Devil in Disguise

Chapter 1

I was sixteen when I experienced the most terrifying encounter a human woman could ever witness in the subtlest way possible. Never, until then, have I experienced something so strange and alluring. It was like a dream and a nightmare all at the same time ̶ frightening beyond belief, but life-changing. It could happen to anyone, anywhere and anytime. No one can escape nor hide from it. Not you. Not me. And it's up to you to believe.

***

The slipper hissed past , as I dodged it, just a few centimeters shy of touching my head. Phillip, a classmate and a friend of mine, threw his slipper with such a force, I barely missed it. We've been throwing slippers and anything we could find at each other for about half an hour now to... I don't know, get rid of the boredom before it completely consumes us.

Phillip threw another slipper at me and it hit my right arm.

Oh I can't wait 'til I throw one at him right now, I thought.

I grabbed my blue rubber Crocs Prototype and sent it to him. He tried to evade it but it hit his left leg.

Darn, it was not enough pain!

He threw a plastic viva bottle this time and he missed. I laughed.

We were the only ones making noise. Meirose, Sophia, Roselle, Willoj, and Ana sat in one corner of the room, chatting ̶low murmurs barely audible amidst our noise. Glydel, Razjiun, ER, and Sam sat in another, playing chess while Abdel reclined in his chair, silently reading Dean Koontz's Frankenstein.

How could it be that we are the exact opposites of these people? They interact graciously, while we play like a pair of angry bulls, smashing horns for territory. Of course, Phillip and I are just having fun. We're good friends. We even address each other as 'twins' because we are almost alike in many ways.

After minutes of chaos, weariness finally overpowered our will to continue. We decided to rest and each took a seat. Phillip wiped the sweat above his Asian eyes using his white towel, temporarily covering the mole at the center of his forehead, and then wiped his adequately plump cheeks. After a moment, there was silence and I found myself in a reverie.

Flashes of memories made during the entirety of my present life, came into view. I thought of my friends in school who have been with me since I entered the crazy world of high school. Friends whom I fought alongside with, through all the mind-numbing pressures and heartrending controversies. Friends who made me laugh and smile and cry and furious. Friends who taught me how to break the rules, influenced me to be lazy, but motivated me to strive forward, and worked to make my high school days warm and bright. Friends who mean much more to me than class marks. I could not imagine how I could ever call my high school life memorable without them included in the picture.

Then I thought of my family ̶the faces that welcome me at home. I remembered the happy times with them ̶ when my father would joke around and we would laugh, or the time when my mother would dance thinking like she's Tina Turner and we would join her, or the quality girl-bonding times I've shared with my sister ̶ these are few of the reasons why my family is very special. Another reason, in which I directed my attention into, is how they discipline me into a better person. They did not just show me love and upkeep, they manifested values, and taught me the value of faith and religion as well. I realized that the austerity they showed for every careless action I made and the punishments they imparted for every mistake I blundered, were for the best intentions. I realized that if my family did not discipline me well, I would not be the person that I am now and I would not have people in my life respect me back.

If someone would ask me to give a brief overview of my life, I would think of my friends and family ̶ the people who inspire me everyday and provide me strength to keep going in this journey ̶ and I would tell that person all the simple moments I can remember spending with them. The memories I have shared with all the special people in my life, good and bad, are priceless which no material thing can replace. And as the faces of the people, who make my life so meaningful, flashed in my mind, I felt a surge of joy and gratefulness. I am forever indebted to these people.