ROOM 7
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Claim
---
The morning after Care and Cole finally stopped arguing, the room was different. Lighter. Softer. People moved slower. Smiled easier. Yuri didn't shout. Freya put her camera down. Even Ci N closed his notebook for an entire hour.
Lyra slept through the night. Eight hours. Straight. Alex stayed beside her the whole time, hand in hers, not moving, not sleeping. He watched her breathe. He counted the hours. He let her rest.
Jay woke to sunlight and warmth. The shark was beside her. Keifer was across the room, already awake, already watching her.
She smiled. He smiled.
It was going to be a good day.
---
Part One: The Message
Jay was on her bed after breakfast, reading, when her phone buzzed. She picked it up. A message. From an unknown number.
Hey, it's Michel. Got your number from the class list. Coffee sometime?
She stared at the screen. Michel. The new boy. The one who sat in Keifer's seat. The one who walked her to the courtyard. The one Keifer had kissed her against the lockers over.
She hadn't thought about him since that day. She hadn't needed to. She had Keifer. She had the shark. She had the coffee he made every morning. She had the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't watching.
She typed a response. I don't drink coffee with strangers.
The reply came fast. Then let's not be strangers. Lunch? Campus café. 12:30.
She was still staring at the screen when Keifer appeared beside her bed.
"What's that?"
She looked up. His face was neutral. His voice was neutral. His hands were in his pockets. But his jaw was tight. His eyes were fixed on her phone.
"A message."
"From who?"
She hesitated. "Michel."
His jaw tightened more. "Michel."
"He got my number from the class list. He wants to have coffee."
Keifer didn't say anything. He was looking at her phone. At the screen. At the words. Lunch? Campus café. 12:30.
"Are you going?" he asked.
"I haven't decided."
"You haven't decided."
She looked at him. "I'm not going."
He stared at her. "Why not?"
"Because I don't want to."
"You don't want to."
"Keifer."
He took her phone. She let him. He read the messages. His face didn't change. His hands didn't shake. But something in his eyes shifted. Something dark. Something she'd only seen once before. When Ram touched her. When he went after him.
"Keifer."
He put the phone down. Looked at her. "You're not going."
It wasn't a question.
"No," she said. "I'm not."
He nodded. Walked to his bed. Sat down. Picked up his book. Stared at the page.
Jay watched him. His jaw was still tight. His hands were flat on the book. He wasn't reading. He was waiting.
She picked up her phone. Deleted the message. Blocked the number.
"Keifer."
He looked up.
"It's gone."
He looked at her phone. At her face. At her hands.
"I know," he said.
He went back to his book. She went back to hers. The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Ci N appeared beside Keifer's bed. "You're jealous."
Keifer didn't look at him. "I'm not jealous."
"You're jealous. Your jaw is tight. Your hands are flat. Your eyes are dark. These are symptoms of—"
"Ci N."
He stopped. Looked at Keifer's face. "I'll be quiet."
He walked back to his bed. Sat down. Opened his notebook. Page 256. Jealousy. Symptoms observed. Probability of intervention: 94.3 percent.
He started writing.
---
Part Two: The Interruption
Jay was in the kitchen, making coffee, when her phone buzzed again.
She looked at it. Another message. Different number. Same words.
Hey, it's Michel. Lost your number. Coffee?
She stared at the screen. He'd gotten another number. He'd found her again. She deleted the message. Blocked the number. Put her phone in her pocket.
Keifer appeared in the doorway. "Who was that?"
She turned. His face was neutral. His voice was neutral. His hands were in his pockets. But his jaw was tight.
"No one."
"Your phone buzzed. You looked at it. You put it in your pocket."
"It was nothing."
"Jay."
She looked at him. His eyes were dark. His jaw was tight. His hands were fists in his pockets.
"Michel," she said. "He got another number."
Keifer's hands came out of his pockets. His fists were white. His knuckles were sharp.
"I handled it," she said. "I deleted it. I blocked it."
He didn't answer. He was looking at her phone. At her pocket. At the place where the message had been.
"Keifer."
He looked at her. His face was still. His eyes were dark. His voice was low.
"Show me."
She pulled out her phone. Showed him. Deleted messages. Blocked numbers. No trace of Michel left.
He looked at the screen. At her. At the phone. At her.
"Keifer."
He grabbed her hand. Pulled her toward the door.
---
Part Three: The Drag
"Keifer—"
He didn't answer. He pulled her through the room. Past Yuri. Past Mica. Past Calix. Past Care and Cole. Past Freya and Erdix. Past Ash. Past David. Past Ci N. Past Lyra and Alex.
"Where are you taking me?"
He didn't answer. He pulled her into the hallway. The door slammed behind them. The room was silent. Sixteen people staring at the closed door.
Yuri was the first to move. "Where are they going?"
Ci N was already on his feet. "He's jealous. He's going to kiss her. In the hallway. Against the lockers. The probability is 97.8 percent."
Yuri stared at him. "You calculated the probability of him kissing her in the hallway?"
Ci N opened his notebook. Showed him the page. Numbers. Times. Locations. Probabilities.
"I calculate everything."
Yuri grabbed his hair. "HE'S EIGHTEEN."
"He's eighteen," Felix said.
"HE CALCULATED THE PROBABILITY OF A HALLWAY KISS."
"He calculated the probability of a hallway kiss."
"WHILE JAY WAS BEING TEXTED BY ANOTHER BOY."
"While Jay was being texted by another boy."
Yuri pointed at Ci N. "You're terrifying."
Ci N smiled. "I know."
---
Part Four: The Hallway
Keifer pulled her to the lockers. The same lockers. The same spot. The same place he'd kissed her before. His hand was on her waist. His body was against hers. His face was inches from her face.
"You deleted the message," he said.
"I deleted the message."
"You blocked the number."
"I blocked the number."
"He got another number."
She looked at him. His eyes were dark. His jaw was tight. His hand was on her waist.
"I blocked that one too."
He stared at her. "He's going to get another one."
"Then I'll block that one too."
"He's going to keep trying."
She put her hand on his face. His skin was warm. His jaw was hard. His eyes were still dark.
"Then I'll keep blocking," she said. "Every number. Every message. Every time."
He covered her hand with his. "He's going to find you. In class. In the courtyard. In the hallway. He's going to find you and he's going to talk to you and he's going to look at you like—"
She kissed him.
It wasn't soft. It wasn't gentle. It was rough. Demanding. His hands went to her face. Her hands went to his shirt. His back hit the lockers. Her body pressed against his. He kissed her like he was claiming her. She kissed him like she was letting him.
He pulled back. His forehead was against hers. His breathing was heavy. His hands were shaking.
"You don't get to talk to him," he said. "You don't get to laugh at his jokes. You don't get to let him walk beside you. You don't get to let him look at you like—"
She kissed him again. Harder. His arms went around her. Her hands went to his hair. The lockers rattled. The hallway was empty. The world was gone.
He pulled back again. His face was red. His eyes were wild. His voice was low.
"You're mine."
She stared at him. Her heart was pounding. Her hands were shaking. Her lips were burning.
"I know."
"You're mine, Jay. Only mine."
She didn't answer. She was waiting. She was watching his face. The way his jaw was tight. The way his eyes were dark. The way his hands were holding her like she might disappear.
"I love you," he said.
She went still.
"I love you, Jasper Jean Mariano. I've loved you since the first family dinner. Since you spilled wine on my shirt. Since you called me 'that Watson boy.' I've loved you for years. I've waited for years. I've watched you run and I've chased you and I've caught you every time you fell. And I'm not letting anyone—anyone—take you away from me."
She stared at him. Her eyes were wet. Her hands were shaking. Her lips were parted.
"You love me," she said.
"I love you."
"Since the first family dinner."
"Since the first family dinner."
"You've been waiting."
"I've been waiting."
"You've been chasing."
He smiled. It was soft. It was tired. It was everything. "I've been catching."
She touched his face. Her fingers traced his cheekbone. His jaw. His lips.
"I love you too," she said. "Mark Keifer Watson. I've loved you since the first family dinner. Since you spilled wine on my shirt. Since you apologized like it was the worst thing you'd ever done. I've loved you for years. I've been running for years. And I'm tired. I'm so tired of running."
He pulled her closer. His forehead was against hers. His hands were in her hair. His voice was hoarse.
"Then stop."
She kissed him. He kissed her. The lockers rattled. The hallway was empty. The world was gone.
---
Part Five: The Parents
They didn't hear the footsteps.
"KEIFER."
They pulled apart. Keizer Watson was standing at the end of the hallway. Jasper Mariano was beside him. Jeena Mariano was behind them. Serina Watson was behind her. Their bags were on the floor. Their mouths were open. Their eyes were wide.
Keifer's face went pale. Jay's face went red.
"Dad," Keifer said.
"Father," Jay said.
Jeena was the first to move. She walked toward them. Her steps were fast. Her face was bright. Her hands were clasped in front of her.
"You kissed," she said.
Jay opened her mouth. "Mom—"
"You kissed in the hallway. Against the lockers. In front of everyone."
"There was no one—"
"We're here. We're everyone."
Jay closed her mouth.
Keizer walked toward Keifer. His steps were slower. His face was serious. His hands were in his pockets.
"You said you love her," he said.
Keifer's jaw tightened. "Yes."
"You said you've loved her since the first family dinner."
"Yes."
"You said you've been waiting."
"Yes."
Keizer looked at him for a long moment. Then he smiled. "Good."
Jasper walked toward Jay. His face was serious. His hands were behind his back.
"You said you love him," he said.
Jay's face was red. "Yes."
"You said you've loved him since the first family dinner."
"Yes."
"You said you've been running."
She swallowed. "Yes."
Jasper looked at her for a long moment. Then he smiled. "Good."
Jeena grabbed Serina's arm. "They love each other."
Serina grabbed Jeena's arm. "They said it. In the hallway. Against the lockers."
"They said it."
"They said it."
They looked at each other. Their faces were bright. Their eyes were wet.
"We can plan the wedding," Jeena said.
Serina nodded. "The wedding."
"The venue. The flowers. The guest list."
"The colors. The cake. The—"
"Mom," Jay said.
Jeena turned. "Yes, dear?"
"We're not planning a wedding."
Jeena's face fell. "You're not?"
"We're not."
Serina looked at Keifer. "You're not getting married?"
Keifer's ears were red. "We're not."
Jeena looked between them. "But you love each other. You said it. In the hallway. Against the lockers. You said it."
"We said it," Jay said.
"You love him."
"I love him."
"He loves you."
"He loves me."
Jeena waited. "So?"
Jay looked at Keifer. Keifer looked at Jay.
"We're going to finish university first," Jay said.
Jeena blinked. "What?"
"University. We're going to finish. Then we'll talk about—" She stopped.
Keifer took her hand. "Then we'll talk about everything."
Jeena stared at them. Serina stared at them. Keizer stared at them. Jasper stared at them.
"You're going to wait," Jeena said.
"We're going to wait."
"Until university is over."
"Until university is over."
"That's three years."
Jay squeezed Keifer's hand. "We've waited longer."
Jeena looked at Serina. Serina looked at Jeena. Keizer looked at Jasper. Jasper looked at Keizer.
"Three years," Jeena said.
"Three years," Serina said.
They looked at the hallway. At the lockers. At their children holding hands.
"Three years," Jeena said again. "We can plan. We can prepare. We can—"
"Mom."
Jeena stopped. Looked at Jay.
Jay was smiling. "Three years."
Jeena looked at her daughter's face. At the way she was holding Keifer's hand. At the way she was standing. Not running. Not hiding. Just standing.
"Three years," Jeena said. "I can wait three years."
Serina nodded. "I can wait three years."
Keizer put his hand on Keifer's shoulder. "Good jacket."
Keifer blinked. "What?"
"The jacket. You gave it to her. In Tagaytay. It was a good jacket."
Keifer's ears went redder. "Thank you, Dad."
Jasper looked at Jay. "You kept the highlighter."
Jay's face went red. "What?"
"The highlighter. The bent one. Percy told me. You kept it."
She opened her mouth. Closed it. "It's a good highlighter."
"It's bent."
"It works."
Jasper smiled. "Good."
---
Part Six: The Return
They walked back to the room together.
Keifer and Jay. Their parents. All four of them. Walking down the hallway like a procession.
Yuri saw them first. "THEY'RE BACK."
The room went silent. Sixteen people. Sixteen people staring at the door. At Keifer. At Jay. At their parents.
"OH MY GOD," Lyra said.
"OH MY GOD," Ash said.
"OH MY GOD," Mica said.
Ci N was writing. "Page 257. Parents arrived. Probability of wedding discussion: 100 percent."
Yuri grabbed his hair. "HE'S EIGHTEEN."
"He's eighteen," Felix said.
"HE CALCULATED THE PROBABILITY OF A WEDDING DISCUSSION."
"He calculated the probability of a wedding discussion."
"WHILE THEIR PARENTS WERE IN THE HALLWAY."
"While their parents were in the hallway."
Yuri pointed at Ci N. "You're terrifying."
Ci N smiled. "I know."
Jeena walked into the room. Looked around. Sixteen beds. Sixteen desks. Sixteen people. "This is where you live."
Jay nodded. "This is where we live."
Jeena looked at the shark on Jay's pillow. At the fox on Ci N's bed. At the snacks on David's nightstand. At the photos on Freya's wall. At the schedules on Care's desk. At the books on Cole's shelf. At the blankets on Lyra's couch. At Alex beside her.
"You're happy here," Jeena said.
Jay looked at the room. At Yuri. At Mica. At Calix. At Care. At Cole. At Freya. At Erdix. At David. At Ci N. At Rakki. At Felix. At Ash. At Lyra. At Alex. At Keifer.
"Yes," she said. "We are."
Jeena smiled. Serina smiled. Keizer smiled. Jasper smiled.
"Good," Jeena said. "Then we'll wait."
---
Part Seven: The Night
The parents left after dinner.
They'd eaten with the room. Sixteen people. Four parents. Twenty people around the table. Yuri told stories. Mica cooked. Calix helped. Care and Cole argued. Freya took photos. Erdix filmed. David passed snacks. Ci N calculated. Rakki watched. Felix wrote. Ash laughed. Lyra smiled. Alex held her hand.
Jay and Keifer sat at the end of the table. Their hands were together. Their shoulders were touching. Their parents watched them from across the room.
Jeena leaned toward Serina. "Three years."
Serina nodded. "Three years."
"I can plan. I can prepare. I can—"
Serina smiled. "We can plan."
Jeena smiled back. "We can plan."
They watched their children. Keifer was laughing at something Yuri said. Jay was trying not to laugh. She was failing.
"They're happy," Jeena said.
Serina watched Keifer's hand on Jay's waist. Watched Jay lean into him. Watched them forget anyone else was in the room.
"They're happy," Serina said.
They watched until the door closed behind them.
---
Part Eight: The Night
The room was quiet.
Lyra was on the couch. Alex beside her. Her eyes were closed. His hand was in hers. She was sleeping. She'd been sleeping for six hours. The longest she'd slept since the crash.
Ci N was on his bed. Notebook open. Pen in hand. He was writing something. His forehead was wrinkled. His lips were moving.
Rakki watched him. "What are you writing?"
He showed her. Numbers. Times. Dates. Kisses. Seven of them in three days. Each one documented. Each one calculated.
"I'm tracking them," he said. "The kisses. The probability of an eighth kiss tomorrow is 96.1 percent. The probability of a ninth kiss is 94.3 percent. The probability of—"
She closed his notebook. "You need to sleep."
"I'm not tired."
"You've been calculating all day."
"I've been documenting."
"Same thing."
He looked at his notebook. At the closed cover. At the numbers inside. "They said I love you."
"I know."
"In the hallway. Against the lockers."
"I know."
He picked up his fox. Held it. "They're going to get married."
Rakki looked at him. "In three years."
He nodded. "In three years. I calculated it. The probability of them waiting is 89.7 percent. The probability of them getting married is—" He stopped.
"What?"
He looked at his notebook. At the closed cover. At the numbers he couldn't see.
"One hundred percent."
She kissed his cheek. "You're impossible."
He smiled. "You like it."
She didn't answer. She sat beside him. Watched the room settle. Watched Yuri get into bed. Watched Felix close his notebook. Watched Freya put her camera away. Watched Erdix help. Watched Ash fall asleep. Watched David eat his last chips. Watched Care and Cole hold hands. Watched Lyra sleep. Watched Alex watch her.
Watched Jay and Keifer sit on her bed, the shark between them, their hands together.
They were going to get married. In three years. Ci N had calculated it. But for now, they were just sitting. Just holding hands. Just being.
That was enough.
---
Across the room, Jay lay in her bed. The shark was beside her. Keifer was beside her. His arm was around her. Her head was on his chest.
"You said you love me," she said.
"I said I love you."
"In the hallway."
"In the hallway."
"Against the lockers."
"Against the lockers."
She looked up at him. "You said I'm yours."
He looked down at her. "You are."
She smiled. "You're mine."
He kissed her forehead. "I am."
She closed her eyes. His heartbeat was under her ear. His hand was in her hair. The shark was beside them. The room was quiet.
"Keifer."
"Yeah."
"Three years."
"Three years."
She opened her eyes. Looked at him. "We're going to wait."
He looked at her. "We're going to wait."
She smiled. "I love you."
He smiled. "I love you."
He kissed her. Soft. Gentle. The way he'd been wanting to kiss her for years.
From across the room, Ci N's voice: "Page 258. Kiss number eight. Probability of kiss number nine tomorrow: 97.2 percent."
"Ci N," Jay said.
"I'm sleeping."
"You're talking."
"I'm sleeping and talking. My brain works at one hundred sixty percent. I can do both."
"Ci N."
"Goodnight, Mother. Goodnight, Father."
She smiled into Keifer's chest. "Goodnight, Ci N."
The room was quiet. Sixteen people. Sixteen people who were something to each other. Something that didn't need a name.
Jay closed her eyes. Keifer was beside her. The shark was beside her. She was his. He was hers. They had three years to wait.
They could wait.
---
End of Chapter Twenty-Nine