It all happened when I was a freshman in high school. I was walking home one day when I saw a new classmate, Kyle. He wore glasses and was carrying a huge pile of books . Immediately, I thought he must be a nerd, because no one with a good social life would take so many books home for the weekend.

I continued walking behind Kyle. Suddenly, a group of boys ran up to him and knocked the books from his hands. They pushed him to the ground；his glasses flew off, landing three meters away. The boys ran off as Kyle struggled to find his glasses. He had such a sad expression on his face that my heart went out to him. I picked up his glasses, helped him collect the books, and asked if he was all right.

“Don’t worry,” I told him, “those boys are just stupid.”

“Hey, thanks!” he said with a grateful smile.

I helped him carry his books as we walked home together. On the way, I asked him whether he wanted to play football over the weekend, and he said yes. We laughed and chatted along the way until it was time for us to say goodbye. “He is a pretty cool kid,” I thought to myself. Soon, the two of us became best friends.

Years later, Kyle and I were seniors. His glasses now suited him. Over the years, he had turned himself into a handsome and popular young man. Though sometimes I still teased him that he was a nerd, he was so popular that he dated more girls than I did!

On the last day of high school, Kyle had to give a speech. I smacked him on the back and said, “Hey, big guy, you'll be great!”

He looked at me with the very same grateful smile as the one he had given me on the fist day we met. “Hey, thanks!” he said.

After he stepped up to the podium, Kyle cleared his throat and began his speech. “Graduation is a good time to thank those who have helped you make it through those tough years─ your parents, your teachers, maybe your coach, but mostly, your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend is the best gift you can give.”

I just looked at my friend in disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He said he had cleaned out his locker and taken everything home so that his mom wouldn't have to do it for him─ after he had killed himself. Then he looked hard at me and said, “Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.” I heard a gasp going through the crowd as this handsome, popular young man told us all about his weakest moment. Then, I saw his mom and dad looking at me with the same grateful smile. At that moment, it dawned on me just how strong our friendship had been, and how much I had helped Kyle that day when we walked home together for the first time.

                             

                                          Adapted from Stories for a Teen's Heart Book 2,

                                                    published by Mulynomath Publisher, Inc.

 

之前在某篇日誌上有看到中文版，剛好身為高中生的我的課本上有這篇，加上Summerfall姊姊跟我要，所以我就把這篇打上來了。