Ty opened the refrigerator door and spotted the big pizza box. Right away, he became hopeful.
“Pizza! June bought pizza! Awesome!”
He pulled the box out and set it on the kitchen table. However, his happiness was short-lived. As soon as he raised the lid of the box, he saw that there were only two small pieces of cheese and pepperoni left. Everything else was gone.
“Two pieces? That’s all? Just two little pieces?” he exclaimed, as he dropped the box lid in disgust. “It’s my birthday and all I get is two little pieces of pizza?”
Ty let out a deep sigh as he stared at the box in complete disappointment.
“Two pieces aren’t enough. I’m starving! I wish I had a whole cheese and pepperoni pizza all to myself!” he said out loud.
Then, he suddenly had the urge to open the box again.
“WHOA!” he cheered, as he now saw a full-size pizza in the box. The pizza was fresh and it had a nice, thick crust, just the way Ty liked it. “AWESOME! My wish came true again!”
He took a paper towel from the kitchen and quickly snatched the first slice, and enjoyed his first bite from the pizza when he heard a knocking on the front door. He set the pizza down on the dining table and walked to the door. As soon as he opened it, he saw a teenage boy standing outside, holding an envelope in his hand.
“Hey, Ty!” the boy said.
It was Jake Jasper, the kid next door, and one of Ty’s classmates. Jake was wearing a red soccer jersey and black shorts with red long socks and black cleats. Obviously, he was going to soccer practice. Jake was about the same height as Ty, he had slightly longer, black straight hair and brown eyes. Jake was about 5 foot 7 inches tall, he was athletic and just slightly muscular. He was also fifteen years old.
“Jake! Come in, dude! I was just enjoying some pizza! My parents aren’t home, so we got the house to ourselves!” Ty said; as he held the door wide open to let his friend in.
“Thanks, dude! I got you a little something here. Happy Birthday!” Jake smiled, as he handed Ty a card in a white, sealed envelope.
“Oh, man! Jake! You… You’re the first and only person so far to remember my birthday! Thank you so much!” Ty smiled, as he opened the envelope and read the card.
It said:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TY
YOU’RE A GREAT FRIEND
FROM YOUR PAL IN SCHOOL
JAKE
A tear came from Ty’s eyes as he read the card and pulled a coupon for a video game store that came with the birthday card.
“A discount coupon from Games-4-Less?” Ty said, as he read the text on the coupon.
“Yeah. I knew your parents didn’t give a crap about your birthday, so I figured I’d get you a little present from my allowance. Now you can buy yourself a video game!” Jake replied.
“Thank you so much, Jake… You’re my best friend…” Ty said. Ty could almost cry.
Ty got up and walked over to the soccer player and embraced him. As he hugged Jake, he felt his own body slowly growing taller, probably because he had some pizza to eat. As he hugged him, Ty thought about a fitting way he could reward his best friend for his generosity and kindness which he showed him as the only kid who remembered his birthday.
What does Ty do to Jake?