A class bully who risks his life to save a drowning classmate is taken aback when he sees an unfamiliar luxury car parked outside the hospital and his parents emerge from it.
Ron Holland was a class bully and really hotheaded. None of Ron’s classmates dared to oppose him when he said or wanted something from them. Not a single one of them.
Of course, there had been complaints against him, and his parents had scolded and punished him several times for bullying other children, but it had only been effective to the extent that Ron stopped bullying others in front of his teachers while continuing to bully them behind their backs.
But Ron wasn’t entirely to blame for this…
Growing children, particularly single children, crave their parents’ attention. But Ron never received any of it. His father worked days and nights to support their family, and his mother had recently started working as a housemaid at his classmate Peter’s house, which irritated Ron even more, and he directed all of his rage at Peter.
Every time Peter entered the classroom, he would sneer at him, “Hey, Peter the coward. Are you going to complain about me again? I’m warning you, if you do it again, you won’t be able to show your face to others.”
But Peter decided to stop reacting to Ron’s cruel remarks. The boy had overheard Ron talking to his parents in the staffroom after he’d complained about him.
Ron was crying and lashing out at his parents for not giving him enough time and attention and admitted that he bullied others to get their attention. That day, Peter realized that the best way to help Ron was to stop reacting to him.
However, Ron wasn’t ready to give up. He knew Peter was a diligent and hardworking student who never troubled anyone, not even him when he bullied him so much. So seeing him calm and focused all the time enraged Ron even more, and he continued to mock and ridicule Peter in front of others.
One day, Ron and a few of his classmates were ice skating on a lake right beside their school after dismissal. When Peter saw them having fun, he wanted to join them.
However, as Peter approached them, Ron began mocking him. “Look, it’s Peter the coward again! Hey loser, what are you doing here?”
“Can I please join you and others, Ron? Look, I know you don’t like me, but I really want to play with you guys. I love skating too!”
Ron laughed sarcastically. “Sorry, scared pants, but we don’t play with losers like you. Maybe you should look for some scared cats like you and go have fun with them!”
“But what if I tell you that if you let me play with you guys, you can have my RC car?”
“What? Your RC car?” Ron was intrigued.
“Yeah, let’s make a bet! We can race across the lake, and if I win, you must stop bullying me, and we can be friends, but if you win, you can have my new RC car.”
Ron smirked. “Look, loser, I am fine with the RC car part of the bet, but I’m not going to stop showing you your real place. So I’ll decide on the next part of the bet: I won’t bully you for a week if you win. Deal?”
“Ummm…. Okay! Done!” Peter babbled, ecstatic to win the race. The two boys wore their safety helmets tightly, and Peter put on his skates and knee pads as well. Some of their classmates were cheering for Peter, while others applauded Ron.
Ron’s friend, Jack, counted to three, and the boys sped across the frozen lake, eager to be the first to cross. Ron was much faster than Peter, and he quickly overtook him. But just then, he noticed that the lake was cracking after a certain point, particularly in Peter’s direction.
Ron slowed down and turned around as he realized Peter was closing in on him. “Peter, please wait,” he said, abruptly coming to a halt. But the boy was so excited that he didn’t listen to him, and when he got to the other end of the lake, the ice under his feet cracked, and he fell into the lake.
“He – Help!” Peter begged, trying to get out of the freezing water. Ron could see that Peter clearly didn’t know how to swim. He dashed over to assist him and dragged him from the lake. Some of Peter’s friends arrived at the lake’s edge and carried him away, but just as Ron was about to leave, a massive chunk of the ice underneath his feet cracked, and Ron fell into the water.
He tried swimming to get out, but the coldness of the water, combined with its depth, eventually defeated Ron, and he couldn’t get out. At this point, his classmates dashed to call their teacher, who immediately dialed 911.
A team of lifeguards and paramedics arrived at the lake and transported the boy to the hospital while school officials informed his parents of the situation.
Ron was unconscious for an entire day following the incident, and when he awoke the next day, it was already afternoon. He slowly rose from his bed and looked around, perplexed by the unfamiliar surroundings. Suddenly, a doctor entered his room, “Are you doing better, Ron?” she asked.
Ron nodded his head and whispered a yes with a smile. The doctor returned his smile and said, “There’s someone who’d like to see you, Ron.”
“Someone wants to see me?” the boy asked and the doctor pointed outside the window, where Ron had noticed a black Mercedes parked.
He looked outside the window again, and this time he saw his parents emerge from it. “Mom? Dad?” The boy wondered. Is that mom and dad’s car?
The boy was too stunned to speak when his parents entered his ward. “Oh my God, Ron!” his mother said, sobbing. “Are you okay, honey? We were all terrified.”
“I’m fine, Mom,” Ron grumbled. Please stop acting like you guys care about me!
“Did I tell you how brave you are, Ron?” The doctor gave him a friendly smile. “You saved a classmate from drowning yesterday. But you should be careful when an adult is not around you. Thank goodness the paramedics arrived sooner and rescued you. It was a serious case of hypothermia.”
“Can I go home now, doctor?” Ron immediately asked, irritated by the entire situation and convinced that the doctor was pretending to put on a smile while talking to him.
“Not right away, Ron, because we have to do a few tests, but if your reports are normal, we can give you a discharge soon. By the way, don’t you want to know who’s your special visitor?”
“Special visitor?”
“Yes. It’s your friend from yesterday,” the doctor said, calling Peter inside.
“Hi, Ron. I wanted to thank you for saving me yesterday. This is for you,” Peter said, handing over a gift to him.
Ron looked at his parents, hesitated to accept the gift, but his mother nodded to him that he could keep it.
“Peter told us everything, Ron,” his father said. “I’m proud that you helped Peter, but you need to be more careful. But then, it’s not your fault. We should have kept a watch on you. We apologize for not giving you time. Also, Peter’s parents are really sweet. They dropped us here before leaving for work, and Peter accompanied us because he wanted to see you and thank you.”
Oh, so it was Peter’s car!
“Are you guys really proud of me?” Ron inquired, teary-eyed.
“Yes, Ron,” his mother said as she hugged him. “We are extremely proud of you. We apologize for not being able to give you enough time. But it will never happen again.”
“Thank you,” the boy said, returning his mother’s hug.
“Are you not going to open the gift, Ron?” Peter inquired, feeling a little shy in the midst of the emotional moment.
“I will, Peter,” Ron said and he unwrapped the gift, wiping away his tears.
Inside, he found a Captain America action figure and a note. “Thanks for saving my life, superhero. Wanna be friends?” it read.
Peter smiled at Ron and asked, “Do you like the gift?”
“Yes! I love it! Captain America is my favorite Avenger. Thank you, Peter!” Ron exclaimed, smiling back at Peter, and the two boys have been great friends since that day.
Ron has also stopped his bullying, and he is now a better classmate and son. In fact, his teachers now quote him as an example to other classmates. And, most importantly, despite their hectic schedules, his parents give him the time and attention he needs.