[CONTENTID1] Of Inferiority Complexes and Skyscrapers [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]It destroys your confidence when puberty hits and Tao shoots up nearly a foot while your height stays stagnant. For the sake of your dignity, you know you should just avoid him at all costs, but you’ve been best friends with the kid (for reasons you’re still unsure of) since kindergarten, and you’re too lazy to make new friends. It crushes your self-esteem when you’re unable to catch the kid in a headlock and ruffle his hair anymore, but if you force him to squat every time he’s within ten yards of you, you don’t feel so bad about yourself anymore.

But then Tao decides to befriend Kris, and you nearly lose your . Kris is a transfer student from Canada, and in his first semester at your school, he is promoted to captain of the basketball team. If Tao is a tall human being, then Kris is a skyscraper.

You give Tao the scolding of his life when he finally confesses that he’s secretly been hanging out with Kris behind your back. You get carried away and finally stop when he bursts into tears when you threaten to flush his beloved pet goldfish if you catch him with Kris again.

However, the very next day, when you decide to head next door to Tao’s house to see if he wants to go bike riding, who else but Kris freaking Wu answers the door?

You stare at him without a word, your eyes widening in shock. He stares back in confusion. A few seconds pass before Tao comes over to see what’s taking the older boy so long. He glances over Kris’s shoulders and meets your furious eyes. He drops the game controller in his hand and gasps dramatically.

Your nostrils flare and suddenly, you’re pushing past Kris and sprinting up the stairs. Tao screams bloody murder and chases after you. When Kris finally follows after you, he finds an interesting scene playing out in Tao’s room.  The two of you are messily entangled on the ground where Tao is crying nosily and holding you back as you scream insults at him and lunge for the fishbowl. Kris has no choice but to help Tao wrestle you do to ground and sit on you until your murderous urges subside.

Once you calm down, Kris introduces himself for the first time and you reluctantly shake his hand while Tao nervously hovers around and makes sure you don’t attempt to crush the bones in his hand.

After that, you have no choice but to befriend Kris as well. He begins to sit with the two of you at lunch everyday and your weekends are spent on at his house (Tao doesn’t let you go near his poor goldfish anymore) playing videogames on his couch.

You grudgingly admit that you kind of like Kris. He is much more levelheaded than Tao, and though he likes to act stoic and cool, you quickly learn that he’s an awkward dork deep down inside. He likes to pretend to look down on things and say they’re not his style, like the fried chicken you and Tao ordered once, but you caught him sneaking a piece when he thought no one was looking. And he’s the clumsiest person you’ve ever met. You have no idea how he made it on the basketball team, much less as captain, when he has trouble walking down the street without tripping over his own feet.

But most importantly, Kris helps you take care of the kid. Whenever Tao gets into one of his overly emotional, girly fits, you usually until he storms off to tearfully write in his diary, but Kris actually manages to calm him down and talk through it. He’s like a dad in that aspect; always patting Tao on the head and buying him whatever he wants. You’re relieved and whenever Tao gets too emotional and tries to nuzzle you or link arms, you can just shove him in Kris’s direction. It’s actually nice having Kris around.

Except for the height issue, of course. Tao’s a foot taller than you, and Kris is even taller than him. Whenever you walk with them, you feel as though you’re flanked by mountains. And you know that you look ridiculous standing next to them—like they’re a couple and you’re their infant child. You almost expect them to hold your hand when crossing sidewalks. And this is not good for your self-esteem, especially since your height, or rather, lack of height, is your greatest inferiority complex.

So you refuse to walk side by side with those skyscrapers, forcing them to trail behind you like bodyguards. If, for some reason, you’re forced to speak with them in public, you make them squat on the ground. Once, when waiting in line at the bank with Kris, you caught sight of your appearance next to him in the video camera recording you. You were so embarrassed by your infantile appearance that you jumped on his back and made him piggyback you for the rest of the trip. The bank teller was so confused and nervous by this that she almost pressed the panic button. But at least you were spared the humiliation of looking like Kris’s infant daughter in public.

As the months progress, you and Tao become closer and closer to Kris, inviting him into your friend circle, until you can’t remember a time without the tall blonde’s presence. Although Tao’s supposed to be your best friend, you especially enjoy your alone time with Kris, and you’re not sure why.

You suppose it might be due to the fact that he has a lot of positive qualities. He’s kind, surprisingly funny at times when his dad jokes actually work out, and handsome… Though you’re not too positive about the last one, since you can’t see him too clearly from his distance so far up, but you’ve heard girls giggling about this in the locker room, and you suppose you should trust their opinion.

Then, out of the blue, it hits you one day that you like him. Not like you like Tao, of course, who’s a little brother to you, and who you can’t stand half the time, but you actually like Kris. It’s a startling revelation and you’re not sure what to do about it. All you know is that one day, Kris is just Tao’s Canadian skyscraper friend, and the next day, Kris is suddenly Tao’s Canadian skyscraper friend who you wouldn’t mind spending some alone time with.

Your heart skips a beat whenever you see him, and chills run down your spine whenever he touches you—even a hand on your shoulder or a pat on the back is enough to make you shudder and blush. It’s all so cliché and cheesy, and you’re disgusted to realize that it’s finally happening to you.

Confused by these conflicting thoughts, you make the mistake in confiding in Tao about your new feelings for the tall blonde. Your panda-eyed friend immediately jumps to his feet in exuberance and gives you a standing ovation. He has tears in his eyes as he encourages you to “follow your heart” and confess. You know that he’s already planning his best man’s speech at your wedding, and you regret telling him anything.

But his advice, as cheesy as it was, does have some logic.

Which is why you are currently standing in front of Kris’s locker, nervously pacing back and forth, as you wait for him to get out of basketball practice. You try to sort out what you should say to him, but your thoughts are too muddled with anxiety and you decide that it’s best to just wing it.

You make this decision not a second too soon, because at that moment, the entire basketball team streams out of the locker rooms. You fidget, unusually nervous as you scan the faces for Kris.

You finally see him in the back, chatting with Tao. They are abnormally tall, even for basketball players, and you spot them at once. They both freeze, mid-conversation, at the sight of you.

“___-ah,” Kris says in confusion, “What are you doing here?”

“I…” You wipe your sweaty palms on your jeans, cursing your nervousness, “I wanted to talk to you about something…”

“Ok…?”

“Alone,” you say with a glance towards Tao.

The younger boy quickly catches on, “Oh my goodness. I forgot that I have something