This time I want to talk about my present deskmate, Mr Xie He. Before I was paired with him, I thought he was a strange and silly guy. Every time he greeted me on the way walking like a duck, I even did not bother to respond. However, as time went by, I changed my attitude.

The day before we became deskmates, I was quite unsure whether I could get along well with the guy, because I was told that the boy has some quirks and foibles. For one thing, he often makes some strange noises for no reason. For another, he sometimes touches others. Thus, when I became his deskmate, I demanded that he should be behaving normally. He promised he would be. Despite his promise, I found he couldn’t help himself at all. For the first few days, I was really not used to his strange behaviour. He always murmured something and then took a sudden loud breath. Sometimes I was startled when I was musing over a difficult problem. That really bothered me. Some days ago, he did that again during a maths class. As you know, our maths teacher is a very strict man, the same way our class director is. However, our maths teacher did not tell Mr Xie off. Instead, he said never mind, smiling. Maybe our teachers had realised that it was hopeless for Mr Xie to change his ways. I felt hopeless too.

With days going by, I gradually saw the person in him. I found he is very enthusiastic about study. Terrible as his grades are, he never gives up. He listens to the teachers with an active mind. Maybe that is why he often behaves so eccentrically. Besides, he is ready to reach out to those in need. He often helps us fetch drinking water from the dispenser installed on the other side of the floor. Mr Xie might not be very smart, but he is trying his best to make a little progress. In a word, I am impressed. I hope he can make it someday.