The Story Of My Youth - Story 2

          

PARALLEL LINES

This is a story inspired by true events
from when I was younger.

Art by Wenqing Yan

         I met Jonathan when I was in 6th grade while our entire grade was rehearsing for our graduation. He was a cute mischievous little boy who had chubby cheeks and a center part. That was the trendiest hairstyle back then 😂. We weren't friends then, I didn't even know his name, but he loved to bother me. He would always do things to catch my attention. Whether it be taking away my song sheet, tugging my hair, or just snatching anything that I was fidgeting with. I didn't mind, though, because I had a tiny crush on him back then 😝. When our graduation finally arrived, he was nowhere in sight and I thought that was the last time that I would get to see him. But lo and below, when I reached high school, he was my school mate.

          I wanted to say hi to him, ask him how he was but it seemed that he doesn't remember me. So I pretended not to know him as well. We still became friends though, as he was a dancer like Anna, Keith, and Ryan. In fact, before I became close to Keith and Ryan, he and Anna were my closest friends. We would often loiter in his house when there were no classes. And I was his default passenger when we had road trips. Sometimes I would even have naps at his place. He was like a brother to me. He calls me Lil sis and I called him Big bro even though I was older by 3 days. I still had a crush on him, but I kept it to myself because I was happy enough to have that kind of friendship with him. Unfortunately, we slowly started to drift apart in our second year in high school when he got a new motorbike and a lot of girls started giving him attention. Some would even flirt with him so that they'll get to ride his shiny new motor. Pathetic creatures. 🙄He became a snob and he seldom hangs out with us. Other than school, I would only see him when he was rehearsing with Anna and Keith. After their rehearsals, he wouldn't even stay to chat, he would say just tell us he was busy and he would take off on his mighty steed. This was when I started getting close to Ryan and Keith. And when all the drama from STORY 1 happened.

          When we reach our 3rd year of high school and all the drama finally died down, Jonathan started hanging with us again. Perhaps he came back to his senses and realized that owning a bike wasn't that much of a big deal. He had a girlfriend then but she didn't hang out with because she was a year younger and simply because she had a different circle of friends. His time was divided but it was still nice to have the old Jonathan back. Their relationship was rather rocky. They always had petty fights and they were constantly on and off. Regardless, Jonathan was happy with her and that's what matters.

           When we were in our senior year, I had my second serious relationship with a guy a lot older than me, but that story's for another time 😉. Around January I broke up with him because I caught his cheating, lying, ass with another girl who was not half as attractive as I am. Ahem. But you know what they say, "Bitchiness beats beauty." Ahem 10x. But I didn't want to wallow in my sorrows. I distracted myself, kept myself busy, and I refused to be alone. Being constantly surrounded by supportive friends greatly helped. We were hanging out one time, and Jonathan was in the midst of his celebratory dance because he and his girlfriend got back together again for the 100th time. We were happy for him of course. As a stupid joke, I suddenly said, "Who's single? I need a boyfriend." Of course. Anna called me crazy and we just laughed it off. But Jonathan suddenly stopped what he was doing and said, "Why didn't you tell me you were single. Had I known, I wouldn't have gotten back with my girlfriend." READ MORE...