Afternoons filled with laughter

These days, the children in my neighborhood are very happy. No more busy afternoons riding their bikes to class for extra classes, everyone is excited because they have more time to play and run around.

At noon, instead of rushing to eat lunch and taking a short break to go to school, I now lie on a hammock, inhaling the sweet scent of grapefruit flowers and feeling the gentle spring breeze blowing by. If I hadn't had the afternoon off, I would probably be cycling to class right now, not having the leisurely conditions like this. While I was dozing off, I suddenly heard a call:

- Vinh, do you want to play soccer?

I jumped up, happily ran out, and saw Tuan, Hai, and their friends waiting. The whole group rushed to the stadium behind the ward People's Committee. The ball rolled on the grass, cheers echoed throughout the stadium. After the match, the whole group went out to the green grass, enjoying the cool spring breeze. Hai rested his chin on his hand and sighed:

- Studying is important, but having days off like this is fun.

Tuan nodded in agreement:

- Yes, it's been a long time since we had free time to play soccer.

We were all very happy. It turned out that the afternoons without extra classes allowed us to laugh freely with our friends.

Not only did we have time to play, we also helped our parents with more housework. Hai and Tuan helped our parents pick up their younger siblings, while I helped my mother sweep the yard and cook rice. My father was surprised:

- How are you today?

- I don't have to go to extra classes in the afternoon so I have more free time, Dad, I quickly replied.

In the afternoon, I don't have to go to class, so I take advantage of the time to do my homework so that in the evening I can help my mother take care of my younger siblings and have time to study programming, my favorite subject.

My friends and I also had time to carry out a special plan. We decided to visit Mrs. Chuc at the end of the village. She is over 80 years old this year, living alone in a small, old house. Normally, because we are busy with school, we rarely visit her, but now that we have free time, the whole group decided to visit her. Our parents knew about this plan so they were very supportive and even gave us many gifts for her.

- Grandma, we came to play with you - Hai politely greeted.

Mrs. Chuc smiled kindly and invited the group into the house. The children chattered about school and the neighborhood. The old lady looked at us, her eyes filled with emotion:

- Thank you, I'm so happy. My knees have been aching for the past few days so I can't go anywhere.

We stayed at her house for quite a while. She even invited us to eat fried cakes that she made herself. Leaving Mrs. Chuc's house, everyone felt happy and warm. Hai said:

- It turns out that we can do a lot of fun things in the afternoons when we don't go to school.

I nodded, feeling these days were meaningful.

Coming home late in the afternoon, seeing my mother cooking rice, I happily told her:

- Mom, now we only have to study one session a day, which is good. Before, I was worried that if I didn't go to school, I wouldn't know what to do. My parents wouldn't let me watch TV, and they even forbade me from playing video games, but now we have a lot to do.

Mother laughed:

- Really? Then remember to enjoy this time, but don't forget your studies.

I was so happy. It turned out that, besides the stressful school hours, the days without extra classes were filled with laughter with friends.