Are you comfortable now? OK. Let’s start.
Long ago, before my grandmother becomes a storytelling hag who cooks and bakes delicious food, she was once just a teenager too, like you or me. During her days, there is this guy in her class that she liked. This guy is called Corey and is an offspring of a handsome blue-eyed American and an Indonesian beauty. So you can just imagine his good looks and features he has inherited from his parents.
Knowing this, my grandmother got many competitions, but she was one of those strong willed youth and is not willing to back down. Unfortunately, the only major competition all the girls had, let alone my grandmother, was a particular orange ball. Yes, only basketball revolves around Corey’s world. He wasn't interested in dating girls at all, only the Lakers and NBA is stuck on his pretty head. But if a thousand screaming fanatic girls couldn't defeat my grandmother, what could a ball do?
Sometimes, and as weird as this seems, my grandmother would cursed and yelled at the stupid orange round ball. One day, Clara, my grandmother’s ex-best friend (and yes it’s EX, you’ll know why later on) and my grandmother was at this masquerade bash the school was throwing. My grandmother, being the shy girl she was, stood at the back of the room near the drink stalls while Clara was dancing away at the middle of the dance floor like a crazy party animal.
Corey, being the gentleman he was, walks to the back of the room to keep a certain lonely teenage future grandmother company. She was very thrilled and excited to be in his company, until he talks about the way Clara danced and how good she was. Poor grandmother only listens to all the compliments that weren't meant for her.
You see, my grandmother has a very competitive soul. She always wants to be the best and keep on improving. That is one of the reasons I can enjoy her delicious meals now.
Moving on, my grandmother, along with her competitive soul, doesn't want to lose to Clara and wants at least one of the praises Corey bestows upon Clara. My grandmother began watching dance movies, hip hop music videos, The Pussycat Dolls, Michael Jackson; you name them, and many more. She practiced day and night working on her footwork and swaying her body in all the right places and time. She learned to master the moonwalk, the waltz, the tango, and a number of other moves and dances.
By a month time, the only thing she needs is the perfect opportunity to show her dance moves off to the whole school. It wasn't until the Christmas Dance that my grandmother gained this wonderful opportunity. She was planning for this day ever since the last masquerade bash. She and Clara would walk into the party dressed elegantly like Cleopatra the II, act cool all the time, drank a few punches then coolly asked Corey and a friend of his to dance with a seducing look. But just before the asking part, my grandmother needs the restroom badly. She reckons she drank too much punch because she was excited. I think otherwise and told her she’s just nervous, she denied, but the truth can’t be kept secret. At least from me.
By the time we’re back to the story, my grandmother was back at the party. Clara was waiting all the time for her to appear. Back to their original plan, my brave grandmother plucked her courage from a lion and with her head held high asked Corey to dance with her. Surprisingly, Corey agreed. My grandmother told me it was one of the best moments in her life. She also told me she stood there, shocked and still. By the time she was fully conscious, she was halfway showing off her moves to the whole world.
But instead of getting the reaction she wanted, she received giggles and laughter from her schoolmates. She stopped short, pause, dumbstruck with no luck, and mulling over what went wrong. It wasn't until she spotted Clara laughing her guts off and pointing to her back. Confused, my grandmother turned her head around and saw the most embarrassing sight in the whole wide world. Her dress was stuck in her underwear and it was showing! And to top it off, it got Corey’s name imprinted in gold thread across the back part. She looked back at everyone; they were all laughing and pointing, even Corey. Embarrassed, she glare at a laughing Clara, and for some reason she knew that Clara noticed her Corey underwear showing from the start, but decided to be a jerk and keep quiet about it. If looks could kill, Clara would die a terrible death. She hastily pulled her dress down and ran from the party.
Outside in the night sky, she breaks down and cried like she never did before. The wind was waltzing with her blond locks to the rhythm of the howling wolves. Footsteps were heard behind her and she quickly turned around and stands. It was Clara. Period. Nothing left to be said, nothing more to be heard. Finish.
My grandmother realized she’d been stupid all this time. The first time she met Clara back in Year 2, she was a sly cunning untrustworthy girl who had no friends and is mean. Out of kindness, my grandmother forged a friendship with her. After seven years of friendship, my grandmother blindly thought Clara changed. It was a mistake, a felony, just another bad choice. A leopard can never change its spots, and this has been proven true for my grandmother.
It was the night Clara and my grandmother had the showdown of their lives. How could Grandma not see that Clara had a crush on Corey too? Weren't all the hints obvious? By the end of the night, everything changed for my grandmother. She was crushed, burnt, left in pieces, heartbroken. That night was the night my grandmother had her last memories of her hometown. She moved and never saw any of her childhood friends again ever since.
After my grandmother told me this, I understood that we got to live the way life runs, not the way we wish it runs. Life doesn't adapt to us. We adapt to life. Another thing I wish everyone would understand is not everything will go your way. There is more than one path in life. It’s the little choices that changed us for better or for worse.
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