For my fourteenth birthday, my mom offered to take me and several friends to the city nearest our small town to visit a mall, go shopping, eat pizza in the food court, and then catch a movie. It was just the kind of celebration that a teenage girl longed for.

All the friends I’d invited joined me in this birthday party. Yet my best friend Nora didn’t show up. I felt confused why she didn’t tell me she couldn’t make it. Depressed and upset, I went home and decided to call Nora and get some answers.

By the time I reached for the telephone hanging on the wall, I had worked myself into a fit of anger. I struck Nora’s number. W hen she answered, I demanded to know why she had avoided my birthday celebration and me. “Nora, it’s my birthday. And you didn’t come to my party, and you didn’t even let me know. What kind of friend are you?”

Then Nora explained that she’d had to stay home because she had gotten sick. Nora began crying on the phone, hurt and surprised that I was mad at her. “Okay, so you’re sick...” I answered. “How am I supposed to figure out that you’re skipping my birthday party if you don’t tell me?” It only grew worse from there, and Nora wept as we hung up the phone moments later.

The next day, her mother called back. In a peaceful voice, she told me how much I’d hurt her daughter, how much Nora had wanted to join us, and how she had been the one to change Nora’s plans when she didn’t allow her to attend that day. Still thinking only of myself, I ended the call with Nora’s mom and still felt angry. Ever since, we had had no contact.

The Quarrel

Coretti got a prize and I did not. However, it wasn’t out of envy that I quarreled with him this morning.

When I was writing in my copy-book for calligraphy this morning, Coretti jogged (轻碰) my arm and spoiled (破坏) my paper. I said a rude word to him angrily. He smiled, “I did not do it intentionally.” I should have believed him, because I know him; but it displeased me that he should smile, and I thought: “Now that he has had a prize, he has grown rude!”

After a while, to revenge (为……报仇) myself, I jogged him to spoil his paper. “Enrico, you did that on purpose!” he said to me. He raised his hand but drew it back when the teacher saw it. Then he added, “I shall wait for you outside!” Now my anger died down and I felt sorry. No, Coretti could not have done it intentionally. He is good, I thought. I recalled how he had worked and helped his sick mother in his own home; and then how heartily he had been welcomed in my house; and how he had pleased my father. And I thought of the advice given by my father—“If you do something wrong, do apologize!” But I did not dare to.

I was ashamed to say “sorry”. Looking at Coretti out of the corner of my eye, I felt I loved him. I said to myself, “Courage!” But the words “excuse me” stuck in my throat. He glanced at me from time to time, and he seemed to be more sorrowful than angry. But at such times I looked directly into him to show that I was not afraid. He repeated, “We shall meet outside!” And I said, “We shall meet outside!”

At last school was over.

When I found out that my new friend Karina did not share my opinions about some stuff, I was very upset. It was hard to imagine disagreeing with her about anything because when we first met, we got along so well. It was as if we’d known each other forever.

“No way!” I said, as I sat next to her on the first day of karate (空手道) camp. “Are those banana chips in your lunchbox?”

“You like banana chips?” she said in a surprised voice. “They’re my favorite snack.”

“My aunt brought some the last time she visited, and I’ve been craving (渴望) them ever since,” I said.

“I guess today’s your lucky day,” she said, handing me the bag. “We have a big box that’s kind of taking up space in the cupboard. So, you’d actually be helping me out!”

Right then is when I knew that Karina and I were meant to be friends forever. Whenever we got to pick a partner at camp, we picked each other. Whenever we had a break, we hung out together. The more time we spent together, the more we realized how amazingly alike we were. We both had two adorable cats, we both had an awesome younger sister, and we both had the same favorite song.

But then something happened. Karate camp was next to a piece of beautiful land that had a bunch of large old trees on it. Whenever it was nice out, we’d get to eat our lunch at picnic tables that were right by some of those trees.

After we finished lunch, our coach, Miguel, reminded us to keep the forest as clean and perfect as it was when we got here.

And that’s when things got complicated.

Sam, one of our teammates, asked us, “Have you guys heard that shopping mall rumor? They want to cut down a bunch of those trees to make room for a shopping center.” To my surprise, Karina said, “My parents told me the shopping center would make new jobs for people who really needed work and people’s jobs were more important than trees.”

I completely disagreed with Karina about cutting down trees.

Later, I suddenly realized Karina had her reasons for believing what she did.