Trill Villanueva's POV
Ma'am Gonzales' teaching in front is so boring. The three of us are getting sleepy, so we decided to pass notes with insults written about Ms. Sullivan. Deservedly.
"I'm ugly."
"How much am I worth?"
"I smell bad."
Those were written on the notes, giving us a reason to giggle among ourselves. We're just friends, one person's joke becomes all of our joke. Depending on whether we agree or not – No, we do agree, we're just having fun.
"You're in trouble." Kylde threatened me with a serious reaction. As if he wasn't part of it.
I just grinned and cursed at him. "F*ck you!"
"I wonder how that would make her feel? Haha." Israel teased while looking back at Aziria. Let's try it on you to see how you'll react.
"All three of you at the back? Mr. Abriel, Mr. Villanueva, and Mr. Fuentebella, why are you laughing?" The teacher turned towards us, grabbing everyone's attention. The three of us fell silent.
We were shocked when Ms. Sullivan stood up.
"Because of me, maybe, ma'am," she said, taking the three notes stuck on her back. "See? Because of me." Then she calmly sat down as if nothing happened. She wasn't affected by what we did, which infuriated us.
"Sorry, Miss Sullivan."
We three were surprised at that. Why is she apologizing for that? She only asks for forgiveness from us if it's really necessary. For such a simple thing like sticking papers on her back? Why does she need to apologize?
"You don't need to say sorry, ma'am. Only the person who did it should admit it, but it looks like someone has a thick face, so it's better not to." I couldn't tell if he was teasing or irritated. I couldn't understand her emotions.
"All three of you, say sorry to Miss Sullivan!" The teacher shouted while pointing at us. Seriously? What's happening in our classroom?!
"Ma'ammmm!" Israel pouted immediately. I know what he's up to. He's trying to be cute. Well, that's Mr. Abriel, his antics.
"Ma'am, let it be if they don't want to. Don't force it, their pride might be at stake." I noticed her sigh. She hasn't looked at us since a while ago.
Not long after, the class ended.
"Break time, class. Goodbye."
"Watch out," Israel seriously warned me as if he's getting back at Ms. Sullivan for embarrassing us earlier. Yes, we were embarrassed, we rarely get scolded by a teacher.
Klyde and I went to the front door, while Kylde stayed at the back. Ms. Sullivan was still tidying her things when she finished, and then she walked towards us.
Caught.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" We burst into laughter when she almost stumbled on the floor, and even the onlookers couldn't help but laugh.
She just walked away as if nothing happened. What kind of girl is that? Didn't she notice our presence? Doesn't she want to know who did it? Isn't she angry that we laughed at her?
Aziria's POV
Tsk, I almost tripped, but I managed to catch myself. I went to my locker and put my things inside. After that, I headed straight to the gym to meet Heart. While walking, all I could hear were...
"She's ugly."
"So old-fashioned."
"Newcomer? Is that how a transferee looks like?"
"Poor, I don't want to be friends with her."
There are really so many judgmental people, what else can I expect? They are too attention-seeking, but I'm thankful I'm not in the mood right now, so I just ignored them and went straight to the gym. Heart, Lara, Ryxel, and Jasfer are already there.
"Here comes Miss Beautiful," Jasfer greeted me with a smile, but I knew he was just kidding.
Lara examined me and asked, "Azira, why do you look like that?" Without hesitation, I slapped her slighty, and she winced in pain.
"Are you crazy? I also go through hardships. It's annoying to hide," I rolled my eyes. They're used to my displayed behavior.
"Why are you acting like that?" Heart asked, raising her eyebrow while staring at me. Pft.
"We've already talked about this," I replied.
"There's a fight tonight at 7:00 PM. Cyclops Gang vs. Evil Dragon Gang," Ryxel suddenly said, causing me to face him. A fight?
"Tonight already?" Lara questioned.
"Slow," Heart chimed in.
"Who are these Evil Dragon Gang people, Queennie?" Hays, she loves teasing. Out of all the names they can call me, why that one?
"You're disgusting," I smirked to let her know that I find it disgusting being called queenie. "The Evil Dragon ranks third. The Queen is Kim, and the members are Roel, Rino, and Sammer. They move fast, but once you memorize their patterns, it's easy to avoid them. They're also traitorous when attacking. We should watch out for all of them, not just the opponent we're facing, as any member can kill you from behind." I sighed. "In short, they're all traitors."
"That's who we'll be facing," Jasfer said excitedly. "We should have some girls to charm them, huh? Hehe." Because of that, Lara punched him. Tsk tsk, these two are really crazy.
"We can't kill them either because they have another fight after this, so our objective is to knock them down. Make them unable to stand or, let's say, if you wound one, they're out of the fight. They're victorious once everyone is wounded," I explained, puffing smoke from the cigarette I had lit. They told me to stop, but I ignored them and continued.
"That's fair according to their rules, so it's our rule too. It won't affect our rank if we're down to just one person, and that person manages to defeat all of us," I clarified, trying to ease their worries. This is the most challenging battle we'll face.
"What if only one of us is left. Will the rank be lowered?" asked Heart.
I took another puff from my cigarette before Ryxel snatched it away. "That's not allowed."
I didn't listen and continued.
"The fight will be fair based on their rules, and that's what we'll follow. The rank won't be lowered if you're the last one standing and you managed to wound all of them. You can still carry your teammates," I explained, trying to reassure them. They seemed to be more at ease now.
Ryxel stood up and spoke, "This is going to be an exciting fight." He looked at us. "But it seems we'll have a hard time."
"What exciting fight? I hope they won't wound my handsome face," Jasfer boasted again, sigh.
"By the way," I grabbed their attention again. "I have a question, who's the new member of the Sapphire Gang?"
"Yes," agreed Lara. "There's a new one, but I don't know them."
Ryxel wiped his mouth and answered my question. "I know one of the Sapphire Gang members."
"Who?"
"Last night, I saw a member of the Sapphire Gang surrounded by the Bloody Ruin Gang. The Sapphire Gang member removed their hoodie and mask, and it was Trill Villanueva behind it," he said, causing me to raise an eyebrow. Who's Trill? The name sounds familiar.
"Trill Villanueva?" Jasfer spoke up. Oh? Trill Villanueva? He seems like a classmate.
"That heartthrob?" Lara asked. Ryxel nodded.
"The one who's friends with Israel and Klyde?" Heart added. Why do they seem so surprised?
"Yeah, you guys are annoying," I said.
I paused, trying to recall the name. Now, I knew it. Finding out the members of the Sapphire Gang would be easy, especially with one clue.
Klyde Fuentebella's POV
At the cafeteria.
"Rael, are you going to watch the Cyclops Gang vs. Evil Dragon fight tonight?" Trill asked Israel while eating. He's the only one who's talkative with us.
I answered, "Heck, he's even crushing on the queen of the Cyclops Gang."
"You guys are idiots. You already know but still ask," he rolled his eyes and sighed. Sometimes, he's like that even when there's no problem. If mood swings are trendy among girls, of course with him, too!
"I feel like the queen of the Cyclops Gang will still look beautiful even with a hoodie and mask," I looked at Trill. I almost cringed when I saw him smiling and seemingly lost in thought. He's in love?
"Cyclops is the only gang that doesn't know the names and faces of its members. They all have a tattoo on their right nape." I chewed.
"Rank No. 1 because they're skilled and experienced!" Israel said. What's his problem? Does he need to shout?
"That's why you have a crush on their queen, huh? HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Trill is really crazy.
"I want to see the face of their queen. How can we do that?" He looked into space as if thinking.
Oh my, Real, does he have that much of an effect on you? So, I just punched him lightly.
Aziria's POV
6:30 pm.
Thirty minutes left before the fight starts. We all wore hoodies and masks before heading to the center. We needed to prepare ourselves.
"This is a tough fight for us," I heard Lara say, nervous for the first time. She's not usually like this.
"Yeah, if we get even a single wound, we'll lose immediately."
"Just laugh it off," Jasfer said.
"Hey, what do you mean laugh it off? Take this seriously. We need to win this. You know how powerful their gang's name is," who else but Ryxel, talkative as ever. He really takes care of our gang's name, Cyclops Gang.
The fight is about to begin. I'm just listening to what they're talking about, sensing what they're feeling.
"Are you ready?" the Emcee shouted.
All the gangs outside surrounding the ring shouted in response.
"From the corner, they are the Evil Dragon Gang." The Emcee paused as their members came out. When they were all out, he called our group. "Vs. Cyclops Gang!"
The gangs were making a lot of noise. Different gangs are here, and most of them are from other places. Once we were all in the middle, everyone was whispering, even my teammates.
Lara spoke, "I'm nervous."
"Yeah," Heart agreed.
I'm in trouble now.
They're nervous.
I received evil glares from the queen of the Evil Dragon Gang. They were five, and we were five, so it's one-on-one.
"Now, it's the hard fight. When you're injured, you'll be removed from the battle, so let's start! Rules are rules, gangs!"
I just focused on the queen, observing how she dodged. The queen of EDG kept trying to stab the queen of CG, but she managed to evade every attack. Everyone was surprised when one member of CG got injured on the shoulder. She's a girl, and her opponent is incredibly fast. It's astonishing.
"One left on the Cyclops Gang."
Their fight is intense. The EDG is too fast, and CG is also skilled at dodging. Two members of CG out, a girl and a boy. One was holding their leg, and the other was holding their elbow, leaving only two in the CG.
What's happening to them? Why are they being defeated so quickly? They seem nervous. If we were in their position, we would have a hard time too. But it's surprising since the Cyclops Gang is known for being skilled. It's the first time they've lost three members in a fight. Usually, it's just one or two.
Aziria's POV
Lara got injured, followed by Heart and Jasfer. While avoiding the queen, I talked to Ryxel.
"What's happening to them?" I spoke while focused on my opponent. As I thought, this is the result of their nervousness.
"They're being overwhelmed by fear and nervousness," he replied.
"Since when?" I furrowed my brow.
"It's just too difficult. You get wounded, and you're out," Ryxel said. "I like it." He wounded one of them while two focused on me.
I kept evading them because one was behind me, and the queen was in front of me.
"What's the queen of CG doing?"
The spectators whispered. They must be wondering why I'm not doing anything. This kind of action is unusual in a fight.
"She's just continuously avoiding them," one murmured.
"Fuck!" Ryxel shouted when he got wounded in the shoulder, seemingly attacked from behind. I glanced at him, saw the wound.
Trill's POV
"The queen of the Cyclops Gang is all alone now," Klyde whispered. I could feel the tension and nervousness in the ring.
I crossed my arms and asked, "Can she handle those three by herself?"
"She can still do it," Israel, who's in love, replied. Tsk.
Since earlier until now, the queen of CG has just been dodging. Everyone is wondering why.
"Woah!" Everyone shouted as the hoodie and mask of the queen of CG were torn. Her mask was removed, and they thought she was wounded, but she wasn't.
She lowered her head, looking at the ground. Everyone stopped and waited for what she would do next. How would she cover her face now? But she used her hair to conceal it and swiftly wounded the two remaining members. The queen of CG jumped and without hesitation, she slashed the face of the queen of EDG. Everyone was shocked and amazed. The sequence of events was so fast. Why did it seem like less than a minute had passed?
She seemed angry at the queen of EDG, so she replicated what was done to her. Anyone would get irritated because you wouldn't want to reveal your face, and yet someone was forcing you to expose it.
"Woooooh! The queen of Cyclops is amazing!"
"Cyclops Gang!"
"What a waste, the queen's face!"
"I didn't see it!"
"I only saw her side view!"
"What a shame!"
They shouted, making a lot of noise. After that, the queen immediately went down to cover her face, and no one saw it.
"The winner is Cyclops Gang!" the emcee shouted. "Did anyone see the face of the queen of Cyclops Gang here?" Even he was probably eager to see her face.
"None!" Everyone shouted.
"Her face looks familiar." We all looked at Rael when he said that.
"Did you see it?" I asked.
"You'd be lucky if you did," Klyde replied.
"I saw it a bit, and it looked familiar from the side view."
They're going crazy!
Aziria's POV
I quickly put on my extra hoodie when Jasfer shouted, worried that my life might be in danger if someone recognizes me.
"Are you all okay?" I immediately checked on them. "Even if they all attack at once, they can't match the strength I have right now," I referred to the three. I was annoyed with their fighting style.
"We're fine, the wounds aren't deep," Ryxel said.
Heart shook her head. "They really want to see your face."
"Yeah, we got nervous earlier, fearing that everyone might see who you are," Lara said.
"No one saw it," Jasfer said calmly.
"There is one," I said.
"Who?" They all asked.
"I saw Israel, our schoolmate. When my hood was removed, he saw my face, but I don't think he saw it clearly. He didn't seem overly shocked."
"Hopefully," they said.
I know he didn't.
To be continued...