Dare To Lose
908 Words
(Kyle’s POV)
Hindi ko alam kung bakit pumayag ako sa “rival” nonsense na pinasok ni Xena kahapon. Siguro kasi sa sobrang kulit niya, kahit ako, nadadala rin.
Normal lang naman dapat ang trabaho ko: turuan siya, ayusin grades niya, tapusin contract. Walang personal. Walang drama. Walang unnecessary feelings.
Pero simula nang sabihin niyang “you’re not just my tutor, you’re my rival now,” hindi ko na siya maalis sa isip ko.
At ngayong araw, mukhang may bago na naman siyang plano.
Pagpasok ko sa study room, nandun na siya agad. Nakaupo sa swivel chair, naka-spin pa left and right habang hawak ang iced coffee. Naka-messy bun siya, oversized shirt, at shorts na hindi siguro approved ng tatay niya.
She looked… carefree. Parang hindi siya pinoproblema ng mundo. At nakaka-inis kung gaano siya effortless na nakaka-distract.
“Good morning, Mr. Serious.” Sinipsip niya straw ng iced coffee. “Handa ka na ba?”
Napakunot-noo ako. “Handa saan?”
“Sa dare game natin, duh.”
Naglagay ako ng bag ko sa mesa, deadpan. “I thought we’re here to study.”
“Exactly.” Ngumisi siya. “Pero sino ba namang matutuwa sa boring lectures? Kaya naisip ko, every correct answer I give, may dare akong ibibigay sa’yo. And if I get it wrong… ikaw ang magbibigay ng dare.”
I stared at her, unamused. “This is ridiculous.”
“Motivational,” sagot niya, pareho nung sinabi niya kahapon.
Napabuntong-hininga ako. Alam kong wala na akong laban kapag ganito siya ka-determined. Besides, kung ito lang ang paraan para mag-focus siya sa lessons… fine.
“Alright,” sabi ko finally. “But no extreme dares.”
“Sure,” mabilis niyang sagot, pero halata sa mukha niya na may balak siyang kalokohan.
Round 1
“Define oligopoly,” tanong ko.
“Easy,” sagot niya agad. “It’s a market structure with a small number of firms dominating the industry. Example: telecommunications in the Philippines.”
Napataas kilay ko. “Correct.”
She clapped dramatically. “Yay me! Now, my dare…”
Tumayo siya, lumapit sa akin, at biglang naglagay ng cat ears headband sa ulo ko.
“Wear that the whole session.”
I froze. “What the hell is this?”
“Fashion statement,” sagot niya, trying not to laugh. “Gives you character. Para hindi ka mukhang robot.”
She burst out laughing habang ako, naka-cat ears habang nagtuturo ng economics.
Round 2
“Differentiate microeconomics from macroeconomics.”
“Micro is small scale, macro is big scale. Micro is like me focusing on my iced coffee, macro is like me worrying about global warming. Tapos.”
I sighed. “Correct… in the most unserious way possible.”
“Dare time!” she sang.
At ang dare niya? Pinakanta niya ako ng isang linya ng paborito niyang K-pop song.
“Pass,” agad kong sagot.
“No passing!” tumawa siya. “Go, Mr. PhD. Sing it or admit defeat.”
Napapikit ako, pinilit na kantahin softly ang isang linya. She almost fell off her chair laughing.
Round 3
Ngayon ako na ang nakakuha ng chance. Tinignan ko siya, seryoso. “State the law of diminishing returns.”
She blinked. “Um… the more inputs you add to a fixed factor, eventually, the marginal returns decrease?”
“…Correct,” sabi ko reluctantly.
“Yesss!”
This time, pinadikit niya ako sa whiteboard at nag-drawing ako ng heart with her initials sa loob.
“Really?”
“It’s part of the dare!” ngumisi siya, sobrang proud.
As the game went on, napansin kong nagiging effective siya. For the first time, focused si Xena. Kahit nakakainis yung mga dare niya—cat ears, kanta, doodles—she was actually answering questions right. And every time na tama siya, proud siya sa sarili niya.
I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes lit up every time she got the correct answer. Parang bata na natutong mag-bike for the first time.
And maybe… just maybe… nagustuhan ko rin yung competitive fire niya.
The Final Round
“Okay, last question,” sabi ko. “If you get this right, you win. If not, I get the final dare.”
She leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “Deal.”
I took a deep breath. “Explain game theory.”
“Ahh…” nag-isip siya, kinagat labi niya. “It’s… strategic decision-making where the outcome depends on the choices of others?”
I paused. “…”
“Correct ba?”
“Technically… yes,” sabi ko finally.
She jumped up from her seat, nag-cheer na parang nanalo sa Olympics. “Woooh! Xena one, Kyle zero!”
“And the dare?” I asked, already regretting agreeing.
She grinned wickedly. “Simple lang. Close your eyes.”
Nagduda agad ako. “Why?”
“Trust me.”
Napatingin ako sa kanya. That was the problem—hindi ko alam kung kaya ko ba siyang i-trust. Pero sinunod ko pa rin.
A few seconds later, naramdaman ko na lang… may mabilis na halik sa pisngi ko.
My eyes shot open.
She was already leaning back, grinning like the devil. “Dare accomplished.”
I just froze, unable to react.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Serious?” ngumisi siya. “Bawal ba ang kilig?”
And that’s when I realized… this game was dangerous. Because the more I let her play like this, the more I wanted to lose.
- Writer
