After Captain Man’s movie debuted in the cinemas around Brian Hill’s town, everyone seemed to catch the frenzy of attempting to look like the crime-busting superhero.
Brian was no different. Captain Man was his favorite hero, and there was no counting how many times the boy had watched the new movie.
The hype around it quickly led to the creation of Captain Man costumes mandated to be sold by the corporation behind the franchise. It was a little expensive, but anyone who loved the Captain was ready to deal with the consequences.
The trend was even more in vogue within the school premises because the kids wanted to show off their cool superhero outfits. One month after the movie was released, everyone in his class had the superhero jersey except Brian. The boy lived with his granny, who only got by on her pension.
This meant that they did not have money to waste on frivolities like the jersey. Nevertheless, Brian decided he would attempt to get his granny to buy him the costume.
“I can’t know until I try, that’s what momma used to say,” he told himself as he made his way home one afternoon.
When he arrived home, he met his granny, tending her small garden.
“Gran,” he began. “I was wondering if you could spare me some money, there’s this superhero jersey I want to buy.”
“Oh my dear child, we both know I can’t afford to spend money so recklessly,” his grandmother said, patting his head as she passed him.
Brian was unhappy for the rest of that day, and his granny noticed this. It made her feel sorry for not being able to provide him with all his needs.
Not one to wallow in self-pity, the old woman decided she would make her grandson happy by making him a jersey anyways.
To that end, she stayed up all night knitting, and by the time Brian woke the following morning, she presented him with the gift.
It looked like a fuzzy ripoff of the original jersey, but Brian did not tell his granny that; he simply thanked her for the gift and threw it on to make her feel happy.
He wore it to school that day, but he began to regret that when the other students started making fun of him. Everywhere he went, there seemed to be a snicker or stifled laughter following him until he felt very unhappy.
The last straw was pulled when Brian ran into a girl he had always liked, and she laughed in his face.
“What are you wearing?” she had asked.
It made him very sad, so he quickly left and ran all the way home with tears in his eyes.
Mr. Barton, a popular and jovial young teacher who taught their class, noticed what had happened the whole day and when he discovered that Brian had run home crying, he decided to do something about it.
That weekend, Mr. Barton paid a visit to Brian’s home while Brian was out riding his bicycle. After some time, Mr. Barton left, but not before Brian caught a glimpse of him leaving as he returned home on his bike.
“That must be my imagination,” Brian thought. “Mr. Barton doesn’t live around here.”
The next day, Brian chose to go to school again in the same jersey because he did not want to hurt his grandmother. He expected laughter and snickers as he entered, so his face was focused on the ground.
He had almost made it to his seat when he realized everyone was quiet. That made him look up, and then he saw why.
Mr. Barton, whom everyone adored, was right there in the same classroom wearing the same knitted jersey as Brian’s. He had been at their house to ask the boy’s granny to knit him the same jersey.
After Brian noticed him, the teacher suddenly exclaimed. “Who is this I see?! This is my partner! Let’s take a picture with our cool jersey partner!” Mr. Barton said, shocking everyone in the room.
After the endorsement, all the kids suddenly wanted the same cool knitted jersey as Brian and Mr. Barton’s. Many of his classmates apologized for making fun of him, and Brian even got a smile and a wave from his crush.
In response to their kids clamoring for the knitted jersey, the parents of Brian’s classmates started calling his grandmother and asking her to knit the same jerseys for their children.
They offered money, and so, thanks to Brian and Mr. Barton, Brian’s grandmother, got to make some money which she put to good use, taking him with her to an amusement park.
Brian wore his cool jersey on the day they went to the park, and luckily for him, Captain Man, the superhero he loved so much, was present in the park to promote the movie.
They had to spend some time in a long queue, but after the wait, Brian was able to get photographed in his cool jersey with the superhero he adored.
He never forgot that day in his life, neither did he forget Mr. Barton, the man who made it all happen.
What did we gain from this story?
- Always be careful not to appear ungrateful. Brian did not really like the jersey his grandma knitted him but, because he knew how much time and effort she spent on such undertaking, he decided to wear it to make her happy. He was laughed at for it, but his granny’s happiness took more precedence.
- Try, even if you think you might fail. Brian knew his granny would most likely not be able to afford the jersey he wanted, but he still summoned up the courage to ask her because truthfully, you will never know until you try.
