She envied my being me!

Growing up a tomboy I didn't know that it would be an engaging matter to become popular that a girl in my class used my name, my photo, and all my favorite things to do her dream, she stole my identity to meet boys!

I was in the middle of the busy week preparing for an exam when I was told someone was looking for me.

I grew up in the Philippines, attending one of the prominent private high schools, but very religious, and have strict rules and uniforms. I hated the strict rules of my school, but my parents believed it would help me developed into a respectable citizen someday as I was crooked as I could be growing up, I detest everything that this school stands for, oh, it was fun growing up in this community, looking back, high school was the highlight of my life, but I was just too rebellious, and  I did not know this attitude has become envy to some, I crave freedom and I expressed it anyway I could get away with, and this is how the story of this girl in my class pretending to be me started.

She was meeting boys through pen-paling since the internet did not exist yet in the '80s. She would meet boys from other high schools using my name. I don't know why, but this girl is pretty and has a very sunny-side-up personality. I  would never think she will have any problems meeting boys. I even envied her ways of flirting with just any boys she gets her interest in.

So, one afternoon I was told someone was requesting to see me,

The messenger told the name of the person, and I replied I don't know this person. The messenger was smiling," oh? but he is tall, very good looking, very athletic, and really specific about seeing you like he really is excited to see you ", I retorted " He needs his nose punch?"The other girls around me just laughed but were very much interested to hear about this news, I never dated in high school. I see every boy as shallow and pretentious, so I never have any interest but hang out with them like I'm just one of them. One of the girls from my class who hang-out with my crowd was turning pale and sick. " Can I talk to you?"We both stepped out of the library. " What's the matter?” she looked sickened by the minute. “I have something to confess”, I was taken back, “ you know something about this person?”  She was a bit nervous and embarrassed “ yeah, I…..I kinda used your name when I was communicating with him”, “okay” I answered, “so, go and meet him!”. She was more reluctant, “ you see, I sent him your picture, so, I can’t really see him because I’m not you, you have to go and see him because he would be expecting to see you.” I never laughed so hard in my life, not because it was funny, but I was just too pissed,” why the hell you sabotage my life?”, “I’m sorry!”, she answered apologetically. “You are so cool and so fun, boys like that, I am so boring and uninteresting, who would want that? It was just a joke at first, but the more I pretend to be you the more he likes me, I have so much to talk to him about being you, I have nothing to talk about being me ! ”. That shocked me, I would never have thought I have this interesting life that someone wants to be like me. But I didn’t let this go as an excuse, I was not pleased, who knows how many boys she met using my name? And I wonder, what the hell is so interesting about me? 

I ended up meeting the boy, of course, I was a little curious, so in spite of my irritation, I went down to the lobby and met him. From the far, I can see him with his friends. He had this quality of being so sure about himself, maybe in his own school, his popularity gave him this confidence and might hold this standard of superiority to other students. His friends were so much like him too, and had this aura of “we’re the cool bunch!”. He was good-looking, but nothing that could shake my pants. I had so much confidence in myself too, like a bravado. I don’t know where that came from but I always had this outlook that no matter what I am facing I do not let my confidence waiver and that seems to make his stance changed. I had casual attention to boys, that no matter how good their appearance is, they are still boys, plus I did not know him, I had nothing to do with whatever conversation came up during their communications. It wasn’t me he was communicating with, and so,  I ended up explaining the whole debacle my classmate did. He was blushing while trying to process, understanding my explanation, he was trying to avoid meeting my gaze, his excitement died down, and feeling disappointed that he was really meeting me but not expecting this greeting. He was the top popular kid in his school, one of the girls told me, and I should never pass up the chance of dating him!  I should be lucky!  Since they got the chance of ogling him across from where we were talking, they got a good view and would have done that if they were me.  I just gave them this stupid look.

The girl stopped talking to me for some time, maybe she was just too embarrassed by what she did. A few weeks later she started hanging out with our group like nothing happened, but I casually reminded her she cannot be me again, I’m too cool to be her! I jokingly added. She would ignore that comment and pretend I didn’t say that. 

Looking back at it now, I can only smile, and I wonder what happened to that girl? Did she ever gain confidence the way she thought I handled confidence?