Loss:

The tunes of ABBA swirled my mind.

I could feel my hands begin to tremble, and my palms wiped nervous sweat against my sleeves, gripping the fabric.

The spotlight shined upon the three of us, standing on the stage. I couldn’t bring myself to look at my parents, somewhere in the crowd. Not that I could see them, anyways. The lights were too blinding to distinguish any face. I was half certain that my parents had left the awards hall too.

The winner had already been unmasked. And that day, that winner was not me.

“I’m sorry for being such a failure.” I thought to myself as I walked across the stage, my head hung in shame. The figure in a suit placed a lustrous silver medal around my neck. In that moment, I had wished perhaps for a shimmering bronze medal instead, as it at least bared some semblance to the gold in appearance. But looking back, I realise that the humility I would feel standing on the lowest podium to be too scarring for a lifetime of mine.

Walking onto the podium, I felt a wave of embarrassment sweep over me. I just wanted to sink into the floor. Beside me, on the podium beside me, stood my rival, standing for gold. I watched him grin effortlessly and hold up his gold medal with a charm that captured the audience.

“What about me?” I thought. “I lost to him by only one point. One point!”

Win:

Clenching the gold medal in one hand, I smiled ahead. At last, my efforts had been fruitful. I had studied relentlessly for this competition. The national high school maths championship. I had hated maths a year ago. But this competition meant so much for me. The only academic subject offering a high amount of money for winning the competition. £5000. With that money, I could finally pay for my sick little brother’s treatment, and I could use that money to find a job to help my struggling parents. Maybe we’d even be able to turn the lights on once a week in the house for a time.

I’d finally done something right. I helped my family. I made them proud.

That was truly the greatest victory of them all.