The bell emits a sharp ring indicating the end of the school day. Students flood out of various classrooms eager to escape the confines of school. Kris exits his last class and makes his way to the front of the school. Luckily, he has no basketball practice today, so he can head straight home and tackle the large mountain of homework waiting for him. As he passes the main hallway, he notices a small guy carrying a large stack of textbooks. Kris recognizes the guy as Suho, the potential valedictorian with near straight A’s. Some buff students behind Suho push him violently. Suho falls forward, and his textbooks fly everywhere. Other students attracted by the loud sound only give brief attention to the scene before returning back to whatever they were doing before. Kris utilizes his long legs to walk briskly to Suho’s side. He helps gather various textbooks.

“That was mean of them. Don’t worry about them. They are just jerks and bullies.”

Suho looks up in surprise at hearing Kris’s deep voice. His eyes widen. By now, Suho had gathered all of his fallen textbooks except for the ones Kris is currently holding.

“Thanks for helping me.”

“No problem. What is with all the textbooks? I feel like it is your entire locker here. I’m pretty sure the teachers don’t assign this much homework.”

“Ah..n-n-nothing. I just wanted to look over some stuff tonight.”

“Alright. Hey you look like you need some cheering up. Wanna grab a cup of coffee together?”

“No thanks, I have to hurry home. My mom is expecting me. Can I have the rest of my textbooks, first?”

“No way, dude. You’ve already got so many on your hand. Let me help you. I’ll carry them until we arrive at your house. My name is Kris by the way.”

“I’m Suho.W-w-wait. You’re walking with me to my house?”

Kris smiles at Suho, “Of course. Let’s go now before your mom starts to worry about you.”

The pair make their way out of the school gate and start walking towards Suho’s house. Suho glances over at Kris’s tall figure. He can’t believe that Kris is talking to him. They did not have any classes together. Kris is the captain of the basketball team, and he is some random nerdy kid. The two walk in comfortable silence until they reach Suho’s house. Suho takes his textbook from Kris.

“Well...bye. Thanks for helping me. I’m sorry if I bothered you in any way.”

Kris smiles, “It’s no problem. See you at school tomorrow, Suho!”

Suho shyly returns the smile, “See you tomorrow, too.”

Kris waves goodbye to Suho before continueing the way to his house. Surprisingly, his house is very close and on the same road as Suho’s house. Perhaps he could invite Suho over to shoot some hoops?

Kris and Suho quickly become very close friends afterwards. Kris often invited Suho over to shoot some hoops, and Suho would often stay over for dinner before leaving. Suho would tutor Kris in some tricky subjects. They sometimes went out to play video games or watch movies. The bullies continued to target to Suho, but quickly learned to back away after Kris towered over them and threatened them to stop. Suho met Kris’s other friends, and they all hung out together. All too soon, graduation was fast approaching, and Suho, indeed, became valedictorian.

Kris sits in the seats provided for those graduating. He can see Suho over in the corner waiting for the principal to finish before giving his valedictorian speech. He catches Suho’s eyes and shares a smile. He gives Suho a thumbs up in hopes it would calm the panicky look in Suho’s eyes. Finally, the principal finishes and gestures for Suho to take the stage. In his red graduation gown, Suho steps up to the stage and makes his way over the podium to begin his speech.

“Hi, my name is Suho and I’m very honored to be your valedictorian. Usually in this speech, I am suppose to thank the teachers, family members, and friends who helped me and then go over what we, as a class, accomplished this year. While I wouldn’t dare break tradition, I would like to start a story about a special friend.”

Kris sits up straighter in his seat. Suho had been very secretive about his speech leading up to graduation. Everyone else looked on in vague interest. Which friend is Suho talking about?

Suho continues, “You see friendship is something that is precious to give. One day, I was heading back from my locker and going home when someone pushed me down. A nice guy came over and helped me. For that I was grateful but what really affected me was when he said I looked like I needed some cheering up. He later on become a great friend of mine and introduced me to his other friends. However, that day we met was extra special. I had cleaned out all the book from my locker because I didn’t want to burden my mom from having to do it the next day. I knew that the next day I wouldn’t return to school. Instead, I would do the unspeakable that very night with a hidden razor. But, you know what stopped me? A new friend who saw that I needed help and extended not only his help but also an everlasting friendship. I want to thank that friend. Kris Wu, thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t be here today graduating and going to college.”

Kris sits stunned in his seat as the rest of the crowd gasps. His mind does not comprehend the rest of Suho’s speech. He never knew what Suho had really planned that day. Who knew that just a small act of kindness could really brighten someone’s day or change their life forever. Who knew that such a kid like Suho was even considering suicide. With that one small action of helping a fellow classmate pick up his fallen textbook, Kris had stopped a suicide.

After the ceremony, Kris rushes over to Suho and hits him lightly.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Suho blushes, “That time was a pretty dark time. I had to work up the courage to even admit I had a problem. Thanks for being my friend, Kris.”

“I’ll always be your friend.”

Kris and Suho both shudder at the cheesiness before leaving together to find their families in the crowd. Friends forever.