Gus Daniels, Cole Breedlove, Justin Dube
Mrs. Lawrence
English 2-5th
4 October 2012
Tubby Tom’s Long Journey
As Tom wakes up he realizes that it’s his birthday, he slowly flops out of his bed. When
he finally gets up he wobbles down stairs to be greeted by his heroin addict mother, holding a
distorted cake for him to take to school. He trots cheerily to school. Once he arrives, he walks
to his favorite teacher’s class, to find out that she died of cancer.
What a terrible tragedy, he thought, and on my birthday no less. Tom was determined
not to let the passing of his favorite teacher get in the way of him having a great birthday. The
bell rang, he realized that he now had to get to the other side of school or else he would be
late. First Biology, where nothing interesting happened other than the usual teasing. Algebra
wasn’t much different except the teacher joined in on the teasing.
Finally, his only blow off class, art. The only problem with this class was that Jennifer
was in it too. Jennifer was a hot tempered girl, fiery and the worst of the bullies. He snuck in
through the door and walked to the back corner where no one can see him cry. He wanted to
avoid Jennifer at all costs so his birthday wasn’t completely ruined. The lunch bell rang and he
shot out the door determined to be the first one there. He hurried through the lunch line and
devoured his food before Jennifer got there. He stated on his cake when she walked up,
“what’s up tubby?”, she said. “Leave me alone, Jennifer”, he pouted. “You gonna share that
cake?”, she pressed on. “No…” he was interrupted by the cake being shoved in his face.
He starts balling, crying his eyes out, tear after tear falling. He begins to eat the cake off
his face. “That’s right, eat that cake fatty”, she teased. She walked away calling over her
shoulder, “Later Tubby Tom”, her friends howled with laughter at her remark. He barely
survived the remainder of school with everyone making comments about the cake during lunch.
Tom rolls home crying because of what Jennifer did. His mother, injecting more heroin
as he walks in, tries to comfort him while he tells her what happened. While his mother tried to
comfort Tom she started to aggressively shake and collapsed to the floor foaming at the mouth.
Tom had witnessed his own mother overdose he started to cry as his mothers’ eyes went blank.
Tom reaches out for the phone to call 911 but knows it’s already too late which the EMTs
confirms shortly after they arrive.
Due to his mothers passing Tom was put into custody of his father who had lost
visitation rights because of his abusiveness. Tom hated everything about his father his
alcoholism, abusiveness, even the rundown apartment building that he lived especially since
Jennifer lived next door. As Tom walked in the filthy apartment he was greeted by his father
who was in a drunken stupor and then was slapped across his face and told “there’s more of
that if you disrespect me or my lovely home.
As Tom went to shut the door as quietly as possible so to not aggravate his father it was
caught by a feminine foot. It was Jennifer “heard you’re moving in fag” Tom tried to ignore her
but in the background his father yelled “you going to let her talk to like that? don’t be such a
b**ch, grow a pair”. Tom trudged to his room tears on the verge of his eyes Tom plops on his
bed balling hysterically. After his episode his dad calls him out to dinner where he finds Jennifer
was invited too. “got your food fatty” grunted Jennifer.
He takes off from the table, he had enough of this tormenting, he ran for the window he
had left open in his bedroom. He dove through the window ready to end his life.
THUD Tom’s belly got him stuck in the window seal. Tom has an epiphany and realizes
he has a second chance. After the firemen cut him out of the window, Tom went straight to the
gym to get a membership, where he worked out every day for the next two years and shed two
hundred and fifty pounds.
After Tom had worked out for two straight years, he finally had enough strength to
confront Jennifer. It was a brief confrontation which included Tom’s fist striking Jennifer’s
cheekbone, knocking her unconscious. Coach Thomas, the head football coach, had witnessed
the whole thing and recruited Tom to play as linebacker for his team in which he made varsity
after the first game.
During his last game his senior year the scouts from Michigan state had come to scout
Tom, with a full ride scholarship, which he gladly accepted. Trough out his football career he
won many awards and beat many records which were all addressed to him as …. Tom Brady.