A Book of Short Stories

Short Story 15

JAMES

30 years ago, before I was born, my mother used to help this boy named James. He struggled in school, and my mother agreed to help him as a private tutor. She taught him for seven years straight , including college, and they grew closer and closer due to all the time they spent together. He looked up to her, and she him, because he was so obnoxious and funny. He'd tell jokes about everything, never failing to make her laugh.

Now, James lives in the city of New York with his wife and their 4-year-old son, Leo. My mother still tells me stories of James to this day, and even though I'd never met him, what she'd tell me would always make me laugh. She always told me that James was like her first son, even though she was just a private tutor.

Two weeks later, I told her I wanted to go to New York to meet him. What I didn't know was that she already had planned the trip on her own. We left the next day, traveling 4 hours to see him.

When we got to New York, James was already there waiting for us at the hotel. When my mother saw him, her face lit up and they appeared to pick up right where they left off the last time they saw each other. She hugged him tight, and kissed his cheek, then released him and walked over to say hello to his wife and little Leo. When James saw me, I expected him to shake my hand and say "nice to meet you", but no. He hugged me tight and said that I look just like my mom. I hugged him back and said "thank you". He released me, and I walked over and hugged his wife. Then, I saw Leo. This beautiful blond haired boy with big blue eyes. I liked him instantly. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into his room. "Play with me." he said.

Okay, I'm not gonna lie, Leo's room was way better than mine. He had toys everywhere. Buzz Lightyear, Legos, and stuffed animals littered all over his bed. He had a huge elephant poster on his bedroom wall, but the best thing of all was the big smile on his face as he handed me his little toy airplane. I made a buzzing noise with my tongue as I pretended to make it fly, then placed it on the top of his head, making him laugh. "Again!" he said. I made the buzzing noise of a plane again, and landed it upside down onto his head. He laughed over and over at how creative I was. We were having so much fun that we didn't even notice our parents standing in the doorway watching us. They were all smiling, like I just won the Olympics or something. And in a way, I kind of did. I smiled back and continued to fly the plane around his head.

At dinner, I sat next to James, and he told me all about how amazing my mom was to him, and how happy he was to see her again. He asked me questions about myself, and every answer I gave, he smiled even wider. He didn't need to say it, but I could tell I reminded him a lot of himself when he was my age. At that point I knew I liked James a lot. He told me how he was always giving my mom a hard time and I just felt so at ease with everyone around me. I remember wishing that I didn't have to leave. It felt like a fifth home to me.

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I guess this story means a lot to me, because I realized a major life lesson that day. Those who were a big part of your life when you're younger, will continue to be a big part of your life when you're older. Especially if you made a huge impact on how they live their lives, like my mom did for James. I can't help but want to do the same for someone else. I want to make a good impact on someone's life, and continue to be close to them when we're in our 30's. In fact, you never know which coach will go to your wedding, or which teacher will be with you when you have your first child, so maintain and nurture and never lose sight of the ones that matter the most, because the relationships that mean the most to you, are worth holding on to. There are those that you are not close to, and there are those that made you in a way who you are. Recognize their worth, and appreciate all they've done, because it's those that are there for you no matter what, that mean the most.