Sarah and Manal were paternal cousins and close since childhood. They played games together, shared their toys and spent every waking moment in each other’s company. Living next door to each other meant they could easily run back and forth between their houses.

But they had a mischievous streak. They often played pranks and sometimes even bullied younger kids at school, always managing to evade punishment by sticking together and making up lies. Their parents were completely unaware of their antics.

Now 14, Sarah and Manal continued their playful mischiefs. One sunny afternoon, Manal arrived at Sarah’s house to do homework together, but got easily bored, hence, Sarah had a new game in mind.

“Truth or dare! Let’s do it,” Sarah exclaimed, “We’ll do homework later at night. I’m too bored.” She grabbed a pink water bottle and spun it around on her bed. “If the cap lands on either of us, we ask the question. Wanna play?”

Manal agreed excitedly. They watched the bottle spin and spin, until it finally came to a halt, with the cap now pointing at Manal.

“Yay! I get to ask the question,” Manal teased with a grin. “Truth or dare?”

Sarah hesitated for a moment, then said, “Dare.”

Manal thought deeply, her eyes narrowing in concentration, waiting for the light bulb inside her mind to flick up. After a few moments, a mischievous smile spread across her face and she spoke, “I dare you to prank call a pizza place.”

Sarah looked sceptical, hesitating for once. “Isn’t that a bit too easy?” she put in.

But Manal firmly replied, “A dare’s a dare.”

Accepting the challenge, Sarah picked up her phone and dialled the number of a local pizza place. She put the phone on speaker so Manal could listen in.

“Hello, I’d like to order a cheese pizza, extra-large. Yes, I’ll send you the address. Thank you.”

Manal was taken aback, now fuming with anger. She crossed her arms and said, “That wasn’t a prank call! You just ordered a pizza. That’s cheating. You lost the game.”

Sarah smirked. “Just wait.”

About an hour later, the doorbell rang. Sarah winked at Manal and headed to the door, with Manal trailing behind. The delivery guy stood at the door, holding a pizza box that was scented heavenly with creamy cheese. He was sweating and looking exhausted from his long journey.

“Your order, ma’am. That will be…”

Before he could finish, Sarah took the box and opened it, revealing a steaming, scrumptious pizza. She faked a sigh while shaking her head in slow motion and looked up at the delivery guy.

“Oops, I didn’t order this. You must be mistaken,” she answered innocently and thrust the pizza back into his hands, causing the toppings to slide around inside the box.

The delivery guy looked confused and tired. “Ma’am, the receipt says this exact address. I must have not been mistaken. I came a long way,”

Sarah, with exaggerated frustration, snapped, “Can’t you hear me? You got the wrong order.” She slammed the door in his face, pride glinting on her face, but as she twisted her head around in a sense of triumphant, she noticed Manal, face with a disappointed grin.

“Told you … I was smart. He got fooled!” Sarah uttered.

Manal’s face turned red. “You think that was cool?” she asked, guilt heavy in her voice. “That was mean, Sarah!”

Manal always felt a sense of guilt after they did their pranks even in school, but she was aware that this one had gone too far. With a heavy sigh and a loud thud, she left Sarah’s house without another word, slamming the door the same way Sarah had done to the pizza guy. So when she felt a mix of shock and pain, she thought, “That man must’ve felt it too.”

Curious and a bit worried, Sarah pulled the curtains and peeked out the window and saw Manal approaching the delivery guy, who was now sitting on his motorcycle, dejected. She saw them having a dialogue, Manal took the pizza and handed him money and a generous tip.

His face lit up with gratitude, and Sarah heard him say, “Your help will make a big difference for me. I would have had to pay for this pizza from my salary.”

She could see Manal in deep thought, walking slowly to her home, with that pizza in her hands.

Feeling a pang of shame, Sarah went to Manal’s house that night, with the excuse of doing homework, just to apologise. “Why did you pay him so much cash? The pizza wasn’t even that much. What happened?” she asked.

Manal positioned her palms on her thighs and placed her maths notebook next to her. She thoughtfully replied, “His name is John. When I left your house, I saw tears in his eyes as he sat on his motorbike. I apologised for your prank, but he just smiled and said, ‘It’s okay, I forgive her.’ So I asked him why he was upset?

“He told me, he was not worried about what you did to him, but he was worried about his father. He had no job so there were little to no earnings. The school season is starting, and they have no money available for his little sister’s school supplies. I can’t have any money deducted from my salary.”

Manal paused, then continued, “He was about to leave when I stopped him. I gave him some of my pocket money and said it might help. I saw a relief in his eyes and tears of joy.”

Sarah felt a deep sense of guilt building up inside of her. She realised the impact of her actions and vowed to be more considerate in the future. Manal’s kindness had shown her the importance of empathy and the true meaning of friendship.

From that day on, Sarah and Manal still enjoyed their games and adventures, but they made sure their fun was never at someone else’s expense.

The following Monday, Sarah eagerly ordered a pizza again, hoping that the same guy would deliver it, just to retain the apology and kind gesture. She clutched a wad of cash tightly in her hands, her eyes darting back and forth between the clock and the door.

When the bell finally rang, Sarah dashed to the door, only to be greeted by some other delivery man. Her initial disappointment was visible, so she asked the man at the door while paying him for the pizza about the guy named John.

The delivery man nodded. “Yes, there is.”

Sarah took a deep breath and handed him a generous tip. “Can you give this to him? Tell him it’s from the girl who pranked you,’ and say that I’m sorry. I had no idea what could be the consequences of my actions, and how much it could’ve hurt him. That’s all.”

The delivery man gave her a warm smile, and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he gets it. It’ll mean a lot to him.”

After nearly a month passed, Sarah was enjoying lunch with her classmates when she noticed Manal having a large pizza in her hands with a sticky note affixed to the top. Manal read the note aloud to Sarah.

“Thanks to you and your friend. Once again, you have no idea how much your help made a difference. Here’s a kind gesture of appreciation gift from me for you and your classmates to share. — John”

Sarah and Manal exchanged smiles, their hearts warmed by John’s gesture. They felt a renewed sense of satisfaction, realisation hitting hard that their kindness had made a real difference.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 28th, 2024