#bro had the dad jokes before he even became a dad😔����

[choccy-milky]

herbology class 🌹🌿 (from chap 2 of my fic!)

[soyezheureux]

a random afternoon story

so, i was having lunch with my brother when we heard a PSA on TV about 'stop bullying'. we started joking around and i said, “you were bullied, right?” he laughed and replied, “yeah, i got bullied in junior school, but in high school, i became the prankster 😎”

but no, we’re not at the main story yet. this is just the intro.

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that conversation suddenly reminded me of a day when i was in high school and my brother was still in elementary school. one day, one of his classmates randomly told him that he wanted to visit our house.

excited, my brother gave him our address—or at least a rough estimation of where we lived. my bro assumed the kid would come with his parents, just like his other friends had done before.

well, guess what? that kid actually went straight to our house, relying only on the rough estimation my brother had given him. as soon as school was over, he just hopped on his tiny bike and started pedaling 😶

oh man, our house was about 7km from their school. and he went alone. on a small bicycle 😶 i can’t even imagine how sore his knees, shoulders, and back must’ve been 😔

but wait, here comes the dramatic part.

my brother always went home in a school shuttle service. and this kid? he followed that car on his tiny bicycle.

the thing is, the car didn’t go straight to our house, it had to drop off other kids first. my brother? he just sat there, watching his friend struggle to keep up through the side mirror. and did he try to stop his friend? nope. not even a warning 😖😖😖

at some point, the kid disappeared from my brother’s view. my brother just assumed, "oh, he probably gave up. it’s too far anyway." and he went about his day as usual after getting home. then, in the late afternoon, someone called out from outside our house.

yeah, it was that kid.

standing at our doorstep, soaking wet. his hair and uniform were dripping, like he had just walked through a thunderstorm.

my brother was shocked, my mom was even more shocked! how could this be? that kid should’ve been home at least 2–3 hours ago, but now he was standing in front of our door?!

and my mom was sure, like absolutely sure that he hadn’t asked his parents for permission. because if he had, there’s no way they would’ve let him go. i mean, broooo this was a 7km ride, with major roads full of fast-moving cars and trucks. no sane parent would allow their kid to bike through that alone??

so, my mom had another problem: how was she supposed to let his parents know that their son was at our house? sadly, that kid didn’t know his parents’ phone numbers 😔

as soon as the kid came over, my mom immediately started to give him a drink and get him changed into my bro's clothes. thankfully, he still had enough energy to play with my bro at home for a while before saying he had to go home.

my mom actually offered to wait for my dad (who was on his way home from work) so he could drive the kid (with his bike) home. but the kid refused. he said his house wasn’t that far. he even insisted he wasn’t tired 😶😖

so yeah… he biked home. again. with some snacks and drinks for the road.

the plot twist is: his house was actually in a housing complex right behind their school. that means he biked over 14km round trip. OR maybe even more since he followed the shuttle car for who knows how long 🥲

this story is kinda a family legend now. we bring it up at least once a year hahahaha. unfortunately, after elementary school, my brother lost contact with him. they haven’t talked since 😔

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now, back to lunch.

we were still eating while half listening to the PSA. after that little joke earlier, i suddenly thought about that kid and asked my brother,

“what about Doni (not his real name)? was he bullied too?”

still stirring his food, my brother casually replied, “yeah, every day.”

yeah, the kid i was telling you about was a victim of bullying at his school. he was bullied because of his physical appearance.

my brother continued, “i actually learned a lot of Javanese words like that (the ones used to describe someone's appearance, but usually just verbal bullying) because i kept hearing Doni get bullied by the other kids."

i asked, “so how did he react when they bullied him? did he laugh? get angry? stay quiet? or what?"

“he just stayed quiet, but his face looked like he was about to cry. his eyes were already tearing up,” my brother answered.

idk why, but that really hit me 🔪🥲

as an adult, i just wanted to hug that kid, the younger version of him who had to endure all of that.

and dunno if i was just feeling extra emotional today, but my eyes started to water too 🤣 so, i quickly got up from the table and pretended to be busy when in reality, i was just wiping my tears 🤣

when i sat back down, i acted like my food was too spicy and said, “yo man, this is really spicy." thankfully, my brother agreed. at least my cover story wasn’t too obvious hahahaha. thanks, pecel. you were spicy, delicious, and most importantly, my lifesaver 😘

that's it for today’s random story. now i gotta hit the gym. it’s leg day 🦵🏻🔨

one important note: be a buddy, not a bully.

ps: i wasn't home when all this happened. where was i? great question! i, too, would like to know 😇

ps 2: i may never know how Doni's story turned out, but i really hope life has been kind to him and he's living a happy life.