by Jacie Ong (P4 2022)

         “Hey Mia, I hope you will get well soon,” I wished my best friend in order to lift her spirits. Instead of erupting into mirthful laughter as she often did in our conversations, Mia gave me a weak smile as she pushed the wheels of her wheelchair with great effort. I felt sorry for her but she had refused my help. I was at the hospital that day visiting my friend, Mia, and we were heading back to her ward then. Just a few days ago, Mia was in school, walking down the stairs when our class bully, Tom, pushed her out of malice. As a result, she ended up in the hospital with a fractured leg and had to wear a leg cast. My duty as her best friend was to wheel her around the school in the upcoming weeks until she recovered. Prior to that, I had been paying her a visit every day with a simple gift. Mia sighed and shared that she had been worried about returning to school. However, I reassured her that everything would be fine.

         “Look at how pathetic Mia looks, everyone,” Tom announced in front of the whole class, much to Mia’s dismay on her first day back in school. His group of friends guffawed at the remark, while the rest of the class stayed silent and steeped in anger. To agitate Mia further, Tom pushed her wheelchair to the wall when I was not looking, but just then a teacher walked past and stopped him. He grumbled and slumped back into his seat.

         All was well until after I decided to buy lunch for Mia. I had parked the wheelchair at the top of the slope and walked to the nearby hawker centre. “I’ll be back soon,” I told Mia and she nodded her head.

         A few moments later, Tom who was walking home from school turned a corner and his eyes lit up when he saw Mia sitting all alone. He also noticed Mia was listening to music on her AirPods, so he decided to take advantage of her obliviousness. Without a second thought, Tom pushed Mia down the slope.

         When I heard Mia’s screams while walking back to the spot, I immediately ran as fast as a cheetah catching its prey and managed to block the wheelchair from crashing into the tree at the end of the slope. Tears were streaming down Mia’s face as she thanked me for being quick-thinking.

         The next day, I informed my form teacher about what had happened, and she sent Tom to the Principal’s office. The Principal reprimanded Tom for his actions and suspended Tom from school for two days. Tom had to apologise to Mia but she forgave him and he promised not to bully her again.

         As the saying goes, “Once bitten, twice shy.” From that experience Tom learnt to never bully anyone ever again. Mia and I decided to offer our hand in friendship the day he returned to school and we became good friends.

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