Elite Academy: Platonically Soulmates

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“Amilia Andrez” letting out a sigh, I walked to the face with a smile plastered on my face.

“Her? Again?”

“It’s getting kind of boring…”

“Why is she always on the top?”

Journalist and reporters gathered in front. “It’s not necessary to take her pic anymore, you know?” A senior journalist, who has always been asking me the SAME questions every year, told a junior reporter as soon he flashed his camera into my direction.

Fighting the urge to rolls my eyes, I reciprocated the smile of the principal. “As always, you never fail to amaze us” she said as she places a medal around my neck. Not long after, my neck became stiff as the medals increases. My chest felt heavy, maybe full of guilt? Or maybe it was getting hard to breath.

Finally, she shakes my hand as we face the audience. There weren’t as many cameras as it used to be.

My eyes scanned the crowd, slightly hoping my parents were here. Instead, I was met with the sight of another parent’s comforting their child.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to get the first place, you’ll always be our no. 1” I cringed at those words.

The flashes of the cameras didn’t hurt my eyes anymore like it used to be.

Back when I heard the audience cheers along with my parents, when I was grinning with amusement as I wore the medal and faced the cameras that had their full flash on until I thought I saw heaven.

“Thank you” I mumbled.

    Eyes filled with jealousy and judgment followed me while I walked down from the stage. “Yes! You did it!” Stella approaches me with a hug, barely letting me breath.

“again” someone from the crowd looks over to us

“Let’s go ice cream after this” I nod my head and she smiles.

“So, Ms. Andrez, how does it feel like getting first place?” A microphone was held out in front of my face with a camera. “Well-“

“Aren’t you guys sick of asking her that every time?”

“Yeah! What about the top2 and top 3? They tried hard too”

The reporter felt embarrassed and quickly turned his attention towards the other students. Sure, it’s not like I was interested anyways. Sometimes, I wonder if they ever get tired listening to the same answer, I give them every year: “Oh! It really feels great that my hard work pays off at the end of the year” It lowkey doesn’t anymore.

There wasn’t any adrenaline rush anymore as I sit in the audience, hoping I snatch the top. There wasn’t any cheers and claps I get from my parents that stood out from all of them. Now, I feel numb and brace myself, plastering a mask over my face and suffer from the judgement that follows me along with the harsh flash.

But they never understand anyways. I deserve to be happy and worthy of their attention. Call me an attention seeker.

But thousands of hours wasted into studying really isn’t paying off anymore. What can I do anyways? I still yearn for the attention they’ve given me years ago.