Behind those freaking spectacles

                It was a very exhausting afternoon, when I sat quite still on a bleacher having seen a skinny boy of maybe sixteen. It looked like he was hardly carrying all of his books and I thought to myself, “Why would anyone bring all of his books on a Friday? You can just leave them on the locker room. He must really be a nerd.” I had quite planned my weekend so I shrugged my shoulders and went on ignoring that nerdy guy.

                As the great dazzling sun gently sets of, I saw a bunch of men running harshly toward him while I was just there watching. They ran at him, knocking all of his books out of his arms and hitting him ruthlessly so he landed on the dirt. His glasses slipped off from his nose and I saw them ten feet away from him. He looked as if he needed for some aid and I saw his terrible sadness on his eyes. My heart gave a jolt so I headed over to him as he crawled pathetically around looking for his spectacles and I saw great sparkling tears dropping delicately from his eyes.

                “Those guys are such jerks. They must really get lost.” I exclaimed as I hand him his glasses.
                “Hey thanks!” he replied with a smirk.

                A wide smile suddenly washed the horrible face worn by him a while ago. I considered that smile as one of those that showed real gratitude. We talked all the way home whilst carrying part of his stuffs. Sev, the name he wanted me to call him, turned out to be a cool guy though he was a bit older than me so I asked him if he wanted to go out with me and meet my friends and he answered yes. We hung all the weekend and the more I got to know Sev, the more I liked him and my friends thought of the same.

                Over the next years, Sev went out to be the valedictorian of the seniors. I teased him all the time about being nerd. He had to prepare a speech for their graduation. I was so glad for him of what he had done in his life in high school. Sev promised to keep in touch by writing to me and my friends after he graduated.

And so it was their commencement day. I saw him and he looked great. He was one of those guys who had found himself during his high school life. He actually got more dates than I had and the girls admired him so much. Sometimes I get jealous and today was one of those days. I could see the nerve up in him as he was about to give the speech so I smacked him on the back and said, “Hey mate, you’ll be great!” he glanced at me and smiled, “Thanks!”

As he was about to start, he cleared his throat and began, “Graduation is a perfect time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years-parents, teachers, mentors or maybe a coach, but mostly, your friends. I am here to tell you all that being a friend to someone is the best gift that you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.”

I just looked form a corner at my friend with a horrible disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. It revealed that he planned to kill himself on that Friday. He said of how he had cleaned out his locker so his mom wouldn’t have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He beamed hardly at me and gave a smile. “Thankfully, I was saved.” I heard the gasp go through the crowd at him and told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his mom and dad also beaming that familiar smile off me not until I realized its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture, you can change a person’s life—for better or for worse.