The Story of How He Met Her

It all happened in the fourth quarter of the year 2007.

Me, being a competitive individual, took up Beginner Tennis at Irvine Valley College in an attempt to master the basics in order to land a point in tennis against my rival Ben Ha. Needless to say, there was also an ulterior motive: I was searching of the love of my life. “Why not kill two birds with one stone” is what I thought as I clicked “Enroll” for the class.

Thus begins the first lesson of Beginner Tennis. As the students arrive one by one, sometimes in pairs and groups, I scoured the class for my prey, but none can be found. As I was about to give up in my search, from the corner of my eyes, a beautiful Asian girl enters the scene. Not knowing what to think or do, I patiently waited for the instructor to call attendance. And behold, the name Jackie Hoang is forever engraved in my mind.  The day ended with me secretly admiring her from afar.

Second day of class came and went.  As everyone is packing up, I was stressing on what to do, knowing that soon we will part ways and I will not see her until the next class which is only five days but seemed like an eternity ! So I decided to casually asking Jackie to play around round of tennis, however, the question was a bit out in the open. Jackie, not knowing who the question was directed to, decided to acknowledge me and thus accepting the challenge. The stake was set, loser will treat the winner to some boba milk tea, the favorite amongst Asians! As the battle rages on, Jackie dominated the field with overwhelming agility and precision and resulted in an absolute victory. However, just as all typical guy, I claimed that the game was rigged in order to let the lady win. Is that the truth? I would say so! As the night ended, we said their farewell in front of Tapioca Express.

Excited for the reunion, I arrived early at the class the following week but to my surprise, the class was cancelled due to the constant falling of ashes from a recent wild fire. As I am puting away my gear in a sad emotional turmoil, Jackie pulled up in her 1992 Black Honda Accord. It was as if life has been revived, I dropped what I was doing and raced over to inform Jackie of the unforunately incident. I somehow convinced her to play in the ash-filled courses for yet another chance of obintaining free boba milk tea. This time, the tables were turned and I won by a hair’s-breadth. Not knowing the area, Jackie led me to Lollicup instead. Regardless of location, the we chatted and in the end I obtained her number. What a win!

Fast forward. Jackie and I become closer and closer and eventually I popped the question of “will you be my girlfriend?” and she happily accpted and thus changed our relationship status. Thereafter we had many adventures together and created unforgettable memories.  Our story has not ended; it will continue for the countless years to come.