by Reagan Chen (P4 2022)

          “I can’t think of anything to give to my mother for her birthday tomorrow,” my best friend, John, groaned while we were walking home from school. After asking what she liked, I suggested to John that we bake a cake for her. As we continued our walk home, I shared with John the latest development on my hobby of baking cakes and how I had perfected a recipe last month for my mother’s birthday. That day, I had woken up extra early to bake a two-tiered chocolate cake for my mother. I wanted to bake a cake specially for her as she had recently been very busy with her workload. I wanted to lighten her mood with her favourite dessert. I prepared the recipe, took the ingredients from the refrigerator and started baking confidently. John’s eyes widened in amazement as he listened to me intently and asked me for the recipe.

         Throughout the baking process, John struggled and encountered many difficulties following the recipe. In a desperate plea for help, he decided to invite me to assist him. I was an expert at baking cakes now as I had participated in countless baking competitions. I reminded John to take my advice seriously since baking was a precise science. John nodded his head and the baking process continued without a hitch.

         While the cake was baking in the oven, we dashed down to the living room to watch television and play video games. Time passed quickly but we took no notice of it. I jolted out of my seat when the smell of acrid smoke filled my nostrils. We were too engrossed with playing video games and had completely forgotten about the cake! Alarmed, we sprinted to the kitchen. Our worst nightmare had come true: part of the cake was burnt! John swiftly switched off the oven and I gingerly scrapped the charred section off the cake. Thankfully, we managed to salvage most of the cake. We heaved a sigh of relief and continued using what we had left.

         After we put in a tremendous effort, all our hard work had eventually paid off and not been in vain. We joyfully presented the cake to John’s mother. She was touched by our thoughtful gift and we had a delightful time celebrating her birthday. John thanked me profusely for my guidance.

         From that experience of helping my friend, I learned the value of friendship and the importance of giving. As the author of Winnie the Pooh once said, “A friend is one of the best things you can have and one of the best things you can be.”

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