Chapter: Profanity Control
(Jay's POV)
The next morning?
I woke up with one mission.
Revenge.
Because Section E had one job.
ONE.
To keep their mouths shut.
But nooooo.
They had to scream "WALL PIN CONFIRMED" like breaking news reporters.
Now the whole school knew.
Section A was staring.
Section B was whispering.
Section C was giggling.
Even the janitor smiled at me weirdly.
So yes.
I was angry.
And Section E was about to suffer.
—
The moment I stepped into our building, they knew.
Blaster froze mid-sentence.
Ci n slowly backed away.
Denzel pretended to tie his shoe.
I slammed my bag on the desk.
"WHO," I said slowly, "told Section B."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Mayo pointed at Rory.
Rory pointed at Ci n.
Ci n pointed at Blaster.
Blaster pointed at Keifer.
Traitors.
"You guys are unbelievable," I snapped. "Do you not know how to keep your mouths shut?"
"Technically," Ci n started carefully, "we were celebrating."
"CELEBRATING WHAT? MY EMBARRASSMENT?"
"It was romantic!" Denzel defended.
"It was chaos!" I corrected.
Blaster tried to calm me. "Jay, it wasn't that bad—"
"Not that bad?" I repeated. "Section A called me 'Miss Universe Mrs. Watson' today."
The boys burst out laughing.
Wrong move.
"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?"
They immediately stopped.
Ci n whispered to Keifer, "She's in war mode."
"I CAN HEAR YOU."
They looked like kindergarten kids being scolded.
And honestly?
It felt good.
"You people," I continued dramatically, pacing, "have zero control. ZERO. I trusted you. And you screamed like monkeys."
"Hey," Mayo protested softly. "Don't insult monkeys."
I pointed at him. "Shut up."
Blaster raised his hand cautiously. "Respectfully, you were also part of the situation."
"I did not scream."
"You ran."
"That was strategic retreat."
Keifer was sitting quietly at the back, watching.
Not interfering.
Which annoyed me more.
"You!" I pointed at him suddenly.
The class oohed loudly.
"What did I do?" he asked calmly.
"You encouraged them!"
"I was winning."
"That does not require public wall pinning!"
The class lost it again.
"STOP LAUGHING," I shouted.
Ci n dramatically wiped imaginary tears. "She's been cursing us for ten minutes straight."
"And I'm not done."
Denzel pulled out his phone. "Should we call Aries? Only he can control her."
"Don't you dare."
Too late.
Blaster already dialed.
"Hello?" Aries' voice came through speaker.
"Bro," Ci n said dramatically, "your sister is attacking us verbally."
"I am not his sister!"
Aries sighed. "What did you do?"
"We celebrated," Mayo said honestly.
"In the loudest way possible," I added.
Aries chuckled. "Sounds deserved."
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE."
"I'm on entertainment side."
I snatched the phone. "Tell them to shut up."
"No," he replied calmly. "Stop swearing at them."
"I'm not swearing."
"You just called them brainless parrots."
"That's descriptive."
The class howled again.
Aries sighed. "Keifer there?"
"Yes," Keifer answered lazily from his seat.
"Handle her," Aries said simply.
And then he hung up.
I stared at the phone in disbelief.
"Handle me?"
I turned slowly toward Keifer.
He stood up calmly.
Too calmly.
The class sensed danger.
They stepped back slightly.
"Don't start," I warned.
He walked toward me.
Slow steps.
Measured.
The class went completely silent.
"You've been using a lot of profanity today," he said casually.
"I have not."
"You called Blaster a malfunctioning speaker."
"He is loud."
"You called Ci n a walking disaster."
"He is."
"And you told Denzel to shut his dramatic mouth."
"Because he's dramatic."
The class nodded in agreement.
I folded my arms. "So?"
He stepped closer.
"Use one more," he said quietly.
"And what?"
His hand suddenly pressed against the wall beside my head.
The other rested lightly on my waist.
Pinning me there again.
The class gasped in synchronized horror.
"NOT AGAIN."
"CLASSROOM VERSION."
"THIS IS EDUCATIONAL VIOLENCE."
My heart jumped traitorously.
"Keifer," I hissed. "Move."
He didn't.
Instead, he leaned closer slightly.
"If you use another profanity," he murmured softly, "I'll kiss you."
The entire Section E screamed.
"THAT'S NOT FAIR."
"CHEAT CODE."
My brain malfunctioned.
"That's manipulation."
"It's motivation."
"You can't silence me like that."
"Try me."
I opened my mouth to argue.
Nothing came out.
The class leaned forward in anticipation.
"Say something," Ci n whispered dramatically.
I glared at him.
"Id—"
I stopped myself.
Keifer raised a brow slightly.
"Finish it," he challenged softly.
"You're all…" I tried again.
He leaned closer.
Dangerously close.
"Go on."
My face was burning.
This was psychological warfare.
"You're all… wonderful," I forced out.
The class booed loudly.
"DISAPPOINTING."
"SHE FOLDED."
Keifer smirked.
"See?" he said quietly near my ear. "You can behave."
"I hate you," I whispered.
"That's not profanity."
I narrowed my eyes.
"You are—"
He leaned even closer.
My back pressed more against the wall.
"You are what?" he murmured.
My heart was beating ridiculously fast.
"…Annoying."
"That's safe."
The class was enjoying this way too much.
Blaster shouted, "KISS HER ANYWAY."
Keifer didn't look away from me.
"Should I?" he asked softly.
My breath caught.
"Don't you dare."
He held my gaze for a few more seconds.
Then finally stepped back.
The class groaned dramatically.
"WASTED OPPORTUNITY."
I pushed away from the wall, trying to regain dignity.
"You're all impossible," I muttered.
"That's close to profanity," he warned playfully.
I glared at him.
"You're enjoying this too much."
He smiled slightly.
"Maybe."
Section E started teasing again.
"PROFANITY CONTROL."
"KISS POLICE."
"WALL RULES."
I grabbed my bag and sat down aggressively.
But I noticed something.
I wasn't actually angry anymore.
Annoyed?
Yes.
Embarrassed?
Absolutely.
But not angry.
Keifer leaned closer from behind my seat and whispered quietly so only I could hear—
"You're cute when you're mad."
I didn't turn around.
But my ears burned again.
Festival may have ended.
But apparently?
The chaos wasn't going anywhere.
And neither was he.