Even though we were intense academic rivals and I treated her with nothing but coldness, even though I always ignored her or gave her harsh attitudes to push her away, Kaiza never once acted like my enemy. In fact, she acted like we were already best friends! It was so confusing and so incredibly irritating. Sometimes, it felt like she had a huge crush on me or something, but whenever I asked or hinted at it, she just laughed and said we were just "rivals and friends."
"Cole! Share your lunch with me! I forgot mine and I'm starving!"
"Cole! Help me open this jar! My hands are weak please!"
"Cole! Wait for me! Let's go home together! It's getting dark!"
"Cole! Look what I found! It's funny right?"
She was everywhere. No matter where I went, no matter what I did, she was there. She was like a persistent mosquito buzzing in my ear, always there, always making noise, always needing attention. But strangely enough, even though I acted annoyed and grumpy all the time, I couldn't bring myself to really hate her. She was too bright, too genuine, too full of life. She was even more persistent than Talina, but somehow, her annoyingness felt completely different. Talina felt suffocating, heavy, and scary. But Kaiza… her presence felt warm. It felt alive. It felt like sunshine.
One time, however, I got so fed up I actually snapped at her really badly. We were in the library trying to study, and she kept tapping my arm repeatedly, distracting me, asking stupid questions and showing me silly memes and videos on her phone when I was trying to focus.
"Kaiza! Can you just stop already?" I said loudly, my voice echoing sharply in the quiet room, attracting the attention and stares of everyone around us. "I don't want to be friends! We are rivals, remember? I don't have time for your nonsense and games! Just focus on your grades and leave me alone! I hate being bothered!"
The library went completely silent instantly. The atmosphere turned heavy and awkward. I saw her eyes widen in shock, and her big bright smile faded away instantly, replaced by a look of hurt. I thought she would cry. I thought she would get angry and finally hate me, finally leave me alone like I wanted.
But instead, she just pouted, looking a little sad but she didn't shed a single tear. She crossed her arms and looked straight at me with burning determination in her eyes.
"Why not?" she asked softly, but her voice was firm and steady. "Rivals can be friends too! Being smart doesn't mean we have to hate each other or be cold all the time! Besides… I know you're not really a bad person, Cole. I know you're just lonely and grumpy because you don't have anyone else. And I like you anyway! I really, really like you as a friend! I'm gonna make you like me eventually, just you wait! I won't give up on you!"
And she kept her word. She really didn't give up.
The very next day, she acted like nothing happened at all. She completely ignored my outburst. She was back to being annoying, back to sharing her food with me, back to waiting for me after class. She would drag me to places, force me to talk, force me to smile, force me to experience things I never did before. Slowly but surely, the thick, cold wall I had built around my heart for years started to crack and crumble.
I found myself looking for her when she wasn't around. I found myself smiling at her stupid jokes even when I tried hard not to. I found myself checking my phone constantly, waiting for her text messages. She became the highlight of my day, the reason I actually wanted to go to school.
Eventually, after weeks and weeks of her nonstop persistence and kindness, I finally gave in. I couldn't fight her anymore. I didn't want to.
"Fine," I said one day, sighing dramatically in defeat but with a small, genuine smile forming on my face. "Fine by what?"she replied "We can be friends. But you have to promise to stop being so annoying all the time, okay? It literally gives me a headache."
She didn't care about the headache part. She didn't care about my complaints. She just jumped up and down in happiness, screaming "Yay!" so loud that people from other classrooms turned to look at us. She immediately ran to me and hugged my arm tightly, squeezing it with so much joy and excitement.
"Best friends forever! I knew you would cave in! I knew you liked me too!" she cheered, beaming so brightly that it almost blinded me.
And just like that, the rival became my best friend. And my life, which used to be so dark, heavy, and lonely, suddenly had a little bit of color and light again.