Because it snowed so hard that morning, almost everyone at the bus stop ran inside to get out of the cold. This made the bus more crowded than ever.When Timmy looked in the rearview mirror, he saw that some people had been having a bad time. Some of them were making mean faces at those who got a seat while their bodies brushed against each other. Even though there was a lot of snow on the roads, Timmy drove a little faster so that his guests wouldn’t have to deal with riding uncomfortably.
After 20 minutes, he got to his first stop for the day.As more people got off the bus, it looked like it had more room, even though it was still very crowded. Timmy let out a sigh of relief and kept going to his next stop for the day, hoping to get there faster. He was shocked, though, to hear the people arguing. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with kids these days!” Why are they being so rude?” He heard a man yelling something.
Timmy looked right away in the rearview mirror, but there were so many people in the car that he couldn’t tell who had complained. At first, he didn’t pay attention to the complaint because he thought it was just a passing noise caused by too many people in the car. He kept driving anyway. But then he heard a different voice—this time it was a woman’s. “I want to know how his mom raised him.”
He should know that the poor woman is in trouble. She has stood there for a long time!”Timmy looked in the mirror at this point and saw a woman, probably in her late 20s, standing next to an older woman and giving a window seat a mean look. Timmy was looking straight ahead at the road, so he couldn’t see who she was looking at. But when he looked at himself again in the mirror, he saw that she was yelling at Jonathan, a 10-year-old boy who often rode his bus.
Jonathan sat still in his chair with his eyes wide open and was staring intensely at the people making fun of him. The people were even more annoyed that the boy didn’t say a word. “What’s wrong with you, boy?” The woman spoke up once more. “Those big eyes are just staring at us!” Don’t you know how to behave?” A man said, “I know, right?” “I hate that these kids don’t even care about the older people.” What a spoiled little kid! It’s been a long time since this old woman stood here, but look at that rude kid!”
Another man next to him said, “You’re right!” “These days, parents give their children far too much freedom and don’t even teach them how to behave with the elderly.” “Well,” said the older woman at last. “I feel terrible for the little kids. I don’t mind standing here, but I find it interesting that he’s paying attention to everything we say but doesn’t seem to understand. It’s a terrible thing.”
“It’s his parents’ fault, ma’am,” said the woman who had scolded Jonathan before. “If I were his mother, I’d teach him how to deal with old people right away!” What a brazen kid!” It kept going on and on as Timmy drove farther. Some people made fun of Jonathan for being rude, while others wondered where he got his manners from. The young boy didn’t say a word, even though he was being insulted. He was sitting still in his seat and looking at the other people, which made him feel scared.
At one point, Timmy had enough of hearing other people making fun of the kid that he had to quickly put on the brakes and stop. As soon as the car stopped, it jerked violently, which made the passengers stop complaining for a while and point their anger at Timmy. “What’s wrong with you?” A man hit him hard. “Do you mean to kill all of us?” “Can’t you drive right?”
“Today is so strange!” I promise!” A woman said. “First of all, the bus is crowded like anything and then all of this….” “But it’s not my fault,” Timmy said, starting the bus again. “You two have been arguing so loudly that I can’t drive.” Also, why are you people telling that kid to sit down? Might you be able to feel a little more sorry for him?””But, ma’am…”
Timmy was about to finish when the older woman cut him off. “Look at the road.” Learn how to do your job right, at the very least.” Timmy shot her back, “I’m doing my duty, ma’am.” “Maybe you could do yours too!” Not knowing the whole story of the boy means you can’t judge him. At this point, the older woman had lost her temper. “I’ll tell you what, now stop the bus!” If this boy doesn’t get off the bus, I’ll leave.
When the older woman complained, Timmy didn’t say anything. As soon as the second stop came, he slowly got out of his seat, took out a pair of crutches from the passenger bin, and walked over to Jonathan’s seat. He smiled at the boy and used sign language to let him know that he had reached his stop. Jonathan smiled back and said “thank you” with his hand. He then got off the bus using his sticks.
The boy had already left when Timmy went to talk to the older woman and told her the whole story. “That boy can’t talk and walks funny, ma’am.” His mother raises him by herself. Almost every day, the boy rides my bus. “I know him very well.” Everyone on the bus stopped talking when Timmy told the truth about the boy. The older woman gasped and said, “Oh, dear!” “I’m really sorry. I didn’t know that boy couldn’t talk. She asked him, “Do you know where his mother lives?” “I would like to apologize to her.”
“Okay, ma’am. Also, please don’t judge someone like that again. “I hope other people get this too,” Timmy told the woman as he gave her a note with Jonathan’s address on it. Felicia Smith, the older woman, went to see Jonathan and his mother the next day and found out they were unhappy in a broken-down two-room cottage in a sketchy part of Chicago. She had also left her abusive husband and didn’t have enough money for Jonathan’s care. Doctors told Jonathan that he could walk properly again, but it would cost a lot to do surgery.
Felicia called some of her medical friends to make an appointment for Jonathan. She used to be a surgeon. She also set up a GoFundMe page to give the mother and kid money. Jonathan was able to get care at a good hospital because of her help. Anna, his mother, thanks her many times for saving their lives by getting Jonathan medical care and setting her up with a job as a hospital cleaner.
She still doesn’t know what happened on the bus between Jonathan and Felicia, though. Anna asked Felicia what made her want to help them, and she just said that she met Jonathan on the bus and heard his story from the driver, which made her want to help the boy. The truth is that Felicia felt bad about judging the boy, so she chose to help him.