Chapter 8 Even More Full of It Than Hayes
Chapter 8: Even More Full of It Than Hayes
Luna gave up without hesitation. She picked up her phone and glanced at her WhatsApp messages.
She didn't have many friends on WhatsApp.
So she opened GroupMe instead.
The class had two group chats. One had the homeroom teacher and subject teachers, used for assignments and practice tests.
The other one didn't.
Messages were blowing up the teacher-free group — the one named "Hair Loss Prevention Society."
Supreme English Rep: [SOS!!! Anyone done the physics worksheet? Send it to your boy, I'm begging.]
Beauty Queen Wannabe: [Me too (crying) I vote again to change the group name to "Homework Execution Squad."]
Ramen Connoisseur: [Two days off and six practice tests. How the hell is this any different from no break at all?]
Professional Slacker: [I finished, but the last two free-response questions were brutal. Couldn't solve them.]
Beauty Queen Wannabe: [Seriously? If even the class rep can't solve them, nobody in this class can.]
Professional Slacker: [I really couldn't. So hard (crying)]
Ramen Connoisseur: [@X, calling God Hayes, calling God Hayes.]
X: [Haven't done physics yet. I'll send it when I'm done.]
Professional Slacker: [Thank you, God Hayes]
Beauty Queen Wannabe: [Thank you, God Hayes]
A flood of "Thank you, God Hayes" followed.
Aside from a handful of scholarship kids on tuition waivers who stayed quiet, most of the class were loud and active.
Messages scrolled by for pages.
X: [Stop.]
"Hmph."
Luna let out a dismissive snort.
Poser.
She tossed her phone on the desk, crossed her arms, and stared down the blank physics worksheet.
She could read every word. Strung together, they might as well have been hieroglyphics.
She dragged her hands through her hair in agony.
Like a middle-aged man facing his wife — wanted to, but couldn't.
Physics.
You have completely destroyed my dignity.
Luna left the group chat and scrolled through her friend list.
Nothing but a bad crowd. Not one of them could outscore her.
Luna's expression darkened. She agonized for ages between not submitting the homework at all and copying Hayes's.
Then she found a third option.
She opened the class group's member list.
She scrolled for ages. Near the bottom of the list, she found two X's side by side.
One had an all-black profile picture. That was Hayes.
The other had the default profile picture.
This one was... Jax.
In her previous life, after that chaotic night, Luna's hatred for Jax had peaked.
Later, as she gradually uncovered Hayes's true nature and realized what kind of person he really was, the illusion wore off completely. Once it did, her resentment toward Jax faded.
That night, he'd been set up too.
Besides, Jax was good-looking, had zero dating experience, and no bad habits.
Compared to the other losers she knew, he was clearly a good catch.
If she had to choose, she'd rather deal with Jax than Hayes.
Luna's fingertip hovered on the screen for a long time. Finally, she bit the bullet and sent the friend request.
-
Jax had slept for a long time.
When he woke, the sky had already darkened.
His room was tiny — just a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe.
The single bed sat under the window. The sliding window had a thin curtain that blocked no light at all.
The room was dim. Only a sliver of light leaked through the crack under the door.
"Jax? Are you awake?"
A knock at the door. Penny's voice was soft, carrying the same careful gentleness she'd worn for years.
Jax stood, didn't bother with the light, and opened the door.
Bright light from outside poured in.
The boy was tall and lean, one hand braced on the door. His hair fell messily across his forehead, and his lips were pale. "What is it?"
Penny looked worried. "You slept so long. Are you sick? Should we go to the hospital?"
"I'm fine."
Jax's voice was cool. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just tired."
"Did you not sleep well last night?" Penny asked quickly.
Jax nodded.
Penny: "I'll warm up some milk for you. Drink it before bed. You have school tomorrow."
"Okay." Jax answered.
Penny relaxed and smiled gently. "I'll go start dinner then."
He watched Penny go, then his gaze swept across the narrow, cramped living room — a small square dining table, a pendant light hanging above it, an old standing fan beside it. The fan was battered. The couch fit two people at most. An aging TV sat directly across from it.
Jax hadn't set foot in this place since he graduated high school.
Four years away. Nothing had changed.
Only Penny was different.
In his previous life, after Penny divorced Frank Summers, she had looked lighter, brighter. But the Penny standing here now still walked on eggshells, her face lined with hardship.
Jax closed the door quietly and turned on the light.
His bedroom was the same as before. Small, but spotless. Almost no personal items — only stacks of books and practice problems in the corner took up space.
He sat in the chair, long legs bent, and pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand.
He sat thinking for a long time and still couldn't understand it. He'd only closed his eyes for a few minutes in the airport lounge before his flight. How had he opened them and found himself seventeen again?
But right now...
Luna was still alive.
She was still here.
...
His phone buzzed.
Jax finally moved.
He picked up the phone and glanced at it. The bored look in his eyes sharpened the moment he saw the friend request.
-
Luna closed her bedroom door, carrying the bowl of cherries Helen had brought up.
Popping sweet little cherries one by one.
Her phone buzzed.
She opened her phone and raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. Less than a minute had passed, and Jax had already accepted her friend request.
X: [?]
X: [Wrong person?]
Moody Sweetie: [No!]
Luna rubbed her nose. The vibe was a little awkward. She scrolled through her collection of weird memes for a while before finding one that was borderline cute and sent it.
A kitten making a heart with its paws.
Jax didn't reply for ages.
Luna could wait. Her homework couldn't.
She bit the bullet and typed —
Moody Sweetie: [Jax, did you finish the physics worksheet?]
X: [Yeah.]
Luna clicked her tongue. Could this guy be any less helpful?
Moody Sweetie: [Can I see it?]
After she sent it, Jax didn't reply for a long time.
Infuriating man.
Luna viciously popped another cherry.
The fresh cherry burst, flooding her mouth with sweet juice.
Luna reached a conclusion.
Jax was even more full of himself than Hayes.
Half a minute later, her phone buzzed twice.
She opened it —
Two photos.
The lighting was warm and dim. Long, elegant fingers held the corner of the worksheet, nails trimmed clean, the white crescents on his nails clearly visible.
The worksheet was completely filled in. The handwriting was refined.
Luna: "..."
Fine.
She retracted her previous conclusion.
Moody Sweetie: [Thank you.]
X: [Yeah.]
Luna, shameless, pressed on: [You got bio, chem, and math too?]