My short story

“Finally, PE’s over.” Tim told John and Steve. It was recess, after a long and boring pe lesson. Steve complained loudly, “That was boring. Why do we have to run 3 kilometres every pe lesson?” “Yeah precisely.” John, the optimist of the group, told them “Don’t worry; we get exercise from running anyway, so it is good for our body too.”

During recess, the three of them agreed to go to the library every day to study for the impending test. They followed this plan for many days.

One day, as usual, Tim and Steve went to the library early. They decided to start work first while waiting for John to come. It was some time before John turned up. It was unlike John to be late for their appointment. Nevertheless, after his profuse apologies, they lost no time in doing their homework. After half an hour, Steve was surprised to see John staring into space. He looked like he was deep in thought and was biting the tip of his pen.

Steve nudged Tim to get his attention. Then, Steve, concerned, asked John “John, are you alright? You have been looking at the ceiling for the past five minutes. “Uhhh, don’t worry, I am alright. I just did not get enough sleep and I am a bit tired. Let’s continue our work.” John, looking down from the ceiling and feeling slightly startled, replied. Everything seemed fine, although Steve and Tim could not help feeling that something was amiss.

For the next few days, Tim and Steve were surprised to see John having nothing but butter toasted bread for every recess. The once cheerful and optimistic friend of theirs had now become more reserved and shunned the company of other classmates except Tim and Steve. Even when he was with them, he spoke very little and gave excuses about eating butter toasted bread every day.

Tim and Steve also saw that every time pupils need to pay money, John would look very distressed and pay the money up very reluctantly. John also said that he would not be able to go with Tim and Steve to the library every day, citing that he was too busy. Tim and Steve felt that John has changed a lot but was unable to do anything.

One day, the two of them could not take it any longer and confronted John. “John, you have to tell us the truth if we are friends. You’re just not yourself lately.” Tim said to John as the trio left the school gate together.

“We are concerned about you and we want to help you.” Steve added quickly to prevent any arguments. Their reassuring tone convinced John that they were not going to use anything he said against her.

Looking up, John said softly, “My father was just retrenched and we are running into some financial problems. We do not have enough money to use as my mother does not work.” He went on to explain that he had been trying to save money by eating simply during recess and using as little money as possible in school.

With the truth disclosed, Tim and Steve reassured John that they understand his situation. That made John feel a lot better. Tim even volunteered to make sandwiches for John and Steve helped John’s father to find a job.

After a month of searching for jobs, Steve managed to help John’s father find a job in accounting. John was so happy and thanked the two of them profusely. They gave a friendly pat on his shoulder and said in unison, “That’s what friends are for!”