Disabled girl does jock's homework to escape bullies. Years later, he repays her with life-changing gift.
By Megaphone StaffNov. 12 2024, Updated 2:55 p.m. ET
Anyone who has faced bullying during their school years understands how it can turn life into a nightmare. Reddit user u/pasanquecosas recounted her experience of being bullied until a popular boy stepped in to defend her in exchange for doing his homework. To her astonishment, he reconnected with her years later and offered help she never saw coming.
"I've always been good with numbers and responsible, but given that I have CP (cerebral palsy) and walk with crutches, I was an extremely easy target for bullying," the now-29-year-old woman shared on Reddit. When her classes were mixed, she faced even worse bullies. However, a popular boy in her new class started defending her and wordlessly left his notebooks with her, implying she should do his homework in return.
"And so we began our symbiotic relationship. The bullying stopped and I would do his homework every day. We never talked about it and whenever he spoke to me, he sounded angry. It was like that for almost 3 years and his grades went up. I was just grateful I could be at peace in school. We graduated and never spoke or saw him again," the post continued. Then, unexpectedly, the same guy reached out to her over Instagram a week before she made the Reddit post.
"He told me how good life had been for him, he offered to buy me a house and a car. At first, I thought it was a scam, but we made video calls and he showed me things and it's legit," she wrote. The jock from her class had become a successful businessman, earning millions and living abroad. Fortunately, he never forgot how she helped him get good grades in class, which paved the way for his success.
"He said he wanted to repay me 'cause he knew how hard it is to be disabled and a woman in my country specifically. He's not wrong, but I'm doing okay right now, so I declined all his offers. But then I received a call from a medical center, the most expensive where I live, saying I had 3 years of physical therapy paid for," the post continued. Still thinking it was a joke, she went to the medical center to verify and discovered that her treatment costs had indeed been covered.
"I already did my first two sessions and my body feels so much better. I am still clueless because I saw our relationship as purely transactional and now he comes and says he owes me. I am so confused," she concluded her post, thanking people in the Reddit community for their comments, which made her feel less guilty about the whole situation. Strangers on the internet were also amazed to see how the classmate came around to repay her for all the ways she helped him during their school days.
Redditor u/KalayaMdsn wrote, "You did his homework for three years and he paid for three years of therapy. It sounds like he knows exactly what he's doing and he wants to say thank you now. Remember that for the wealthy, something that seems crazy generous to us is the monetary equivalent of buying you lunch." u/Fewstoriesocto added, "That's a nice gesture you should take it and be thankful, don't turn down on somebody who is trying to be kind. Seemingly with no ill intent." u/paraddidler13 shared, "Even back in high school it was a fair transaction in my book since I’m sure him stopping the bullies prevented you from living in actual hell back then. He doesn’t owe you, but he knows gratitude. What a guy."
This article was originally published on February 16, 2024. It has since been updated.