by Tor Yu-Han (P2 2020)

      The school bell echoed through the hallway, signalling that the Mathematics lesson was about to start. Mark was laying out his stationery to prepare for the lesson. Ben, the class bully, saw Mark and an evil glint shone in his eyes. In a display of mischief, Ben snatched the pen away from Mark. Their classmates’ mouths hung open in surprise at what they had witnessed.

     Ben thought that Mark was easy to bully since he never informed a teacher and kept silent. That day, Mark relented and did not put up a fight. Ben smirked as he pocketed the pen and walked back to his seat. Since the teacher was not in class yet, he took the opportunity to bully Mark again. He saw Mark walking from the wastepaper basket back to his seat. An idea struck him. He stuck out his foot where Mark was about to walk.

      “Ha ha, here comes Mark,” Ben mumbled to himself. He raised his thin eyebrows in eager anticipation.

      “Ouch!” Mark cried in pain.

      He had tripped on Ben’s leg and, in the fall, hit the corner of a table. Ben’s eyes widened in horror. Blood trickled down Mark’s forehead. He cried in pain. His classmates immediately ran to him to check if he was all right. Some of them decided to look for their teacher.

      When their teacher arrived in the classroom, she administered first aid to Mark’s wound. His fellow classmates informed their teacher about what had happened. The teacher reprimanded Ben.

      Ben felt remorseful. He apologised to Mark for bullying him. That day, Ben learnt that when he commits a wrongdoing, he will receive his comeuppance.