Shengliver’s Note: Your fate is in your hands. What you sow today you will reap tomorrow. This teen writer, Miss Ke Wenxin, illustrates the point in this entry.

There is always a special person on my mind these days. Kathy was my best friend in junior high school. Every time her face pops up in my mind’s eye, a pang of remorse gnaws at my heart.

In Grade 7, Kathy and I were more or less the same level in terms of school performances. We hung around as well as studying together. Things started to change little by little, though.

I always got my homework, especially maths, done at home during lunch break. Then I took my work to school in the afternoon. One afternoon Kathy said to me, “Today’s maths is so hard. I do not want to work on it. May I have a look at your assignment? I will buy you candy later.”

I remember showing my homework to Kathy at her request without second thoughts. The question whether that was right or wrong never occurred to me. Her candy pleased me very much.

After that, the same thing happened more and more frequently until it became almost a daily occurrence. Kathy asked me for my homework whenever she was tired of hers. I did her the favour over and over again. At times, I even felt proud when I saw her get her maths homework sorted out quick this way.

Naturally my grades came up; Kathy’s went down. I tried to encourage her to be confident. But I did not warn her not to copy others’ homework. In time she lagged far, far behind me.

When the results of the high school entrance exams were released, our different marks meant that it would be impossible for us two to attend the same high school. My high marks, however, did not make me feel on top of the world. On the contrary, I felt guilty every time I thought of my friend’s slide. I wished I had not contributed to her habit of copying, but it was too late.

Luckily, we can still meet in the vacation. I hope our friendship will stay as fresh as ever. From the bottom of my heart, I just want to let Kathy know that I do feel regret for not nipping her self-hurting behaviour in the bud.