Andy and Eric were two friends who often played together. One day, on their way back home from school, they rode slowly, talking about the fishing trip that they had planned for the coming summer vacation. While turning a corner, Andy cried out, “A fight near the lake! Let’s go to watch!”

“No,” said Eric. “Let’s go home and not get involved in their quarrel. Stay away from it, or we may get into trouble. What’s more, our parents are waiting for us at home and I don’t want them to worry about me.”

“You are a coward (胆小鬼).” Andy laughed at him. Eric was a little annoyed, but he didn’t say anything, just riding home directly. The next day, he went to school as usual.

However, Andy had told all the class that Eric was too timid to do anything brave. So the whole class laughed at him a lot. And from then on, they looked down on Eric, unwilling to play with him. Eric was very sad but he didn’t blame Andy for his being rude to him, because he learned that true courage is shown most in bearing misunderstanding when it was not deserved, and that he ought to be afraid of nothing but doing wrong. Therefore, he ignored their teasing, studying even harder. What was different was that he had to go home alone.

Several days later, Andy together with his new friends was riding home. They were so absorbed in their conversation that they were unaware of everything else around them.

Suddenly, Andy noticed an unusual buzz of noise. He came to a stop and looked curiously up to the heavens. What he saw shocked and terrified him. A huge swarm of bees filled the sky like a black cloud and the noisy mass seemed to be heading angrily towards them.

“Bees!” someone shouted. The boys were caught in great panic. All of them except Andy rode as fast as possible to escape. Andy was too scared to move.

Andy stopped there, with the buzz louder and louder.

Dragging themselves out of the lake, they struggled up to the shore.

My name is Yolanda. Whenever I recall the autumn 20 years ago, my heart is filled with mixed feelings. Joyce, aged 18---just one year older but much taller than me--was my best friend, so do our parents.

“Joyce is a knock out,” Mom would say so. I would have protested if these remarks were on anyone else. But Joyce had her unique charm--the long light hair curled slightly on her temples, the large and beaming eyes; an invariable smile on her cheeks whether in the brilliance of sunshine or in the twilight of dusk--the figure was too graceful for anyone to defend.

Sure enough, that autumn witnessed her fortune take over---signing with a modeling agency, now already doing registration and runway work.

On my 17^th birthday, Father gave me his refurbished (翻新的) SVT Cobra R as he promised--a gift I like most but to be wasted on me for now, as I did not come of age for a driving licence. I promised Dad I would be driving around in a year’s time.

But the urge to have a go had been scratching me.

That weekend, I proposed to drive Joyce to the movie’s downtown as my gift of congratulations on her job offer. She accepted my offer of a ride in my beloved car. I reminded her to put on the lap belt. There we went,putting some fries on the seat between us to share.

It was a purple night, and I was driving my best friend around contentedly. Turning around a curve too fast, before I knew it, I skidded along and hit the guardrail in the middle of the road. My cheekbone cracked on the steering wheel, the car came to a stop with the passenger door open just a few feet from me. There under the moonlight on the path, French fries, the dash (仪表板), and my lap. An impossible amount of blood on Joyce’s face, flaps of skin were hanging out of her eyes...

We were rushed to the hospital in separate ambulances. Later, I learned that I was to recover soon. When I asked about Joyce, my mother hesitated for a moment, then spoke quietly, “She’s all right, but the scar above her eye--best plastic surgeon in the city, but end of her modeling career.”

When her mother, Betty, entered my ward (病房), I burst into tears.                                                              

I had never expected Betty’s forgiveness, which brightened up that autumn, and the rest of our life.