay called as she put down her things.
Rheanna and I also put down the skateboard they were holding and sat on the long bench. Sherri continued to enter the shop like Kay-kay. A handsome man came out. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and had a little dirt on his face. Kay-kay talked to him and handed me my cellphone.
"It's just the screen... The phone still works." He told me.
I just nodded and let him fix my cellphone. He was taking a bit of time. Rheanna and Sherri started getting bored so they went back to the Park. Kay-kay followed them and Percy and I were the only ones left.
Wait. I removed the ones on my elbows and knees. I even took off my helmet. I still look bad at those piercing blue eyes.
Should I poke his eyes?
It was already dark when we reached there. Kay-kay had already returned and his friends had gone home. I almost fell asleep after so long. I was about to lie down on the long bench when the worker called me.
"Miss..." He said. "...Your phone screen is fine, but I just noticed something."
I approached him in surprise. He handed me my phone and showed me an App that was unfamiliar to me.
"O-T-J-101?" I asked, reading the name of the Application. "What is that?"
"It looks like a virus but it functions like a normal App.
Just look..." He pressed the icon to open it. "...It's asking for a password."
I don't remember downloading an App like this. I don't know its purpose. I took my cellphone and tried to uninstall the App but it kept asking for a password.
"Why is this?" I whispered and tried again.
"It really looks like a virus... Do you want me to format it?"
I don't know anything about these things. I also don't know what it can do to my cellphone. I looked at Percy for a moment and saw his boredom.
I faced the person who was working again. "B-maybe tomorrow. It's already late." He nodded at me. I faced Percy and motioned for him to pay Kuya. He came over with a smirk and took out money from his wallet. We thanked him and left.
We went back to where he parked his car. I put the skateboard back in the backseat. I sat next to Percy and fastened my seatbelt. I looked at my cellphone again as if it was brand new----new!
"What is this?" I asked and tried to open it.
"Which one is that?" Percy said and looked at what I was doing.
I showed him the App. He didn't react. He started the car and drove away. This Application is a big puzzle to me. It's just so powerful. I really don't know anything about this, so I don't know what to do.
"Why don't you try asking your classmate?" Percy said seriously, which surprised me.
"Why would I ask them?"
His eyes were only focused on the road. "You have a classmate who is good at computers."
I thought for a moment. I only know one person who is good at computers. He is the only one I know who has been messing with my cellphone.
Edrix Knight Peñaflor