Eternal Memories

Chapter 4

Kristine was one of the brightest students in school. Teachers admired her for being studious and responsible. She always did her assignments and projects on time (or earlier) and performed well on recitations, tests and exams. She excelled in all her subjects. Kristine's favorite subjects were English and art. She loved to write and draw. Her teachers told her that she was a good writer and artist. Her writings and artworks won prizes.

"You're a talented student," one of her teachers complimented her. "Your parents must be so proud of you."

Kristine just smiled and thanked her teacher. Of course, her parents were proud of her for she did her best in everything! Kristine did not tell this to her teacher because she did not want to brag.

Kristine was popular with the teachers. Everyone in the faculty wanted to have a child who was as smart as her. However, it wasn't the same with her fellow students. Most of her batch mates simply ignored her, even though she was friends with Dianna, whom they liked so much. Her batch mates simply did not belong to her fans club. Sometimes they even wondered why Kristine and Dianna were best friends.

In their eyes, Dianna was gorgeous while Kristine was plain. No amount of makeup would make Kristine as beautiful as Dianna. Dianna was sociable; Kristine seemed like a snob (although in reality, she was just awfully shy). Dianna was tall and sexy; Kristine was short and thin like a twig. Dianna was a hot chick; Kristine was a nerd.

Inside the faculty room, the teachers talked among themselves. Most of the topics they discussed were mundane such as current events, politics, their children, the movies they were planning to watch after school to unwind from all the stress their job provide and many others. When they ran out of things to say, they would talk about their students. Usually, they would talk about Dianna and Kristine for these students stood out among the others due to the huge differences between their personalities.

"Dianna is a really pretty girl, but she isn't smart."

"I agree! Kristine is very intelligent. But she looks homely."

"She's not! She just doesn't care about her looks. She cares about her studies more."

"I think intelligence is better than good looks. Beauty fades but dumb is forever. I bet you 500 pesos that Kristine will be more successful than her pretty friend."

"With her beauty, Dianna can be a model or an actress."

"Pfft! There are a lot of girls who are prettier than Dianna."

"That's true. But what I'm saying is that each of them can be successful in their own ways. Dianna can be a celebrity; while Kristine can be a novelist or a lawyer. She's a really good writer."

"She's good at everything. That makes up for her plain face."

"Ugh, you're so mean! Have you looked at the mirror lately, you look like crap."

"Woah, we're not talking about me. We're talking about Dianna's little side kick."

"Kristine is not really ugly. It's just that Dianna is a lot prettier than her."

"Kristine is brilliant. But she's shy. She should learn how to mingle with her peers."

"And that's what makes Dianna better than Kristine. Dianna has great people skills. She can talk to anybody and make them like her instantly. She can be a good leader."

"I don't like her. She's conceited and bossy."

The little "conference" of the teachers was interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

"Shh. Let's stop talking about the two. Or else someone's going to hear us."

"That's a good idea."

A female senior student came in to submit her assignment to one of the teachers. The male teacher took her notes. The student thanked her teacher. The teacher said welcome.

It's a good thing Dianna and Kristine didn't hear what their teachers said about them. If they did, they would probably be utterly depressed.