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.

But then, something in her heart made her pause. She remembered what her mom always said: "Two wrongs don’t make a right." 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.

Katie sat down beside her and helped Sarah with the math problems. 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." 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.”