Jay POV
We were almost done with class. Just twenty more minutes. The room felt lazy, quiet, pens scratching against paper like tired crickets.
Then my phone vibrated.
I froze.
Sir Alvin stopped mid-sentence. His eyes slowly turned toward me like a spotlight finding its victim.
"Miss Mariano," he said sharply. "Turn off your phone."
My heart skipped. I glanced down quickly.
Hex.
Why would Hex call me during school?
"Yes, sir," I muttered, switching it to silent and sliding it back into my bag.
Class continued.
Not even five minutes later…
Ci-n's phone rang.
The entire class turned.
Sir Alvin slowly faced him. "Whose phone is that?"
"Sorry, sir!" Ci-n fumbled and quickly silenced it.
He leaned toward me and whispered, "It's Hex."
My stomach twisted.
Why would Hex call Ci-n too?
Before I could think properly—
RING.
Yuri's phone.
Sir Alvin's patience officially left his body.
"That should be the last sound I hear. Turn off your gadgets. All of you."
"Sorry, sir," Yuri said quickly, putting his phone on silent.
He leaned closer to us. "Hex called me too."
Keifer frowned. "Why would Hex be calling us so much?"
The air changed. It wasn't lazy anymore.
It felt… wrong.
Then—
RING.
Keifer's phone.
Sir Alvin stared at us in disbelief. "Really?"
Keifer looked at the screen. His expression shifted.
"It's Hex," he muttered.
Sir Alvin pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know what? I'm ending class here. It's only twenty minutes left anyway. Goodbye."
He packed his books faster than usual and walked out.
The second he left—
Everyone pulled out their phones at the same time.
"Five missed calls," I said quietly.
"Two," Ci-n replied.
"Three here," someone behind us added.
Keifer's phone rang again.
He answered immediately. "Yeah, Hex? What's wrong?"
But the voice that came through wasn't Hex.
It was Mila.
"Is Jay there?" she asked, her voice shaking.
I stepped closer. "Yes. I'm here. What happened?"
Then Kieren's voice came in.
"Jay… Hex got into a big fight with Marcos."
My heart dropped.
James spoke next. "He's in the principal's office right now. With Marcos… and Marcos' dad."
"What?!" I whispered. "How did this happen?"
Mila answered quickly. "We don't know. They were arguing. Then Marcos said something and… Hex punched him."
James added, "Jayjay… Marcos was beaten badly."
"He deserved it," Kieren muttered in the background.
Mila continued, her voice trembling. "Hex was so angry. Even the staff couldn't hold him."
My chest tightened.
Hex doesn't lose control like that.
Something serious happened.
"I'm coming," I said immediately.
Keifer looked at me. "We're coming."
"Okay," Mila replied. "We're waiting."
The call ended.
For one second, the room was silent.
Then I grabbed my bag.
The others did the same without a word.
No jokes. No teasing. No chaos.
Just tension.
We walked out of the classroom together, footsteps quick, hearts racing.
Pizza chaos was over.
Now something darker was waiting.
And I had a feeling…
Whatever Marcos said…
It wasn't small.