The Choice to Help
One morning at school, Katie was walking to her classroom when she saw Sarah sitting alone by the playground. Sarah had always been mean to Katie. She would make fun of her shoes, call her silly names, and sometimes push her when no one was looking. Katie didn’t like Sarah, and she definitely didn’t want to help her.
But as Katie walked past, Sarah called out, “Hey, Katie! Can you help me with my math homework? I don't understand it.” Sarah started to cry.
Katie stopped. Her first thought was, "Why should I help her? She’s never been nice to me." Katie felt her cheeks getting hot, and her fists clenched. She wanted to turn away and keep walking. After all, Sarah had been so rude to her before. Why should she be nice now?
But then, something in her heart made her pause. She remembered what her mom always said: "Two wrongs don’t make a right." Katie wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but she knew her mom would want her to be kind and helpful, even if it was hard.
Katie took a deep breath and walked over to Sarah. "I’ll help you," she said, trying not to sound too grumpy.
Sarah looked surprised but didn't argue. "Thank you so much, Katie." She said with teary eyes.
Katie sat down beside her and helped Sarah with the math problems. They worked quietly for a few minutes, and slowly, Sarah began to smile. “Oh, I get it now,” Sarah said, her face lighting up. “Thanks, Katie. I didn’t know how to do this before." Sarah hugged Katie tightly.
Katie felt proud of herself. It was hard to help someone who had been mean, but she felt like she had made the right choice. Even though Sarah wasn’t always kind to her, Katie knew she could still be the bigger person.
As the bell rang and Katie stood up to go to class, Sarah said, “Hey, um, sorry about the stuff I said before. I wasn’t very nice.”
Katie smiled and nodded. “It’s okay,” she said. She didn’t expect Sarah to change overnight, but at least she knew she had done something good.
★★★★★9.0
