Why, sir?

"What do you mean by that, sir? hehe."

"Ah... Jake, haha..."

"Do you know my father, sir? hehe."

"You know, Jake, I'm not the one who should tell you what I know and what you need to know."

"Why, sir?"

"Because that's how it should be, Jake, okay?"

"But, sir. Can you at least tell me who he is? I want to—"

Jake's words were cut off, "I'm sorry, Jake. You will just be left hanging because you won't get to know everything from me—"

The boss's words were also cut off when Jake spoke a bit louder, "But what's your connection to my father?"

The boss was surprised because Jake's tone seemed different, he thought to himself, "Huh? Is it?... No, it's Jake in front of me..."

"I'm sorry, sir." Jake apologized.

"Sigh. Jake, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you everything. I'll leave you now."

The boss stood up and left Jake alone in the office.

"Why is it so confusing? It's like they know who I am." Jake wondered.

Jake also left the office and said goodbye to his co-workers.

→⁠_⁠→→⁠_⁠→→⁠_⁠→←⁠_⁠←←⁠_⁠←←⁠_⁠←

12:30 PM.

"Whew! Finally, I got to eat, the food in this eatery is so delicious... now I'll apply for the delivery food job (smile)."

Jake got on his bike and went to the place where he would apply for a delivery food job.

Jake was applying to a well-known fast-food store with many customers, because of the high number of orders and online purchases, they needed delivery staff.

20 minutes later, Jake arrived and went to the interviewer.

*****

"Hi, ma'am! Good afternoon! (bow)."

"What's your name?" asked the interviewer.

"Jake Caratao, ma'am! (smile)."

"Oh, you're the one who called yesterday? Sit down."

30 minutes later, Jake's interview was finished.

"If we call you, it means you can start the next day. You'll start at 1:30 PM because you have morning classes. Thank you." informed the interviewer.

"Hehe, okay ma'am! Thank you so much! (bow)."

Jake left the store.

He looked at the exterior of the store.

"It's really nice, it's no wonder why many people buy here, because it looks like the food is delicious too, hehe."

→⁠_⁠→→⁠_⁠→→⁠_⁠→←⁠_⁠←←⁠_⁠←←⁠_⁠←

3:00 PM.

"I'm here~ it's already three, time flies."

Jake sat on the sofa and checked his phone. He saw a text from the person who warned him about Faye.

"Again?... Huh???"

"Jake, stay away from Faye. Don't even talk to her. I'm begging you."

"Who is this? Why do they block me right away? I can't even ask who they are." Jake said.

"By the way, I've missed school for two days again, sigh. They might scold me."

*****

9:45 PM.

Jake was snoring in his sleep when he suddenly heard his phone ringing.

Startled by the sound, "WAH! (wakes up)... I thought... I was being chased by a machete in my dream HAHA!... someone's calling, (answers) hello?"

"Is this Jake... Caratao?"

"Ah, yes, ma'am."

"This is from the store you applied to, and I just want to say that..."

Jake was nervous, "hehe, what is it?"

"You didn't get the job."

Jake was shocked that he wasn't accepted, "Ah... hehe, okay! Thank you so much, ma'am!"

"Just kidding, you got the job."

"Wow! Really, ma'am? You're not kidding?"

"Yes, and you can start tomorrow. It says here your shift starts at 1:30 PM and ends at 8:30 PM."

"Wow! hehehe, thank you so much!"

"Okay, thanks, bye!"

Call ended.

"Whew, HAHA I got the job. I have work again hehehe."

→⁠_⁠→→⁠_⁠→→⁠_⁠→←⁠_⁠←←⁠_⁠←←⁠_⁠←

7:15 AM.

School*

"(yawns) I'm still sleepy, haha. I couldn't sleep well because I was excited about my new job. But I'm still eager because I have work now hehehe."

Jake was tired but happy because of his new job.

Since he was sleepy, he decided to buy coffee at the canteen.

While buying, he ran into Kristine.

"Hi, Jake, morning!" Kristine greeted.

"Oh, hi. Kristine. Good morning! What are you buying?"

"Coffee too, haha."

"Really? Then it's on me, haha."

Kristine: (smiles)

They bought their coffee and headed to their classroom together.

As they entered, Faye immediately noticed them.

"huh?"

Then Daryl shouted, "AHHHHH, you guys had coffee without me????"

Kristine and Jake: Oh...

Kristine: dumb**s, we came in together. You just were early.

Jake: HAHA!

While the three were teasing and laughing, Faye was watching them.

Charm: So, they're friends now.

Lorraine: Well, just leave them be.

Faye was silent, just looking at Kristine, not understanding what she saw in the two (Daryl and Jake) to join them.

Faye was getting more annoyed with Jake, her irritation growing.

*****

"You guys, how are your wounds and bruises? Daryl looks fine now, what about you, Jake? Are you treating them, huh?" Kristine asked the two.

Daryl: Of course, I'm fine now. I'm strong as f**k... pass me a drink, Jake.

Kristine: Ew, one hit with a baseball bat on the head and you'll be out cold, but Jake's still awake.

Daryl got angry, feeling insulted by Kristine's teasing, "No, because the hit on me was stronger (smirks)."

The two laughed at Daryl.

Their teacher arrived, so they all went back to their seats.

Jake sat next to Faye.

"Hey, Jake. Did you like my gift?" Faye asked mockingly.

"Hi, um... Faye, were you one of those who spread that issue? hehe."

"What if... yes? What are you going to do?" Faye responded, getting irritated.

"Sorry, Faye. Sorry that you didn't like the coffee you ordered, and if it really was dirty, sorry! (bows)."

Faye was surprised, not expecting Jake to say and do that. She thought, "What? Sorry? The f**k, you did nothing wrong. So, why are you apologizing?"

Kristine moved to sit next to Daryl, to avoid Lorraine, and Charm.

Lorraine nudged Charm, "Hey, look. Kristine moved next to Daryl."

"Yeah, I know. She's literally staying away from us." Charm answered.

Their teacher suddenly spoke, "Jake, you've been absent a lot, huh? Just because you're getting high scores on tests doesn't mean you can rely on that alone, it doesn't work that way."

Jake just looked and listened.

The teacher added, "Where did you get those bruises and wounds?"

"Um... hehe, I fell off my bike recently, ma'am, so that's why I was absent, hehe. Sorry for not saying."

"Make sure it's not from fighting again, okay?"

Daryl, Kristine, and Faye all looked at Jake, while Jake remained silent, just looking at the teacher.

*****

Break time*

Daryl approached Jake to eat together. They were about to leave the room when Kristine called out to them.

"Hey, Daryl, Jake! Are you leaving me behind?"

Jake and Daryl: Huh?

"Don't you want to hang out with someone as pretty as me? (raises eyebrow)."

The three of them laughed.

Canteen*

They ate together at one table: Jake, Kristine, and Daryl.

While eating, they chatted and laughed together.

Jake looked at the two, smiling and thinking to himself:

"So this is what it feels like to have company at the table. They're so nice to join me."

Daryl suddenly asked Kristine, "By the way, why aren't you with Faye anymore? Aren't they your friends and you always hang out with them?"

The two looked at Kristine.

"(smiles) From now on, I'm hanging out with you guys."

She said with a smile and squinting eyes.

"Why?" Jake asked.

"Because I want to... do I need a reason to choose who I want to be friends with? So what if you guys are boys. What? are you going to be disrespectful to me?"

Jake and Daryl: No way!

"Wait, I'll just buy some juice, guys. Wait for me." Jake said to the two.

Daryl: Wow!!! Pandan for me, ha.

Kristine: Pineapple for me, Jake!!

While Jake was buying juice, Eli going entered the canteen.

"Whoa! Eli is so handsome, I haven't seen him in a while. He's so tall and fair-skinned."

"Eli is handsome, but damn he's a playboy."

"And besides, isn't he a bully too?"

The girls buying drinks alongside Jake whispered.

Jake had just bought the drinks.

The juice stand was near the canteen door, so when Eli entered, he bumped into Jake.

Jake fell, and the juice he was holding spilled on his clothes.

"Oh... sorry, loser. I didn't mean to, you were in my way. So, it's your fault." Eli said, offering his hand to help Jake up.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Eli from behind and said, "Hey..."

Eli looked to see who it was, surprised, "Daryl?..."

Eli and Daryl stared at each other. Then Daryl looked at Jake and helped him up.

"Are you okay, Jake?" he asked.

"Yeah, haha."

"What? You two are friends?" Eli asked Daryl.

"Yeah, so f**king what?" Daryl answered, stepping closer.

Eli looked at Daryl's face, then at Jake's. He saw the bruises on both of them and said:

"Oh, right. You guys are friends because you saved Jake from Noeh."

Daryl was shocked. Because of what Eli said, Jake would know that the reason for his bruises and wounds was because of that.

Daryl got angry, "Hey, shut your mouth. If you don't, you'll get bruises on your face too."

"Daryl?..." Jake asked.

"Jake..." Daryl responded, then looked at Kristine.

Flashback: Hospital*

Kristine and Daryl talked while Jake was still unconscious.

"Hey, Kristine. No matter what happens, Jake must not find out that the reason for my bruises and wounds is because I helped him, okay?"

"HAHA, what? Why? Are you embarrassed?"

"Nope, I just don't want him to think that he caused this. He might distance himself from me, so please!" Daryl explained with a full smile to Kristine.

Kristine thought to herself, "Wow! So he really considers Jake a friend."

"Sure, Daryl! (smile)."

*****

"Daryl, where did you really get your bruises and wounds?" Jake asked, looking directly at Daryl.

"Jake..."