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Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Cliffhanger
As the class started and the teacher walked in, Jeff passed his research paper when it was Mrs. Eve’s class rime.
The class was shocked. The revision had just happened yesterday, but now, here he was, already done.
When some of his classmates asked how he managed to finish so quickly, his groupmates beamed with pride, proudly showing off that they were already finished.
Arven and some of Jeff’s close friends asked about the title of his research, but he just smiled and replied.
"It’s a secret."
They were filled with curiosity but couldn’t do anything about it, as they had already finished their own work.
After that, various subject teachers came in one by one, giving the remaining pointers and lessons that still needed to be taught.
Finally, the day ended. Jeff went back to his boarding house to take a rest for a bit since he had nothing else to do for the moment.
After sleeping for about an hour, Jeff woke up and checked his email. To his disappointment, there was still no reply from CyberQuest.
With that, he decided not to focus on work for the day. Instead, he studied for the exam, but only reviewed what he could remember before going back to sleep.
When he woke up again, he found that he had earned $2,023 just from donations alone, and that was already been multiplied. Feeling content, he got ready and headed back to school.
Arriving as usual, Jeff listened attentively during class, but nothing unusual happened that day.
When the class ended and he returned home, he found his aunt and a girl sitting in the living room.
It was the very same girl who had been next to his room earlier. As soon as her aunt saw him enter, she called out.
"Come, sit here."
He followed her words, sitting on the sofa but making sure to keep some distance from the girl.
When their eyes met, they simply nodded at each other in greeting.
"Yes, Aunt, what is it?" Jeff asked as he placed his bag on the floor.
"So, Jeff, I believe you’ve met your neighbor, right?" Rose asked.
"Uh, yes, we just stay next door," he responded, since it was pretty obvious.
Rose, noticing the look Jeff gave her, as if she did not know this, made her fist itch for a moment.
"Then what is her name?" Rose asked, her tone a little sharper.
Jeff opened his mouth to speak but stopped, remembering that other than formalities, he and the girl had never actually interacted.
"What’s your name again?" Jeff inquired, turning to the girl.
"Jessica Rivera, just call me Jessica," she said, her tone warm, clearly trying to make friends.
"Ah, I see. So, it’s Jessica. My name is Jeff, Jeff Anzon. Nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand for a handshake.
Jessica gracefully shook his hand. After that, Jeff let go with a calm look on his face. Jessica was a bit surprised by his demeanor, noticing how calm and collected he was towards her.
To all the boys Jessica had met, just by holding her hand, they would be overwhelmed by the experience, but it seemed to be different with this guy.
"Is he pretending?" Jessica thought, staring at Jeff deeply, trying to figure him out.
Rose, watching the two interact, felt a sense of happiness. As his aunt, she saw it as her duty to help find a girlfriend for her best friend’s son.
"Aunt, is there something you wanted to say by calling me here?" Jeff asked, his tone a bit confused.
"Me neither, what seems to be the problem, big sister?" Jessica asked, having just arrived when she was called.
Seeing the two of them looking confused, Rose’s face turned serious.
"Well, earlier this morning when I bought some groceries, which I have right here," Rose said, opening the plastic bag to reveal a bunch of snacks.
"I got all these treats, do you two want some?"
"I’m good," Jessica responded, not showing much interest.
Seeing the smooth transition from seriousness to unseriousness left both Jeff and Jessica speechless.
They exchanged confused glances, unsure of how to respond to the sudden shift in tone.
"I’m good too. Aunt, please be direct," Jeff said, his voice pleading for her to get to the point.
Rose just snorted as she took a snack which is a potato chips, and then her face returned to seriousness, which made both Jeff and Jessica follow suit and get serious as well.
"Well, it’s like this," she began, but before continuing, she asked, "Do you two want some drinks?"
She opened the other plastic bag, filled with beverages like Mogu-Mogu, Chuckie, and other healthy drinks.
"Ahhh... I am good as well. Big sister," Jessica uttered with a broken smile.
"Me neither, Aunt, please continue," Jeff said, rubbing his head, feeling a headache coming on.
"Oh yeah, you two, lean in closer," Rose said, her face turning serious as the two focused and waited for her to speak.
Her face was puffed up from the chips, and there were even some crumbs on her lips and cheeks, but she didn’t seem to mind.
"You must listen carefully and remember..." Rose said, her tone serious, leaning forward as if her words were building suspense.
Jeff and Jessica straightened up, the tension rising, but then Rose paused.
She casually reached into the plastic, pulled out another bag of chips, ripped it open, and shoved a handful into her mouth.
Her cheeks puffed out, crumbs sticking to the corners of her lips, yet her expression remained deadly serious.
"You see..." Rose mumbled through the crunching of chips.
Jeff and Jessica leaned in closer, hanging on her every word.
"This morning..." she continued, still munching away.
The two were hooked, but they were also getting extremely agitated by her slow pace.
Rose finally swallowed, licked her fingers clean, and opened a bottle of Chuckie. She took a long sip, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and then looked at them again with a serious expression.
Jessica and Jeff exchanged glances, completely clueless about what was going on at this moment.
"I saw..." Rose stopped abruptly, letting out a burp. The way she did it was far from ladylike.
Jeff held his breath but groaned, frustrated that she cut off the suspense again. Jessica, on the other hand, clutched her skirt tighter, trying to stay composed.
"The price of eggs went up again!" Rose roared angrily.
Silence.
Jeff blinked, dumbfounded. All that excitement and waiting and it was all for this?
On the other hand, Jessica’s face twitched, and her grip slowly loosened on her skirt.
"And not just by a little! But by two whole pesos!" Rose declared, slamming the drink down as if it were breaking news.
Jeff stood there frozen, struggling to keep his eye from twitching. Jessica, on the other hand, slowly sat back straight, clearly trying to process the situation.
"Aunt," Jeff said slowly, his voice tinged with frustration, "please never call me for an emergency like this again." no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
"What do you mean not call you!" Rose said defensively.
"Do you know how that ruined my entire budget? We could’ve bought more snacks!"
Jeff sighed from her aunt’s words as he growled inwardly, "You have lots of money, what do you mean ruined your entire budget,"
Jeff felt sleepy from all the excitement, and Jessica, equally agitated, was disappointed after expecting some groundbreaking news, but it turned out to be nothing.
"After buying those eggs in the market, the owner of that small shop told me to be careful," Rose said, finally getting to the point.
Hearing this, both Jeff and Jessica suddenly turned serious, their attention fully on Rose.
"What did he say?" Jeff inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"The old lady told me that I, and any other girls in my family or friends, should hear this. She said that a girl was sexually assaulted about three days ago," Rose finally revealed, dropping a shocking piece of news.
...
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