James and the Rivalry Which Became a Battle of Passion

I was in a one-sided war.

Photo by Johannes Roth on Unsplash

You might be wondering at this point: “Jillian, are you going to out every single one of your crushes from the last thirty years?”

Um, no, not really. I’m just writing about the memorable ones. These are the ones who have made an impact over the years.

I don’t really believe I’ve ever fallen in love — not seriously — but that doesn’t mean I didn’t obsess over crushes or dramatize every little thing that bothered me about them.

James bothered me.

Why?

Because he was smarter than me.

And we both knew it.

The first time James came onto my radar, we were a freshman (him) and sophomore (me) in high school. We had most classes together because freshmen and sophomores shared classes (just as the juniors and seniors did).

I knew James got good grades without studying.

I knew he answered questions in class while the other boys shied away from that kind of pressure.

I knew he made me mad with envy every time he got a better grade than I did.

The tipping point came when a teacher (jokingly) bowed down to him for answering a question no one…