Last year during the year-end holidays, I had an opportunity to participate in a Youth Camp organised by the Boy Scouts Association of my school. Since it was the first camp that I had ever taken part in, I really looked forward to it.
The camp was located in a field by a river. It was on the first day of the camp that I met Leo, who was a year my senior. He had a body size resembling a bear. During the lunch hour, all the campers queued up to get their food. After getting my share, I was looking for a suitable spot to sit down and enjoy my lunch when Leo bumped into me, spilling gravy on me. Instead of apologising, Leo laughed at me.
"Don't you think you should apologise to me, clumsy bear?" I told him off as I was really annoyed.
"Apologise? It was only a minor accident. By the way, how could you call me a clumsy bear?" Leo retorted.
I ignored him.
On the second day, Leo was late for roll call. As a consequence, he was punished to do push-ups.
"It serves you right. You should have apologised to me," I told Leo after the roll call.
In the afternoon, all of the campers went canoeing on the river. As it was my first experience, I capsized my canoe. Leo mocked me and remarked loudly what a lousy canoeist I was. Very much embarrassed and furious, I swam towards his canoe with clenched fists. Fortunately, some other campers managed to hold me back before I did something regretful.
We went jungle trekking in the afternoon of the third day. While carrying out the activity, I sprained my ankle accidentally and was left behind. Though the pain was excruciating, I stumbled on since I did not want to be lagged behind too far. While I was crossing a narrow single-log bridge, I lost my balance and fell down a ravine. Due to my foot injury and the depth of the ravine, I faced difficulty getting out. I was devastated and could only hope that help would arrive soon.
Hours passed and it got dark. In the midst of my despair and pessimism, Leo appeared. When I saw him, I expected him to tease me and give me a hard time again. However, in spite of the differences we had, he stretched out his hand and offered to help me. When I was out of the ravine, he gave me a piggyback ride back to the camp.
I was deeply touched by his kind acts, let alone my gratitude to him. From that point onwards, we became intimate friends and often helped each other.
The fifth day was also the last day of the camp. Leo and I were sorry to part with each other. He told me that he would be leaving the country soon to further his studies overseas. We regretted our petty attitudes and apologised to each other. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.