COMPETITION
Hello, you. Legends know that this is a reupload. First of all, thank you for giving this story a chance. Secondly, thank you for giving this foreword a chance. This is my first attempt at writing a solely romance-based story, so sorry if this story is not up to your standards. Anyhow, if you like romance, then I have a REALLY good story in this works. Look forward to that. If you want something else, I got action, mystery, and slice of life covered by other stories. As a final remark, thank you so much for reading. I’m back from a really long break due to me being upset that no one was reading my stories, so I hope this time around, things will be different. Enjoy!
Tying the lace of his shoes and adjusting his hair using the reflection of his father’s car, Izz got ready to leave the house. The blue car itself was getting a bit dusty, so the order to wash it would come pretty soon. He received that day’s pocket money, kissed his parents’ hands, and opened the gate. Even at the age of twelve, Izz was almost as tall as his mother. His father on the other hand, was of average height and heavily built. Izz often compared his old man with Kratos.
Izz got on his bicycle and cycled away. Looking up ahead, he saw a familiar figure, Hani. She was about the same height as Izz, and that is saying something because Izz was a short person. At the time, Izz wouldn’t notice that, but soon he would realize that he had inherited his mother’s height genes. Izz could see that for a slight moment, Hani tried to speed up her pedalling, but Izz decided to just brush it off.
Izz reached Hani and said good morning. “I’m not very fast. You can pedal on if you want,” she said. Izz shook his head and stated that he wished to cycle with her to school.
“See you when school is over,” Izz said jubilantly, hoping to see her again and go back home together with her. Hani’s house was just behind Izz’s, and they had known each other for several years. They weren’t in the same class but since their school wasn’t very big, they always crossed paths during recess, after school, and of course, around their neighbourhood.
“Hello, bro,” Izz greeted Haziq, another individual who was at the same height as Izz. “Yes. She is pretty,” was Haziq’s response when asked of his opinion of Hani. “So, do you like her?” Haziq asked, nudging Izz’s shoulder. “Well, she is nice and pretty”. Haziq laughed at Izz’s answer.
Izz asked his best friend if he should try to get her. “Go for it. It’s the last year of primary school. Might as well walk away with someone”. Haziq said, sounding disinterested. “You have been cycling with her to school and back home the whole week. ‘A’ for amazing effort,” Haziq added.
The bell rung signalling recess. Izz walked out of the class and saw that Hani had just walked out the door. Izz rushed to meet her and gave a warm smile. “Canteen? What are you eating?” She told him that she would like to have a bun this recess. Izz told her that he would like to have a hotdog. Hani walked along, but Izz followed behind. She tensed up, clearly a bit uncomfortable with the situation, but Izz was just too invested at this point to notice.
This sudden infatuation resulted from an interaction Izz had with his father at dinner a few weeks back. Izz had just hit puberty. “When a boy hits puberty, he becomes a man,” Riza declared, his gruff voice asserting authority without him even trying. “And he can get married,” Riza added. Izz’s eyes widened comedically. Pointing to himself. “So, I have to get married??”
Riza’s lip twitched a bit, almost revealing that he was just playing a trick. “Yes, son. You better start looking”. Riza’s wife slapped her husband as a scolding, but considering how thick it was, it wasn’t very effective.
Izz thought long and hard, way more than he should have. “With whom?” Izz thought, lying on his bed. Next morning, he looked at his parents with earnest. Riza stuffed his food in his mouth, intending to finish up chewing in the car. It looked like he was in a hurry. He apologized for not being able to finish breakfast together. Then, he left. Rina herself was almost finished, but being a lecturer, she didn’t have class until the next hour.
“How did you meet father?” Izz asked. Rina almost choked hearing that. She coughed several times and drank some water to clear her throat. After taking several deep breaths and reverting her face from a shocked one to her usual calm expression, she asked “Well, since we were little. Why do you ask?” Izz grinned mischievously. “I just wanted to know”.
Back in the present, while walking, Izz proceeded to kill time by offering small talk. “What the teacher did was very interesting, don’t you think? Calling up those caught smoking up front but not hitting them. Instead, they were drenched in water”. Both of them laughed. Being in the good mood he was, Izz walked slightly ahead of Hani. She crossed paths with one of her friends and made a face, pleading for her friend to get her out of this situation. The friend just stuck out her tongue and smirked, as if to say “Nope. You guys look cute, and I don’t want to interrupt”.
The two of them lined up together to get what they wanted. Once both of them completed their purchases, Izz pointed to a spot in the canteen where they could sit together. Hani frantically looked around and spotted her friend, but with a wag of the finger, and a smirk on her face, the friend made it clear that Hani was stuck with Izz this recess. The thought of asking Izz if she could just sit alone crossed Hani’s mind, but that would be quite hard to justify.
Izz proceeded to converse with her, cracking jokes every now and again. He didn’t try anything crazy (not that he didn’t have the material for it), but just wanted to get closer to her. Hani just nodded and gave a neutral ‘oh’ to whatever questions or statements Izz gave. “Why do you suddenly want to spend recess with me?” Hani asked. “Why not” was Izz’s response.
A few hours later, the bell rung signalling the end of that day’s session of school. Meeting up with her at the bicycle shed, he gave him sweets. “I have a lot of these. I thought you would like them”. Hani thanked Izz and pushed her bicycle out of its compartment in a hurry. “Hey, wait up. I’m waiting for Haziq. He is in the toilet. We can go home together,” Izz said.
“I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry. Besides, you should go with your boyfriends, and I should go with my girlfriends,” Hani said before speeding off. Izz raised his hand to stop her, but she was too quick. This scene reminded Izz of how he lost her in the first place.
Many years back, when Izz first met Hani, he thought nothing of her. In fact, he didn’t even know Hani was a girl. She was the only neighbour of his age, so she was essentially Izz’s childhood playmate. After over a year, only did Izz realize signs of puberty in Hani. It was at this time, did Hani slowly lose her tomboyish traits and started showing more feminine traits.
Izz recalled how one night, a few weeks ago, he decided that if it was going to be anyone, whom he would spend his life with, and treat with upmost care, like how his father treated his mother, it might as well be Hani. She was his childhood friend after all. Izz remembered how one day, after years of fun, at the same time when Hani was starting to show her girly side, when they were at the playground together, she looked Izz in the eye, and told him “Izz, I want to play with my girlfriends”. Izz said “okay” with a smile. “I want to play with them tomorrow too”. Izz gave the same response. Not getting the message, Hani sighed. “I don’t want to play with you anymore. My friends will tease me if they see me with a boy”.
Izz frowned. “I’m your friend too!” he pouted. “Boys do mature later than girls, huh,” Hani mumbled.
“What?”
Hani put up her hand waved it dismissingly, as if to say, “not important, don’t bother”. “Thank you for being my friend all this time. Maybe it’s time for you to find some boyfriends”. Hani said that as a closing remark and just left. That was two years ago. “Lost you once. Won’t lose you again,” Izz whispered to himself in the present.
Then, Haziq came along, adjusting his belt. “Where’s the girl?”
Izz explained what had happened. “Oh, well. At least she won’t be bothering us,” Haziq said. “What do you mean?” Izz asked, annoyed. “Bro, this entire week, your focus and attention has been on her. I’m feeling left out, bro,” Haziq explained.
Izz then recalled how his entire friendship with Haziq developed. Conveniently enough, Haziq moved into the neighbourhood around the time Izz lost Hani. “Thank you for the fruits, Mr Riza,” Haziq’s father said shyly. He was a slim man and had excellent manners. “No need for the formalities. Just call me Riza”. Haziq’s father smiled, and after nonverbally confirming that Riza needed a refill, poured Riza another cup of tea.
“I always make sure to greet any new neighbours, Rahman. After the family, the most important institution in a society, after the family, is the neighbourhood, no?”
Rahman nodded in agreement. Izz wasn’t paying attention but instead was admiring the expensive decor. Rahman then realized that something was wrong, his face of shock and terror. “Haziq, come out, please. We have guests. It would be rude to not greet them”.
Haziq then emerged from his room and greeted Riza and Izz. The two exchanged names. Rahman explained that Haziq was the same age as Izz, and that Haziq will be enrolling in the same school as Izz. Izz squealed in delight, much to the confusion of Haziq. Being a single child, like Izz, Haziq was often lonely at home. “Father, can I play games with Izz?” Haziq asked. Rahman looked at Riza, who gave his approval and said yes. The two then bonded over video games, and ever since, they had been best buds.
Back in present day, Izz returned home and sure enough, was asked to wash the car. By this time, Izz had already forgotten about Haziq’s annoying remark, such was what had happened throughout their friendship. They would fight but forget all about it soon after.
The day after, it was announced that there would be additional classes after school, meaning that standard six students would have to stay an hour extra. While Haziq complained about this, Izz saw this as an opportunity to seal the deal with Hani.
Hani was just too polite to decline Izz, so she was stuck with him. The additional classes at times took form in seminars so the two would walk together and sit beside each other. At least, that was what Izz thought. To Hani, it was torture being stuck with Izz. She wanted to spend time with her actual friends, not with a boy.
Out of nowhere, popped up competition. “I think I like her too,” Haziq declared. Actually, Haziq had liked her for a long time, longer than Izz even. This past week, Haziq had been observing Izz’s unfruitful attempts at getting to Hani. Haziq had always had a crush on Hani, but thought that it was too soon, and that he had no chance. However, seeing that Izz was trying his luck, Haziq was afraid that perhaps Izz one day might actually succeed.
Izz was confused and shocked. “No fair. I liked her first”. Haziq laughed out loud, knowing that to be false. These past few days, all Izz would talk about, was his grand plan in getting Hani. Though Haziq sounded disinterested, he had been taking note. “We’ll see who gets her then,” Haziq challenged.
A few days after Haziq’s introduction to Izz, Rahman, being led by Riza, the head of the neighbourhood, went to Hani’s residence. Haziq tagged along. The instant Haziq laid eyes on Hani, he stopped breathing, to the point that his body had to force a breath. His heart pounded in his chest, and his eyes refused to blink.
When Haziq first saw Izz riding his bicycle with Hani, Haziq was confused, and a bit angry, but when he saw that Hani looked nervous around Izz, Haziq realized that the situation was still under control. Haziq knew that Izz lived just in front of Hani, and during his visits to Izz’s residence, would be on the lookout in case he could see Hani. Izz was Haziq’s friend, but Izz wasn’t the person constantly on Haziq’s mind. That title belonged to Hani.
Back to the present, the race had begun. Who would win the heart of Hani first? Both of them tried their best to spend as much time as possible with Hani. Izz was straightforward in his approach, while Haziq was more subtle. Haziq would greet Hani whenever they crossed paths, deliberately choosing certain paths to maximize his encounters.
Haziq, who also commuted back and forth from school by bicycle, would purposely come to school just a little later than Hani, so that he could place his bicycle beside hers, ensuring an interaction when school ends. Izz used the same strategy as before, so the boys would see each other, and Hani when the time came to return home. “Hani, your gear. Why is it high?” Haziq asked.
Izz scratched his head in confusion, while Hani made a confused face which Haziq found irresistibly cute. Haziq resisted the urge to smile, and continued “Is it hard to pedal?”
Hani nodded. Haziq peered over to Izz, who was fiddling with his handlebar impatiently. “Izz, this might take some time. You can go first. No need to waste your time,” Haziq said. Izz wanted to protest but was stopped by Hani. “Yeah, go ahead, Izz,” she said.
So, what did you think? Can some of you relate to this perhaps? If you found Izz too naive, then that is exactly my intention. Will Izz’s friendship with Haziq last? Will Izz lose Hani for the second time? Wait and see. Goodbye, you.
