Ty and Kent were standing by the food counter, as the cooks served up the food. They received turkey sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and their choice of orange juice or a small glass of soda. When they reached the cashier, Kent paid for his food, before it was Ty’s turn.
“Oh rats” Ty complained, as he looked through his empty wallet. “I’m a Dollar short!”
Kent set his tray down and pulled out his wallet. He grabbed hold of a Dollar bill, and held it before Ty’s face.
“Here, take it…” Kent said. “Pay me back whenever you can…”
Ty took the Dollar bill and gave it to the cashier, before he grabbed his tray. The two boys sat down next to each other, at the very end of a long, metal table.
“Thank you, Kent” Ty said to him. “You have always been nice to me. I just want to let you know that your generosity will be rewarded!”
“You’re the only kid who’s nice to me around here, Ty” Kent explained. “Everybody else around here thinks of me as a nerd and a geek. Especially the jocks; they all hate me!”
“That’s because you’re smart, Kent!” Ty replied. “You get all the good grades and you score highest on all the tests. Don’t mind the jocks; they’re just jealous!”
A redheaded girl named Jackie sat down across from Kent. She looked at him and smiled, before taking a bite of her sandwich.
“Hey there, Kent. I just heard somewhere that you have a birthday coming up, huh?” she said to him.
“Yeah… Well, it’s no big deal” Kent replied. “Why do you ask, Jackie?”
“I know someone who’s giving away free tickets to the rodeo, if you’re interested!” the girl said, pulling out two ticket stubs from her backpack.
Suddenly, Darren showed up. He was one of the receivers on the football team. He walked up behind Jackie and patted her on her shoulder.
“Hey Jackie, those tickets are for us, right?” the big jock growled.
Ty noticed the potential for a fight! He looked up at Kent, and decided to concentrate on his cap. Suddenly, Kent’s cap changed into a cowboy hat! Ty wished that nobody noticed the change, and everybody would think he was wearing the cowboy hat since the beginning of lunch.
“I like your cowboy hat!” Jackie responded.
“Well, we’ll see about that…” Darren grumbled, as he turned around and walked away.
After Darren and Jackie had finished their food and left, Kent turned and whispered something to Ty.
“Gosh, I don’t want any trouble. Maybe I shouldn’t go…” Kent doubted.
“Are you crazy?” Ty said to him. “She likes you! Don’t worry about Darren; he won’t be able to do anything to you!”
But Kent wasn’t that convinced…