A Love Story on Campus in the 90s

He was a strange person.

He rarely spoke, often arrived late, and had a particularly bad temper. I never saw him walk with anyone or eat with anyone. What left the deepest impression on me was that he always delayed paying his tuition fees for a long time each semester.

He didn’t do well in his studies and wasn’t very sociable, so neither classmates nor teachers liked him much. Especially the class teacher, who would frequently call him out in class to remind him to pay his fees.

He would say nothing, just lowering his head so much that it seemed he wanted to bury it in his desk.

Later, he became my deskmate. But within a week, we were separated.

He liked to pile his books messily, sometimes even encroaching into my space. Since I wasn’t familiar with him, I would sternly scold him. Once, I got angry and pointed at his head, asking, “Why are you so ill-mannered? How did your father teach you?”

Because of this, he suddenly jumped up and kicked me. Being young and hot-headed, I couldn’t stand it. After a big fight, we became sworn enemies.

For a long time after that, I couldn’t understand why he suddenly jumped up and hit me.

In the first semester of our second year, he still hadn’t paid his tuition fees. The class teacher stood on the podium every day, calling him by name and asking what his situation was, if he had any difficulties. He still said nothing, just buried his head lower and lower.

At that time, he was probably around 15 years old. Since no one wanted to sit with him and his grades were extremely poor, he was assigned to sit alone in a corner of the cleaning area.

No one paid attention to him, and he had no friends. During PE class, he usually hid in the classroom to sleep. Soon, we all forgot about him.

In the second year elections, the class president was a girl who was not only kind and diligent but also played the piano beautifully, making her very popular.

During free activities in PE class, she brought a piece of green letter paper and asked everyone in the class to sign it.

She said that since we only had a year left before graduation, she wanted to keep everyone’s handwriting together as a meaningful memento. Moreover, she promised to treat everyone to a free bottle of Coke if they signed. Everyone was overjoyed and rushed to sign.

In the end, 46 people returned to the classroom with 46 bottles of Coke, chatting and laughing, making him in the corner seem even more lonely and desolate.

Later, he changed into a completely different person. At first, I thought it was an illusion, but when I asked around, everyone felt the same.

He not only took over the entire class’s cleaning duties but also went to the playground under the scorching sun every day to fetch water for classmates to drink. The most outrageous thing was the autumn sports meet.

Not only did he run alongside others and hand out sweet water, but he also shouted cheers louder and more enthusiastically than anyone else.

No one knew what he had gone through or why he was doing this, but his actions were like crystal-clear drops of water, not only gathering together but also moistening the hearts around him.

Many people were touched and extended a helping hand to him. Some helped him with his studies, some bought him breakfast, and some even suggested secretly raising funds in the new semester to solve his tuition problem.

After the final exams, although his grades were only average, he was still selected as the student who made the most progress that year and was asked to give a speech on stage.

That was the first time I saw him cry. He took out a piece of green letter paper from his pocket and carefully unfolded it: “I’m from a single-parent family. My father passed away very early, and my mother is raising me and my younger brother alone, working very hard.

That day, I came to school early to pack my books and then drop out, but unexpectedly, I received this letter. I’m really grateful for everyone’s help. I was worried you all would look down on me… Without the tuition money you helped me raise, I might have already been working a miserable job in a coal mine…”

Everyone saw clearly. That piece of green letter paper had 46 different handwritings and 46 familiar names.

No one spoke, and no one turned to look at the class president. It was a long time before the classroom was filled with the sound of applause like waves.

Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “