I walk into the dorm room and see Jerry and Brandon looking at Brandon's phone and laughing hard.
Hey guys. What's so funny?
Brandon replies,
Here, take a look at this.
It's a meme about Mr Clarkson, everyone's least favorite professor around the faculty. I laugh really hard at the meme that I start to cry. I almost drop the pizza I had brought back.
Woah easy tiger. You wouldn't want to ruin our lunch now.
Jerry stops me before I could fall.
Me and the boys have been planning this weekend vacation for a while now. The final exams are coming up in a couple of weeks so we thought it'd be a great idea to just do something nice before the exam craze sets in.
Are you excited about the trip, Pete?
Jerry asks as he takes the pizza boxes from me. I look at him and look back at Brandon. It's hard to believe how far we've come and how much our bond as friends has grown. It seems like it wasn't so long ago that we were just freshmen on campus.
Friends? They are like brothers to me.
We have all changed individually and together. Especially Jerry.
You see, we all came from the same high school. Brandon and I were basically nerdy best friends that planned to attend the same college. Jerry on the other hand, wasn't someone we were fund of.
Although we were all the same age, Jerry was a big kid that enjoyed picking on the other kids and for some reason, me and Brandon were his favorite victims. One time I tried to stand up to him but he pushed me really hard that I broke my arm. I had to wear a cast for a week. I really disliked him after that and I was frankly scared of him. He didn't have many friends and was kind of a loner.
After high school I thought I had seen the last of Jerry. Brandon and I got into the same college and the same faculty too. During the first week of college, we saw Jerry in one of our lectures. I didn't want to believe that it was him but he approached us and it was definitely him.
As Jerry approached us I felt a knot in my stomach. I don't know about Brandon but I personally did not want to engage him. Something was strange though, he seemed happier. I just thought it was because he had finally seen familiar faces so I didn't buy the behavior. After some small talk, we parted ways.
In the weeks that followed, Jerry would meet us regularly and even buy us lunch sometimes. We would talk for long periods of time and surprisingly, Jerry could hold a decent conversation. Brandon and I slowly started to accept him especially when we started to notice that we had things in common with him. It was hard to believe that Big Jerry was secretly a nerd. It was even harder to believe that he loved to play something as graceful as the violin.
Jerry apologized for the way he treated us back in high school explaining that he was insecure about his looks and knew the other kids hated him. Kids can be cruel and honestly sometimes we make our own monsters.
Four years later, the three of us have been through a lot and we're still together. It used to be just me and Brandon but now Jerry is one of us. People really do change, we just have to give them a chance.
This vacation would be a really good way to celebrate our friendship. So when Jerry asked the question, I reply,
Yeah bro. Let's do this!
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"People really do change, we just have to give them a chance."
In some special cases, just one chance to change is needed.
Yeah we shouldn’t always write people off. Thanks for reading.
You're welcome.
There is always an opportunity to change. Change is constant.
We just have to seize those opportunities my friend.
Welcome to The Ink Well, @theawesononso! Your story is so charming. People can definitely change, and it was great to read about Jerry's transformation once he felt more confident, and how the bond between the three young men grew.
Be sure to have a look around and get to know our community and rules, which you can find at the top of The Ink Well community. We also have some great resources for writers, including a catalog of fiction writing tips with excellent articles on all aspects of fiction writing.
You've already started reading and commenting on the work of other writers in the community, which is fantastic. That helps to build community!
Thank you for reading through my work and thanks for the info. I will try my best to learn more about the community and improve on my fictional works.
Thanks again!
I really enjoyed your story, @theawesononso. I remember when I left high school and went to college, I felt like a new person and got to have a fresh start. It's a great opportunity to shake off the past, like Jerry did. Nicely done! I look forward to more of your stories.
A fresh start can go a long way in our lives. We can’t change the past but we can always decide to be better.
Thank you for going through my work friend. I’m glad you enjoyed it!