St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Roman Catholic Church at 5188 Rt. 23, Windham, NY 12496 US - What You Would Do

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“Take that back!” I demanded. “Well, it’s true! It looks like his head is hatching!” Before I could hit him, that skinny blonde kid went down the spiral slide. I decided, when I saw him again, I was going to punch his lights out. I get really mad when someone picks on my brother, Jacob. He was born with this huge birthmark that covered the whole left side of his head. The first time I saw him at the hospital I just blurted out, “What’s wrong with his head?” But I was only five then, so I didn’t really know any better. Dr. Silva said a mark like that had to be removed. There was a good chance it would become cancer. So when Jacob was only four months old he had his first surgery. I was really scared. Mom was crying when they left for the hospital, and Dad talked about nothing but the surgery for a week. But the thing is, this brick-colored spot was so big that the doctors could only take out a little bit at a time. Since then Jacob has had seven more surgeries. By now we’re all used to those trips to the hospital. It seems like most of the time Jacob’s head is shaved. He has long scars that look like three fat chicken toes sticking out from behind his ear and reaching across his head. Now his hair is growing back a little, but the doctors had to move his healthy skin over, so some of the hair grows up where it should grow down. It looks really weird. But he can’t help it. Most of the time I get angry at the park because other kids won’t play with Jacob. Once, a group of little kids screamed and ran away from him. When that happened, Jacob began to growl and chase them. It became a game, and some of them still ask him to play. But I can tell that even those kids try not to touch him. They act like he has some kind of weird disease or something. But today one kid actually started calling him names! I first heard it when I was coming across the monkey bars. A voice said, “Excuse me, Weird-O!” When I looked up, I saw this skinny kid pointing at my brother and laughing. Jacob just kept crossing the swinging bridge like he didn’t even hear it, but I knew he heard. Then, when we were in line for the big slide, that same boy said to his friend, “Have you seen the turkey-head back there in line?” That’s when I yelled at him to take it back, and he went down the slide. Just then Mom called, “Time for lunch!” “Okay!” shouted Jacob, leaving the slide and crossing the swinging bridge to go down the steps. “Coming!” I yelled, as I went down the slide. When I got to the picnic tables I got angrier than ever. There was the boy who had called my brother names, eating with Mom and Jacob! “Hey, Nathan, we’re over here!” Mom waved both her hands at me. I had fire in my eyes as I walked slowly toward the table. Mom said, “Nathan, this is Shane. He’s here with his class today, but he didn’t bring any lunch, so Jacob is sharing his. Shane, this is Nathan.” Shane looked at me and waved between bites of his sandwich. What nerve! “Mom, could I talk to you?” I asked. “What is it? Sit down and have some chips.” “I just need to talk to you!” “Well, okay,” she said, swinging her legs over the bench of the picnic table. I let her know exactly what Shane had been doing. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “But Jacob is the one who invited him to eat!” Well, I sat at the table with Shane, but I didn’t look at him, and I sure didn’t talk to him. I just couldn’t figure out why Jacob would offer that kid some lunch. I even wondered if Jacob had taken the opportunity to do something disgusting to Shane’s sandwich. As Jacob and I walked back to our van, I finally had to ask him. “Jacob, didn’t you hear what that kid called you?” “Yeah,” he said in his cheerful way. “But Mom said you were the one who invited him to eat with us.” “I did,” he said, still smiling. “Why? Why would you do that?” I asked. Sometimes I just can’t figure him out. “Because that’s what you would do.” I stopped walking. I would never have done that. It didn’t even make sense to be nice to someone who was so mean. “What? What are you talking about, Jacob?” “Last time, when I had surgery—the lamp, remember?” I sure did remember. Jacob felt really tired and sick after his last surgery. I gave him one of my footballs, trying to cheer him up. He said he didn’t want it and threw that ball right into Mom’s crystal lamp. Mom came running in, and Jacob told her that I broke the lamp. I felt really bad for him after that surgery, and I didn’t want him to get in trouble. I took the blame, even though I was grounded for a week. Jacob said, “You knew I did it, but you didn’t even tell on me. You got in a lot of trouble that day. I was really mean to you, but you were nice to me. So when Shane said that stuff, I thought about what you would do. I remembered how even when I was mean, you were kind. Then I knew that if I offered Shane some lunch, he would see that I was like you. I bet Shane never calls me names again. And I know I’ll never blame you for anything again, Nathan.” I wish I could say that I taught my little brother everything he knows, but sometimes he teaches me things, too. If you enjoyed this story, you will love getting your own copy of My Friend--The Catholic Magazine for Kids each month, filled with stories, comics, puzzles, and lots more! Click here for information on subscribing.

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