Because you finally got tired, of having your best friend getting picked on by the instructor, so, you’d, stood up for him! Translated…
That, was the bravest, I had, ever been.
My middle school math teacher was, strict, and cold-blooded, he’d, treated the students who’d performed well kind, and, would get so angered easily, at the students who didn’t do so well, and I, and my best friend, Cheng, belonged to the latter, naturally, we’d received, nothing but dirty looks from him. He’d thrown the exams back to us, and so, we’d, squatted down to pick them up, as he’d, grilled us on how badly we’d done.
Cheng couldn’t get math, he’d almost always, gotten zeros on the exams, and, naturally, he was, especially, mistreated, and, his test papers got thrown, the farthest, and yet, he’d, bitten his teeth, never fought back. And, Cheng’s older brother was in another class, a GT student, usually made the top three on the sectional exams, and received the principal awards from the podium too. Cheng told him, that he and his brother were like heaven and earth, that he will, never catch up to him, he felt defeated. And yet, the god damn math teacher always, compared him with his older brother all the time, to shame him.
Once, we’d had a very hard math final, and, without a doubt, Cheng got none of the questions right, was the last in class.
“Cheng, zero, you SUCK!”, the math teacher threw his exam onto the floor, and started ranting. Cheng didn’t make a sound, until the instructor commented, “your older brother is excellent, you’re, so bad, how come, the intelligences weren’t, inherited in you, all of it, went to your brother, didn’t it?” This hurt Cheng right where it’d, mattered, he’d smacked the desk, got up, stared the instructor down, with tear-filled eyes.
“What are you angry over? Did I misspoken?”, the instructor continued using sarcasms.
“Yes, instructor, you are wrong!”, don’t know what took over me, I’d, blurted out. The instructor was, dumbfounded, everybody else, hushed up too. “You shouldn’t judge us based off of the grades we’d made, we’d, worked hard enough as is, you’d gone, way overboard!”, I’d, fought back, on Cheng’s behalf, that was, what the math instructor didn’t expect, then, he’d, stormed out of the class. Cheng and I stood, staring at one another, there was, that sense of gratitude from his eyes.
Later, we were both, given major reprimands, but I had no regrets, because I had finally, stood up, for my friend, and myself too.
In between class, Cheng asked me, why I’d, stood up for him? I’d, patted him on the shoulders, “because you’re my friend”.
Although we’d both, graduated out of middle school, as we dined together, we’d, still talked about this, recalling how young and wild we once were, and how I was, courageous, in standing up against the authority.
And so, you’d, stood up for your friend, because you finally had it, with your math instructor, comparing him with his older brother, talking shit about your friend, and, he was, more than grateful for you having done so, and that strengthened your relationship, you two are still, good friends to this day.