"S-so who's this Ramil guy?"
"Isn't he your boyfriend?" Jenny, the nosy queen of gossip, chimed in.
Jenny was being her usual blabbermouth self, sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Mags stayed quiet, and I kept my cool.
"Jenny, let's change the subject. This isn't worth discussing."
"Okaaay..." She walked away with her usual flair.
Once Jenny left, I took a deep breath. Mags noticed and did the same. I figured I might as well ask.
"So, you have a boyfriend now? I had no idea... You never mentioned it. You told me you've never had one."
"I didn't know how to tell you."
"Oh, come on! You can talk to me about anything..."
"Let's talk at home later... We'll walk home together."
We nodded and headed back to class. Cons and Jennifer were already there. The plaza crew from the other day gave me high-fives and greeted Mags too.
I had my suspicions. Maybe she and this Ramil guy had something going on. A part of me felt jealous and envious. Teenage hormones, right? We want our first girlfriend to be untouched. She was my first, but someone else hit a home run. That thought bugged me all day.
I didn't get anything from our Math class. Didn't even take notes. For those 40 minutes, I was staring at the board but seeing something else entirely.
I was still seated next to Jennifer because of the alphabetical seating arrangement. Cons wasn't sneaking glances our way anymore. It felt normal, but there was tension. Some classmates loved making jokes about it. I couldn't focus on that because of the new drama brewing.
"Why aren't you writing?"
Jennifer's voice rang out, loud enough for the whole class to hear. Everyone went silent, anticipating our exchange. Or maybe they were watching for Cons' reaction. I couldn't stop overthinking, at least it distracted me from Mags and Ramil.
"My head hurts. I feel dizzy..."
Even though I whispered, our teacher heard and got concerned.
"What's wrong, Chris? What happened?"
"I-I don't know, ma'am. I think I caught a chill. My nose is getting stuffy." I stammered.
My body followed suit, and I felt it. My nose was runny.
"You're dizzy? Do you want to rest in the clinic?"
The teacher offered, and I didn't refuse.
"Yes, ma'am, I really can't handle this. I'm feeling awful. Sorry."
"Alright. Do you need someone to walk you there? The clinic's open, I was just there. The nurse is in."
"MA'AM... MA'AM... MA'AM... MA'AM!"
All my guy classmates, except Cons, raised their hands.
"No need, ma'am. I can walk."
"Okay. Who do you want to take you, Jennifer or Magnolia?"
"YIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..."
"UUUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY....
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHH..."
The class erupted. I looked at Jennifer and Magnolia, both blushing.
"Ma'am, Jennifer..."
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!"
The class teased again.
"Ma'am, what I mean is... Jennifer's my cousin."
The class was shocked, like they'd never heard it before. A collective "OH?" filled the room.
"Our grandfathers are brothers, ma'am!"
I glanced at Magnolia. The teacher was shipping us for laughs, lightening the mood after the incident.
"How about Magnolia? I've heard you two hang out a lot lately."
"YIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..."
"UUUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY....
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHH..."
There they went again.
"Yes, ma'am! We're together!"
"YIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..."
"UUUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY....
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHH..."
The class went wild, banging on desks.
"Alright, Chris. Magnolia, you help him."
"YIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..."
"UUUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY....
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHH..."
I stood up, the class still noisy with teasing. Magnolia grabbed my bag, and my ears buzzed, vision spinning. One deep breath, and everything went black.
"Hey, Chris!"
"Grab him!"
That's all I heard before I lost consciousness.