In Love With The Enemy Part 1

#InLoveWithTheEnemy

He was my biggest rival. My greatest enemy. Elementary palang mi , kami na permi kontra, or was it just me nga permi siya kontrahan?

 I grew up with very competitive parents with both of them being professionals. Call me Courtney . I was expected to always be on top of my game. And I, being the "perfect" daughter , I strived for perfection and excellence in everything I do. I wanted my parents to be proud of me more than anything else in this world.

From Grades 1 to 5 , I dominated the school. Ako ang overall first honor every grading, every grade department. And when grade 6 came, I was so excited to end the year on top again. But then he came , the transferee. I remember the first time I was heartbroken at school. After sa first periodical test namo, tingbalik na sa answer sheets. Akoang teacher was excited to announce the highest scorer. I was excited pd to hear my name. But instead of hearing Courtney, I heard my teacher say Micheal, the transferee. Apparently, he was also smart, very smart. From then on I considered him as competition. Bastag magka eye to eye mi ni Micheal , ako dayun sha isnob. Never did I say any word to him bisag classmates mi or groupmates mi sa cleaners. While he had a friendly aura kay daghan kaayu shag friends, ako I was never friendly for the record. Ug mas nigrabe pa akong hatred niya pag end sa school year. He was declared the class valedictorian and I the salutatorian. Pag ingon sa among teacher ana, nihilak jd ko ato pag ayo. Pag recess namo, didto ko sa vegetable garden. And there together with the talong, ampalaya and beans, nag emote ko because I was scared how my parents would react. But then naay naabot. Si Micheal. Ako siyang gishagitan.

Me : Gaunsa man ka diri? Manghambog ka kay abi ikaw ang first honor? 

Him : *wala nakatingog* Gihatag ra niya iyang panyo nako nya usa ka Hello nga chocolate nya nidagan. Hello Chocolate is my favorite. I dont know if coincidence or what. 

The day sa amoang graduation , as expected , disappointed si Mama ug Dada.Dada did not even attend kay naay importanteng lakaw. That was the worst day sa akong life. As a young girl, I felt so low nga I did my best. I studied everyday , ug bisan ig kahapon masuya ko sa akong classmates kay magduwa pa sila before muuli, but still , I chose to go home early so I could study. Sa akoang bata nga pangutok , nakapangutana ko , I did everything right, but why is it not enough para dili molakaw si Dada , para mahappy si Mama? Ug tungod kay bata pa lage ko ato, akoang gblame si Micheal. It was his fault why that day, I disappointed my parents. 

High School came. Unfortunately , classmates ghapon mi ni Micheal. Same school pd. Di mi magtagad gihapon. I still hated him with all of me. But he remained ahead of me sa school. I was always 2nd to him.

Ff 3rd year mi. Lessons were quite hard. Math was my weakpoint. I remembered having a really hard time with Algebra and Trigo. I had my lowest grade an 88. Pagkadawat nako sa akoang card, nagkurog najd ko ato. Like I'm not ready to go home and face my parents disappointed face again. Sa school man gd namo , our cards are also directly sent sa amo parents through mail. So Im sure nadawat napd nila Mama ako report card. Micheal looked at me as he got his card. I just stared blankly at him. Then he looked away. After class, I was sitting at one of out benches. This is just like one of the many moments that I feel so down. Suddenly, I felt someone nga nitapad nako. It was Micheal. I did not know what to say. I mean, we've never talked. So what is he doing here? Suddenly he looked at me and spoke. 

Micheal : You did well. Congratulations Court. 

 *And naa siya'y gkoot sa iyang bulsa, it was a pack of Hello chocolate bars. And he put in beside me. 

I did not know how to react. I was beyond shocked. Here is the guy whom I've hated for years , giving me my favorite snack and telling me , out of people, that I did well. 

 I dont know why but my heart hurt so much from beating so fast and then tears rolled down on my cheeks. 

Next thing I know he was offering me his hanky then he said. 

Micheal : I'm sorry. 4 years ago, I never got to say that you did well. 

I did not accept his hanky. Instead, akong gkuha ang akong hanky nga I know familiar niya. It was the hanky he gave me back when we were just grade 6. Somehow, after that, I always brought it with me. I always use it everytime I feel low, everytime I feel disappointed in myself, everytime I cried because somehow it comforted me. 

When he saw it , he smiled. It was my first time seeing him smile. And oh my god, I cant believe I am crying and blushing in front of the enemy. 

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