Resolving to Change

Ethan Parker ran to the school gate, exhaling deeply.

It wasn't that he didn't want to study, but he knew his own abilities best. He had fallen too far behind to catch up.

Once upon a time, back in junior high, Ethan Parker was an excellent student. But an incident led him down the path of delinquency...

He thought of Sophia Turner, the girl with big doll-like eyes, his first crush. It was all ruined by their homeroom teacher at the time.

Ethan Parker and Sophia Turner were among the top students in their class and also desk mates, naturally becoming close. But it was just innocent affection between children, never crossing any lines.

One autumn afternoon, both Ethan Parker and Sophia Turner were called into their homeroom teacher Mr. Wu's office.

Their fathers were there, both with grim expressions. Mr. Wu exaggerated the details of their "puppy love" and then "kindly" advised Ethan's father, "The kids are still young, don't hit him too hard."

That comment triggered Ethan's father, who slapped Ethan hard across the face, leaving him stunned. His father had never hit him like that before!

Ethan's eyes filled with tears of grievance. Sophia Turner looked worriedly at Ethan, trying to stop his father, but her own father pulled her aside, scolding, "Even if you find a boyfriend, you shouldn't pick someone like him! Look at their family, just workers!"

Ethan's father, hearing this, flinched and kicked Ethan again. Ethan cried, and so did Sophia. The only one laughing was Mr. Wu, gloating.

Later, Ethan found out that his father was so angry because Mr. Wu had previously praised the wealth of Sophia's family, making it seem like she was too good for Ethan, who must have led her astray.

Mr. Wu did this because Sophia's father had given him gifts, while Ethan's father had not.

The next day, Sophia Turner transferred to another school. Ethan Parker was given a major demerit for "harassing" a female classmate. The situation wasn't so serious, but with Sophia gone, Mr. Wu lost a source of gifts and took it out on Ethan.

After that, Ethan began to fall apart...

Fighting, smoking, drinking, hanging out with local thugs, he became a school bully.

When it came time to apply for high school, he barely scraped by with his previous foundation, enough to get into a tuition-paying school. Ethan didn't want his father to spend money on him, but his father, feeling guilty for wronging him, insisted on compensating him in some way.

Reaching the pool hall, Ethan saw Nathan Drake chatting with the owner, Mason Black. Seeing Ethan enter, they both said, "Here comes Ethan."

Ethan nodded at them. Mason Black had been Ethan's classmate in junior high. After failing to get into high school, he opened this pool hall.

Most of the local thugs knew Ethan and respected him because of his connection with Mason, so no one caused trouble here. Mason was grateful to Ethan for this.

Pushing aside his unpleasant memories, Ethan smiled at the two, "No one here this morning, Mason. Shall we play a round?"

"Sure, but go easy on me!" Mason jumped up to get the cue.

Nathan tossed a cigarette to Ethan, who sniffed it and said, "Red River, huh? You've moved up in the world?"

"Mason's," Nathan laughed awkwardly. His family situation was similar to Ethan's. He had gotten into high school through a sports scholarship, struggling with academics.

Mason handed a cue to Ethan, who tested its weight, then approached the table, "Who breaks?"

"I'll go first, before you clear the table!"

... … …

At noon, Ethan went home for lunch.

This was his most painful moment of the day. Seeing his father's wrinkled face and expectant eyes made Ethan feel guilty.

No matter how busy the factory was, his father always came home to cook for him.

Looking at the steaming food, Ethan felt he should try harder in his studies. But it wasn't a lack of effort; he felt he was beyond help.

"Ethan, school keeping you busy?" his father asked kindly, sitting at the table. He always waited for Ethan to finish eating before he did.

"Dad, you should eat too," Ethan said awkwardly, "School's okay."

"Just half a year left. Try your best to get into college, so you don't end up like me, working in a factory," his father sighed. He knew why Ethan had gone astray and felt guilty for misjudging him. "If you don't make it this year, you can always repeat. I'll pay for it."

Ethan was touched but knew his own limits. He reassured his father, "Dad, I'll do my best. If I can't make it, I'll find a job."

His father said nothing more, just gave him a loving look. But the hope in his eyes was unmistakable.

In the afternoon, Ethan returned to school, and his father went back to the factory. His father's old bike had been given to Ethan to save time getting to school. Watching his father's increasingly bent figure, Ethan was deeply moved.

Study? Fine, I'll study. If I can get into college, it will make my father proud. If not, at least I tried my best and can have no regrets! Ethan resolved to himself.

"Old man, don't you know this area is under Bright's protection? If you want to do business here, you have to pay a protection fee. If something happens, we won't be responsible!" A blond thug was yelling at an old man selling goods on the street.

Ethan frowned. Not far ahead, two young thugs were bullying an old street vendor. Ethan wasn't one to meddle, but he couldn't stand seeing the weak being bullied.

What kind of courage does it take for two young men to bully an old man?