The Most Loyal Friend

“Catch!” a boy sneered as the basketball sailed from his hand toward Bert’s head. Before Bert could drop his support cane to block the ball, it hit him and he fell. Several boys laughed. Painfully, Bert retrieved his cane and raised himself up, kicking the ball away from him.

As Bert started walking toward Jim’s direction, Jim quickly turned away and ran into the nearest bathroom. He did not want Bert to know that he saw everything.

Soon, though, Jim heard the tap tap of Bert’s cane as he made his way into the bathroom. Jim slipped into a stall. Through the door, He could hear running water as Bert washed his face with one hand, supporting himself stiffly with the other. Despite Jim trying his hardest to stay quiet, his throat was itchy and he coughed aloud.

“Jim, is that you?” Bert asked.

Jim stayed silent, and soon Bert opened the door and left.

Jim and Bert had been best friends ever since they were five years old. Bert had spastic cerebral palsy, which made his left side stiff. Yet he was good at video games, and they would play together every afternoon. In elementary school, Jim was Bert’s only friend, and they had all their classes together. Every year, Bert would save up his allowance for four months to buy Jim a birthday present. Whether it was a new game or some gaming equipment, Bert seemed always able to know exactly what Jim wanted.

Now that they were in middle school, though, Jim found himself wanting different friends. To his delight, he made it into the junior varsity team, and afternoons were now taken up by basketball practice. Despite how hard Jim tried to be sad that he could not play video games with Bert anymore, he was quite excited about his new status as a school athlete—until he saw how he and his teammates treated Bert just now. Let’s get back to practice, he told himself, shoving aside his shame.

When practice ended, Jim walked home and found that Bert was not waiting for him as usual. For a moment he thought he would go to Bert’s house and apologize. Yet Jim procrastinated, telling himself that it would be better for him to wait till morning, when he would have a better idea of what to say.

The next morning, Jim got up early and wrote a note of apology to Bert. He waited outside Bert’s house for half an hour, his gaze rarely leaving the door. Finally, Bert’s mom saw him and came out. She told him that Bert went to school early for peer listener training. Since Bert would be meeting with students after school, they could probably walk home together. Jim thanked her and walked to school, alone.

Jim did not have any classes with Bert that morning. Despite how hard he tried to concentrate on what his teachers were saying, his mind kept rehearsing how he would approach Bert and hand him the note at lunch. Finally, the long-awaited time came. After grabbing his lunch from his locker, Jim walked toward the table he and Bert usually shared only to find that a girl named Sasha, another peer listener, had taken his place. Sasha and Bert were talking and laughing. As Jim hesitated, thinking about how he could approach them, he saw the teammates who teased Bert also walking toward their table.

“So now you have a girlfriend, Bertie?” a boy named Bobby said.

“You leave him alone,” Sasha said firmly. The boy was taken aback by her confidence, but then he said, “Don’t sit with this loser who can’t catch a ball. Sit with us, pretty girl!”

“Leave them alone, Bobby!” Jim ran up and said. “They are my friends. Everyone has different strengths. I bet Bert can beat you in video games every time. You want to play against him?”

Bobby blushed, for he has heard that Bert was a gaming legend in their school. Just then, Mrs. Chesterson, the principal and Bobby’s aunt, looked over and said, “Bobby, is something going on that I should be worried about?”

“No ,” Bobby said quickly. “We were just talking. I’ll see you at practice, Jim!” As Bobby and his friends walked away, Mrs. Chesterson’s stare never left them until they sat down at a table far away from Bert.

Jim joined Sasha and Bert and slipped Bert his note. Bert read it quickly and said, “It’s okay, man, I forgive you. Hey, you want to try out a new game this afternoon? We can meet at your house after practice.” Jim nodded, eyes glistening. He felt a weight lift off his chest and realized that he truly had the best, most loyal friend in the world.