A GIFT FOR MARK

It's Monday morning, and the sun is smiling on us. We all stood by a lawn, and all the other students passed by, looking at us as if we were from Mars.
Well, maybe they had a reason to look at us in such a disdainful manner. We were all dressed in different uniforms, more like the colors of the rainbow.

Source

This was my first day in high school. All the new students waited on the lawn for the principal. After about ten minutes, an elderly man walked out of the office, just by the lawn.
"Good morning, students. My name is Mr. David, and I am the principal of this great school. Welcome to Divine High School. Read the school rules and regulations, obey them, and you will enjoy your stay here. Mr. David said. A 6-foot-tall man being the principal was so intimidating for me. Mr. David assigned us to our classes, and I was in Junior Secondary School 1A. Well, I had nothing in mind; I just wanted to start learning.

As I walked into the class, I saw a desk with my name written on it. I sat on it, and I was ready to learn. All the other students sat except one. I wondered why he didn't have a desk. "My name is John," the boy sitting next to me said. I replied, "My name is Ani." John said, "Let's join our desk together and ask the boy standing over there to come sit with us." " Okay, I replied by nodding my head. "Come share our desks with us," John said. "Thank you so much; my name is Mark."

Mr. David walks into the class and says, "Oh, Mark, you have seen a desk; that's good.". "Ani and John, thank you for sharing your desks with Mark," Mr. David said.

John whispered to my ears, "Can I talk to you outside?"
and I replied, "Yes." We stood by the class door. "Have you noticed that Mark's shoe is bad and very old?" I never noticed that, so I peered into the classroom to have a good look at Mark's shoe. "It's looking very old," I replied. "I think we should get Mark a new shoe," John said. "Well, that's a good idea, but it might be expensive," I replied. "I know where we can get a cheap shoe," John said, rubbing his palms. I gave him the money I had with me. "Thank you, my friend," he said.

"Good morning, Ani. This is the shoe we bought for Mark," John said as he brought out a beautiful black shoe from his school bag. "This is nice," I said. I asked Mark to meet us on the lawn. "Mark, Ani, and I have this little gift for you," John said, handing over the parcel to Mark. "Wow, this is beautiful," Mark said as he jumped on us.

It's a beautiful Wednesday morning, and John has yet to arrive at school. I was wondering what made him stay back from school. "Where is John?" Mark asked. "I don't know why he is not in school," I replied. The principal walks into our class, and we all greet him.

"Good morning, students, I have an announcement. John has left the school; he and his family are traveling to the United States this morning. So he asked Mark to take his desk and his textbooks," the principal said. I was shocked at this news. I just looked at Mark and didn't say a word. I sat there thinking, "What a lovely person John is." The gift of a shoe to Mark was just so amazing, and I felt fulfilled seeing Mark so happy when he received the shoe.

Mark touched my shoulder and said, "John was a gift of a friend from God." Tears rolled down my eyes. I had never met anyone who had such an impact on me. I hope to see John again someday.