The morning after Jairo emotionally— and spiritually— obliterated him, Lynx woke up with a fire in his chest.
A dangerous fire. A stupid fire. But a fire nonetheless.
He stood in front of the bathroom mirror, pointed at his own reflection, and declared: "Hindi ako papatalo sa inyo. Hindi pwedeng ako lang ang tanga dito!"
(I will not surrender on all of you! It's unacceptable that I am the only stupid one here!)
Then he marched out of the dorm room with the determination of a man who had hit academic rock bottom and decided to crawl upward using his bare hands.
While Castillian enjoyed their rare break— Uno sleeping sideways on the sofa, Felix reading quietly, Jairo eating cereal like a toddler, and Mico rewriting their future training schedule because of course he was— Lynx sat at the dining table with his laptop.
He typed furiously. Like a man possessed. Like someone applying to NASA with only a kindergarten diploma.
Felix looked up. "…Lynx, what are you doing?"
"Fixing my life." He said between his gritted teeth.
Uno blinked. "You buying insurance?"
"No." He turned the screen around dramatically. "I am enrolling in an online high school class."
The room froze. Jairo dropped his spoon. Felix blinked twice. Uno stared blankly. And Mico— who had just come out of his room holding a mug of coffee— stopped mid-sip.
"You're… enrolling?"
"In high school," Lynx said proudly. "An online one. Legit. Accredited. With modules and quizzes and everything."
Jairo gasped. "Lynx!!! That's amazing! We're proud of—"
Mico cut in. "Why didn't you tell me? I could tutor you. Or better, we can enroll you straight into Casa de—"
"NO." Lynx's voice cracked like a door slammed by the wind. He stood, slammed his palms on the table, and pointed accusingly at Mico. "NO. YOU WILL NOT TUTOR ME."
Mico frown. "…why?"
"Because you study at Casa de Imperium."
"So?"
"So?! CASA. DE. IMPERIUM."
The four Imperians exchanged confused glances like he had just yelled "gravity is fake."
Lynx groaned. "You don't get it. You are monsters. Academic monsters. Intellectual war machines. You don't 'tutor,' you annihilate. One second I'll be learning addition, the next thing you'll be explaining quantum mechanics with hand gestures!"
Mico lowered his coffee slowly. "…that's not true."
Felix quietly raised a finger. "You once taught a first-year student the fundamentals of calculus by starting with quantum probability curves."
Mico sighed. "He understood it."
Uno chimed in. "He cried."
"That's unrelated."
Lynx pointed harder. "SEE?! That is EXACTLY why I'm not letting ANY of you teach me." He took a deep breath, as if declaring something sacred. "I want to start from the beginning. Like a normal person. Grade 10 modules. Algebra that won't explode. English without scientific terms. Science that won't summon a demon."
Jairo nodded sympathetically. "That's fair."
Felix even smiled slightly. "A wise, gradual approach."
Uno clapped like a proud aunt.
But Mico? Mico was not letting go that easily.
He pulled a chair beside Lynx. His voice softened. "Lynx. You don't need to prove anything to us."
Lynx stiffened but didn't reply.
"You're part of our team. Our family. If you want to study, we'll support you. But you shouldn't think you're beneath us."
Lynx's jaw clenched. "It's not that. I just… want to do it in my own pace. My own level. If I start with you guys… I'll feel stupid every day."
Silence. A heavy one.
Mico leaned back, considering that. Finally, he nodded. "…Okay. I understand."
Lynx blinked. "You do?"
"I do. If I were in your place, I'd want control too."
Then—
"So I'll stop offering to tutor you."
"Good."
"But I'm still going to enroll you in Casa de Imperium eventually."
"WHAT—"
"For college," Mico clarified calmly. "After you finish high school. After you're ready. After you're confident."
"HELL NO—"
"Felix can forge your requirements if needed—"
"Why me?" Felix muttered.
"—and Uno will hype you up, and Jairo will decorate your dorm."
"I will put stickers!!" Jairo cheered.
Lynx shoved his face into a pillow. "Over my dead body. You'll have to drag me kicking and screaming before I study in Casa de Imperium."
Mico: "…we can carry you."
Uno: "We can chloroform yo—"
"UNO NO." The whole dorm yelled.
Lynx finally enrolled.
Officially. Legit. Modules would arrive next week. Assignments would start the moment he opened the portal.
He felt nervous. Excited. Terrified. But for once… he felt like he had a path.
Felix placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're doing well, Lynx."
Jairo hugged him from behind. "You'll do great!"
Uno saluted him dramatically. "Good luck, my boy!"
Mico gave him a small, proud smile.
No pressure. No judgment. Just support.
Lynx swallowed a lump in his throat.
Maybe… just maybe…
He could do this. Even if the Imperians had to drag him someday. But for now?
High school first.
Before the monsters catch him.
---
The dorm was unusually quiet that night.
Uno was snoring with his face buried in the couch cushions. Jairo had fallen asleep mid-video, headphones dangling from one ear. Felix slept like a peaceful cat—silent, still, immaculate. And Mico, their Captain, was at his desk reviewing schedules and sorting documents, the lamplight casting a calm glow over his focused face.
Lynx, meanwhile, sat alone on the balcony with his phone pressed to his ear. The city lights of Mainland China glittered below him, but his fingers trembled.
Tonight wasn't about basketball. Not about their fame. Not about victory.
Tonight… Lynx was calling home.
"Ma?"
There was a rustle on the other end.
"L-Lynard? Anak?!" His mother's voice cracked instantly. "Bakit, may nangyari ba? Are you okay? May sakit ka ba?"
(Son?! Why, did something happen? Are you sick?)
"No, Ma," Lynx laughed softly. "Wala. I just… wanna tell you something."
(... mom... Nothing.)
"Anak, alas-dos na dito. Kinabahan ako—"
(Son, it's 12 o'clock here. I'm getting nervous—)
"Ma, I'm going back to school."
Silence. Long, quiet, breath-catching silence.
Then—
"Anak…" His mother's voice broke. "Anak… totoo ba 'yan?"
(Son... son... is that true?)
Lynx swallowed hard. "Yeah. I enrolled already. Online class. High school… it's legit, accredited. I'll finish it this time. Promise."
His mother sobbed. Not the loud kind. The soft, relieved kind that stabbed a man straight in the chest.
"Lynard… you deserve this. Matagal mo na 'yang deserve. Anak, bakit ka ba kasi nagtrabaho nang napakabata? Bakit mo kami inuna? Bakit mo tinigil pag-aaral mo?"
(You deserve it long time ago. Son, why did you work so young? Why did you think of us first? Why did you stopped school?)
Lynx closed his eyes. Because he knew the answer. Because he'd always known.
"Ma… we were poor. Too poor. Walang makain minsan. Si Papa halos walang kita pag tag-ulan. You're working sa ospital, naglalaba buong araw. Tapos may apat pa akong kapatid na umaasa sa inyo."
(We have nothing to eat sometimes. Papa almost have no income during the rainy season. You're working in the hospital, doing laundry all day. Then I have four other siblings who depend on you.)
His throat tightened. "So I worked. I had to."
He remembered the cramped rooms in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The construction sites. The dishwashing shifts. The fear of getting caught. The nights he slept hungry so he could send more money home.
He remembered everything.
His mother sniffed. "Pero anak… bata ka pa noon. Hindi mo kasalanan na naghirap tayo. Kami dapat ang nagpapakahirap para satin."
(But son... you're still young that time. Its not your fault that we're poor. We should be the ones making it for our family.)
"I know, Ma. Pero ayos lang. Nakatulong naman ako, 'di ba? And now… now I'm studying again."
(But it's okay. I helped right?)
"You should've been studying years ago," she whispered painfully. "Hindi nagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa… hindi nagtatago… hindi nag-iisa."
( Not working abroad… not hiding… not alone.)
Lynx bit his lip until it hurt. "I'm okay now, Ma. I promise. I'm safe. I'm… happy."
He didn't mention he was famous. Or that he lived with four geniuses. Or that the university was renovating an entire building for basketball. Or that he had fans screaming his name across Asia.
None of that mattered now. This was about righting a piece of his life he had abandoned.
His mother exhaled shakily. "Lynard… anak… salamat. Salamat na hindi ka sumuko. Kahit ang hirap ng pinagdaanan mo."
(son… thank you. Thank you for not giving up. Even though you went through a lot of hardships.)
"I won't give up," Lynx whispered. "Hindi na."
(Not anymore.)
"And your father... gising pa 'yon, nag-aabang sa'yo araw-araw. Gusto mo ba siyang makausap?"
( He's still awake, waiting for you every day. Do you want to talk to him?)
"Sige, Ma."
(Yes, mom.)
He waited. Then came the rough, tired voice of a farmer who had aged too quickly.
"Anak… proud kami sa'yo."
(Son... we're so proud of you.)
Lynx froze.
His father had never been a man of many words.
"You did everything for us," the older man continued. "Pero anak… ngayon naman, gawin mo para sa sarili mo. Mag-aral ka. Tapusin mo. Hindi ka namin minamadali… pero lagi kaming nandito para sayo."
(But son… now, do it for yourself. Study. Finish it. We're not rushing you… but we'll always be their for you.)
Lynx wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Pa… salamat."
(...Thank you.)
He hung up only when his siblings woke up, groggy but excited, shouting "Kuya Lynx!! Kuyaaaa!!" into the phone before his mother shushed them back to sleep.
When the call finally ended, Lynx stayed still for a long moment, breathing in the humid night air.
His heart felt heavy. But lighter than it had in years.
Inside, Mico was sipping his coffee, silently staring at the wall in front of him.