c

In a small but cozy apartment, there lived a girl and her parents. The girl was called Maxine, or Max for short. She was a cheerful, lively girl who loved taking risks and trying everything. She tackled every single challenge/task presented to her with zeal and passion. However, the one thing that she shied away from was helping others. For you see, Max was a bit of a selfish girl. The things she did, she did for her own benefit, whether it be amusement or pride or anything else. Therefore, she had never seen the benefit in helping others.

“Isn’t helping others just sacrificing your own time without getting anything out of it?” She would ask, bewildered as to why people would go out of their way for others.

c

Max’s parents tried their hardest to teach her the importance of giving and helping others by assigning her chores around the house, sitting her down to talk, and many other strategies. Stubborn in her beliefs, Max refused to listen and held on tightly to her opinion that going out of her way to help others was merely a hassle. One day, Max’s mom walked into her room, hands on her hips and a wide grin stretched across her face.

“Max, I have a challenge for you?”

“What kind of challenge? What do I get out of this?”

“Well, since you do not see the point in helping others and can’t understand when we teach you, why don’t you find it yourself?”

“Why would I do that? I already know it’s pointless.”

“Prove us wrong. Go out and help people. See if you still think there’s a point to helping others.”

“Fine. Challenge accepted!”

c

The next day, as Max stood on the train, she thought about her mother’s words. What could be the point to helping others? I know there are people in the world who do that for free, but they must be saints or super selfless to not care that they don’t benefit from their work. I am definitely not one of those people. As she was lost in her thoughts, an elderly woman entered the train with difficulty, shuffling slowly onboard. Max was broken out of her reverie when one of the seated passengers stood up and offered her seat to the elderly woman, smiling at her before finding a place to stand on the train. The elderly woman profusely thanked the passenger before settling into the seat, sighing in relief at getting to rest.

c

Max watched the entire scene unfold, observing the faces and attitudes of the passenger and the elderly woman during the exchange. The passenger, weirdly, had seemed happy throughout the exchange as if giving up her own seat on the train was a enjoyable thing to do. She had willingly given up her seat of rest with a smile on her face. Oh! Maybe people help others so they can feel good about themselves! Max thought to herself. They give up something of their own to help another person, but gain self-esteem and an ego boost in return. This must have been what Mom was talking about. Ha! That was one easy challenge to beat. Although, maybe I should try helping someone to make sure my theory is right. Max mused, stroking her chin. Just then, the train stopped at her destination and Max got off.

c

Max strolled down the street, chewing thoughtfully on a bar of chocolate. Still deep in thought, she crossed the road to throw away her candy wrapper. Just as she was waiting to return to the other side of the road, she noticed a woman sitting on the ground near the crosswalk. The woman was bawling her eyes out, cries sorrowful and heartbreaking. Max glanced at the people around her who were also waiting at the crosswalk. Despite her obvious need for help or comfort, no one standing at the crosswalk paid her any attention, too engrossed in their phones or too busy to care or just simply ignoring her. Reaching into her pocket, Max fished out a packet of tissue. She briefly entertained the thought of ignoring the woman just like everyone else, but reminded herself that this was the perfect opportunity to finish the challenge issued by her mother.

c

Steeling herself and summoning an ounce of courage, Max approached the crying woman.

“Are you alright?” Max inquired, holding out a piece of tissue. The woman stopped crying and looked up, blinking her eyes to peer at the newcomer. She hesitantly took the proffered tissue and wiped at her watery eyes and the tears running down her face.

“No...I just lost my job and now I’m about to lose my apartment. I can’t afford the rent so my landlord is threatening to evict me.”

“I’m so sorry.” Max pursed her lips, wondering what she could do.

“Here. Take this.” Max handed the woman the packet of tissue. “I can’t do anything to help you with your situation but I hope you manage to find another job.”

The woman sniffed, managing a shaky smile and thanking Max, who apologized again before taking her leave. As she walked away, Max replayed the events in her head, congratulating herself on the smooth delivery and sympathetic tone she used to comfort the woman. Man, she was good at this!

c

At home, Max hummed as she did her homework, smiling occasionally to herself. After a while, she went down to the kitchen for a snack, tossing out a cheerful “Hi” to her mom on the way.

“Woah what’s got you in such a good mood today? Did you finally crack that puzzle I gave you for Christmas?” Max’s mom teased her daughter.

“No - I figured out the point of service! It was as easy as taking candy from a baby.” Max announced proudly.

“I knew you’d be able to get it! So, what’s the purpose of helping?”

“It’s a booster for self-esteem and a way to feel good about yourself! When you help others, you sacrifice your time but come away with satisfaction and feel-good emotions.”

Max’s mom frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. “Max, you’ve completely missed the point. Try again, honey.”

c

A few days later, Max was at the supermarket buying groceries and snacks. She queued up at one of the checkout lines, scrolling her phone idly as she waited for her turn. Eventually, she was the next person up. As she waited patiently for the person in front of her to finish, she took out her wallet and placed her basket on the counter in preparation.

“That’ll be $155.3, please.” She heard the cashier say.

The man in front of her took out $150 in bills before rifling through his coin pouch. He suddenly cursed, frantically rummaging through his pockets for the $5.3 he was missing. The man emptied out his wallet, managing to bring the total up to $154, but was still missing $1.3.

c

Watching the man struggle, Max was once again reminded of her mother’s words and felt compelled to take action. Besides, a dollar and thirty cents wasn’t that much to lose. She opened her wallet, took out $1.3, and tapped the man’s shoulder. When he turned around, she wordlessly handed the money to him with a smile. He stared at her, eyes wide, before snapping out of his shock, whispering a thank you and proceeding to pay for his purchases. After he had finished, Max paid for her own groceries. As she picked up her bags, she found the man waiting for her near the exit. He introduced himself as Dale and shook her hand, profusely thanking Max for her generosity. Max waved away his compliments and thanks, reassuring him it was no big deal and she was merely happy to help. After a few minutes of chitchat, they parted ways.

c

Max stepped outside the super and immediately jumped back at the feeling of water on her skin. She looked up at the sky and groaned as she was met with nothing but gray. She had been so engrossed in chatting with Dale that she had failed to notice that it was now pouring rain. Setting her bags down on a nearby bench, Max decided to wait till the rain was less heavy before taking her chances and running to the bus stop. Listening to the harsh sound of the rain pounding against the pavement, Max sighed. If only I had an umbrella. She thought wistfully, watching other shoppers brave the rain, armed with umbrellas. Wait! She opened her backpack, digging through until she was met with the glorious sight of a bright blue umbrella, waiting to protect someone from precipitation.

c

Pumping her fist in triumph, Max pulled out her umbrella, hopped to her feet, and gathered her groceries. She was about to head out into the rain when a figure in her peripheral vision caught her attention. Swiveling her head to the left, Max caught sight of a girl of similar age to her, holding a newspaper above her head as a makeshift umbrella. The girl was also carrying bags of groceries and looked pained by the prospect of running through the rain with only a newspaper for protection. Without even thinking about it, Max found her feet carrying her towards the girl.

“Hi, I noticed you don’t have an umbrella and was wondering if you wanted to share mine with me?”

“Oh my gosh thank you so much! I’m heading to the bus stop one block over, is that okay?”

“Oh I’m headed there as well! Come on, let’s go!”

The girl ducked under Max’s umbrella and they took off for the bus stop.

c

The two girls fast walked to their destination, sighing in relief when they reached the shelter of the the bus stop. The girl turned to Max, “Thanks again for sharing your umbrella with me. My name’s Tessa, by the way.”

Max grinned, “No problem. I’m Max.” The two made small talk about their groceries before the conversation died off. Max pulled out her phone and opened a puzzle game app, resuming her current puzzle.

“Hey I play that game too!” Max looked up to see Tessa tapping on her phone before showing the screen to her. On it was the same puzzle app, albeit Tessa was on a different level. The two girls excitedly conversed about puzzles and heuristics for solving puzzles until the bus arrived. They exchanged numbers and added each other on Facebook, promising to keep in touch.

c

“Mom, I’m home!” Max yelled as she hauled in the groceries and slammed the door behind her.

“Hey sweetie, did you get the groceries?” Her mother replied.

“Yup! Got ‘em right here.” Max entered the kitchen, putting the bags on the counter.

“Max, why is your right side drenched but your left side dry? Is your umbrella too small?”

“Nah mom. I shared my umbrella with another girl at the supermarket. She didn’t have an umbrella so I thought we could share since we were both going to the bus stop.”

Max’s mom smiled; it seemed her plan to help Max understand service was working after all.

“We talked at the bus stop and turns out Tessa likes puzzles too! We promised to keep in touch and hang out soon.”

“That’s great, Max!”