Write a story that ends with: "... and so I became a better person."
- by Wesly Kong
SMK Taman Tunku
It was a hot afternoon as the scorching sun was shining brightly in the sky. I was about to take a nap but the heat from the sun was unbearable. I sat on my bed, feeling sleepy. I turned around and looked at my study table. It was in a mess. Books and stationery were strewn all over the table. So I decided to tidy them up.
When I was arranging the books, suddenly a photo fell out of a book that I was holding. I picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture of my best friend, Ben, and me. I began to recall how Ben became my best friend.
I could still remember that it was the first day in my new school and I was in form 4. My class teacher made an arrangement for me to sit beside Ben. I had been kicked out of my previous school because of my discipline problems. Starting from that day, I often disturbed other classmates when the teachers were teaching. Although the teachers had already given me warnings, I was as stubborn as a donkey and ignored them. All the teachers complained about my bad attitude and behaviour in class. My classmates did not like me, except for Ben. Even though he tried his best to help me and influence me positively, I refused to listen to him.
Ben was the top student in our class. He also excelled in sports and was a role model to other students. Compared to me, he was totally a different person. But he did not give up on me and kept trying to guide me. Until one day, something happened and I decided to turn over a new leaf.
That day, the school bell rang and it was time to go home. When I was walking home and passing by a bus stop, I saw two junior students waiting for their school bus. I walked towards them and bullied them. I did not notice that two seniors were coming. One of the seniors grabbed my collar and pulled me away from the two juniors. He was actually the two juniors' elder brother.
"Hey! How dare you bully my brothers!" he shouted at me. I was quite shocked to hear that.
The seniors began to hit me on my face and stomach. I suffered from excruciating pain and fell to the ground, begging them to stop. I felt dizzy and could see the anger in their eyes. Suddenly, I saw someone running towards us. He tried to stop the two seniors but was unsuccessful. He then shielded me against the attack. When I took a closer look, I realised that it was Ben!
"This is what you deserved for bullying my brothers!" the juniors' elder brother said furiously through gritted teeth. Soon, they left.
Ben helped me up, took my arm and led me to the bench. There were bruises and wounds all over my body. Ben decided to take me to his home, where he applied ointment to my bruises and dressed my wounds. I was extremely grateful to him for his assistance. At the same time, I was regretful and shameful for what I did to the juniors.
From that day, Ben and I became intimate friends. We always did our homework and revisions together. After a period of time, the teachers were pleasantly surprised at my exam results, which improved by leaps and bounds. They were also glad that my conduct had improved tremendously.
One day, Ben gave me a call and wanted to see me in the park near to our neighbourhood. He told me that he and his family were going to move to Perak as the company that his father was working in decided to transfer him to the Perak branch. Before we went home, he advised me against backsliding and encouraged me to study hard for a brighter future. We embraced each other before we parted.
I was extremely grateful to Ben for helping me. He was like an elder brother and a teacher to me. He had taught me so much. I listened to him and so I became a better person.
