Rich Kids Mock Classmate Who Washes Cars for Years until Well-Dressed Man Comes to Their Reunion – Story of the Day

John earned a scholarship to a prestigious private school in New York as a little boy, but his classmates hated him for it. They mocked him when they discovered he helped his father at a car wash. This went on for years, even after graduation. However, a well-dressed man showed up at the reunion and shocked everyone.

"Everyone, this is John Howard, your new classmate this year," Mrs. Adams announced to the whole class on John's first day of school.

Years later, John still remembers that day perfectly. He had answered all of Mrs. Adams' questions before anyone else could raise their hands, and he endeared himself to other teachers quickly. He eventually proved himself to be the best at math and science and excelled at art and physical education. That's why he had earned a scholarship to that private school in New York in the first place.

John's father worked at a car wash, and he helped him out sometimes. | Source: Pexels

His father, Gregory Howard, was a car washer, and his mother had disappeared from their lives years ago. They didn't have much, but his father taught him everything and worked seven days a week so John could have anything he needed for school. And John promised his father at eight years old that he would get them out of poverty.

Unfortunately, his classmates did not make it that easy. After that first day, they turned against him. When John wouldn't share his homework so they could copy his answers, they shunned him. Eventually, that shunning turned to open mocking.

"Hey, teacher's pet! Why don't you go eat with Mrs. Adams?" one particular classmate, Henry Harper, yelled at him one day at the cafeteria when John wanted to sit nearby to eat his lunch. Everyone laughed that day, and so John started eating alone.

He sometimes ate with Mrs. Adams as they had suggested, but most of the time, he just brought a book or did his homework in advance because he would be busier later in the afternoon.

At ten years old, John started helping his father wash cars because the owner was such a great man. He would give John a few tips that went a long way to helping their tiny family. Sometimes, they even saved them from hunger after bills or other incidentals happened.

John would always be grateful for that. But there was one downside to working at the carwash. Many wealthy clients went there, and one of them was Alexander Harper, Henry Harper's father.

One day, Henry arrived at the car wash with his father, and it was the beginning of an even bigger hell for John at school.

A luxury car pulled up and John discovered that Henry was inside. | Source: Pexels

Mr. Harper pulled up to the car wash, and John was ahead of his father to start helping out when Henry rolled down his window.

"Hey, John! What are you doing here huh?" Henry mocked, leaning on the open window of his dad's luxurious car. "Are you cleaning? Why aren't you doing homework, huh? Why aren't you cleaning Mrs. Adams' home? Huh? Huh?"

John stayed quiet and waited for his father to come out of the office so they could get to work. But he kept hearing taunts from Henry and saw that his tormentor's father was busy reading the paper for some reason, waiting for them to be attended to. He didn't care that his son was mocking someone.

Fortunately, John's dad arrived and Henry got back in his seat and rolled the window up. But as John and his father worked on the car, Henry made mocking gestures at John from inside.

The following day, everyone at school discovered what Henry had seen, and they started mocking John about it. Some people placed rags on his locker, others mocked him openly in the hallways, and others just gossiped behind his back. Henry was behind all these and loved John's struggle. His closest friends, Camille and Carson, also loved joining in the mocking.

They had not known initially that John was a scholarship student, but that had changed. All of his classmates came from affluent households, and Henry was one of the most popular at school. Therefore, others listened to him. He decided to ostracize John, and none of them had the gall to stand up to him.

John suffered their mocking for many years, but he would not let them discourage him. | Source: Pexels

Unfortunately, that defined John's entire school life. Henry hated how good he was at math and soccer, so he mocked John.

"You might be good at that stuff, but you're still poor. You can't do anything. I'm already rich," Henry told him over the years when John bested him.

John tried to respond, but no one listened to him. It was useless, and that didn't change over the years. Therefore, he kept to himself. He was quiet in class unless he answered a question and tried to stay under the radar.

Eventually, people got bored and just left him alone. But he didn't have one friend at school. All his friends were his neighbors, who were also from low-income families, and at least, he found solace in them. He just needed to get through school in one piece.

John remembered all those days. He could never forget them. They were the most brutal years of his life and affected him in horrible ways. But his future was bright despite it, especially after his high school graduation.

***

Ten years after John's high school graduation…

Henry and his buddies were catching up at the reunion. "Yeah, I'm working as a partner in my dad's law firm, and it's going well. But I'm going to ask him to put me in more important cases. Right now, some of his employees think I'm supposed to be an intern, and I'm definitely NOT! I mean, I'm the boss's son, for God's sakes!"

Henry and his friends were catching up at the reunion when he asked them about John. | Source: Pexels

His friends laughed and agreed with him. "I know what you mean. I told my dad the same thing last year, and he even upped my salary so…" his buddy, Carson, stated.

"I can't believe we're all old enough to be at our ten-year reunion, and you guys are working. I can't imagine that either. I got married last year, and my husband is even richer than my family. So, I'm never working in my life again," their other friend, Camille, added to the conversation.

"Oh my, Camille! You even brag about that. Oh, to be a woman!" Henry laughed, almost mocking his friend for her lack of ambition. The others laughed too, although they didn't like Henry's implications.

Still, they were having a good time until Henry remembered something.

"Oh my God. Do you remember John? The wash boy?" Henry asked all of a sudden.

"Is he here?" Carson wondered.

"I can't imagine why he would come," Camille interjected. "He didn't even have friends here."

They all started looking around the room, expecting to see the loner boy they had mocked for many years. "I hope to see him. I'm going to ask him if he's still washing cars," Henry stated arrogantly.

Everyone turned to watch the man in the impeccable suit. | Source: Pexels

"I bet he is. There's no way you could get out of that at all," Camille taunted, sipping from her wine glass.

But something interrupted their conversation, and they saw all their classmates turning towards the door. They started whispering among each other, and Henry frowned. "What's going on?"

"I think someone arrived," Carson replied, curiously looking where everyone else was looking.

They suddenly saw an impeccably-dressed man walking around the room, and he made a beeline for Mrs. Adams, their former homeroom teacher, who was talking to their former math teacher.

The older woman turned toward the man, gave him a huge smile, and hugged him tightly. Henry, Carson, Camille, and the others around them couldn't hear what they were saying. But the entire reunion was curious about this man.

"Wow, who is that? Was he in our class?" another former classmate in their huddle expressed.

"That suit is more expensive than my car," another person revealed.

Henry turned around with furrowed brows. "Really? Who could it be? Henderson? Bradley? Bennett?" he wondered, rattling off some of their older classmates who had yet to make an appearance.

Mrs. Adams got up on stage and introduced the strange man. | Source: Pexels

Carson shook his head. "Sorry, I don’t know who it is."

"Let's go check it out," Henry insisted because he had to know who that man was. His suit did look expensive, and if it was more costly than Carson's car, he had to know who was wearing it.

However, they stopped in their tracks when the man moved with Mrs. Adams. They went toward the stage, and their teacher approached the podium.

"Welcome everybody! I'm glad to see some of our familiar faces, and it's such a delight to have you all back," she started, grinning widely at the room. "Now, I would like to invite one of our alumni, who is now the owner of several five-star restaurants all over the country and Europe. So, please, everyone, give a big applause for John Howard."

Henry's jaw dropped, Camille almost broke her wine glass, and Carson gasped audibly. Meanwhile, the rest of the room broke out in whispers.

"Good evening, everyone. You might remember me as the wash boy or whatever Henry Harper told you," John began. "I was the poor scholarship boy surrounded by privileged children who liked to mock me. But I made something of myself. I persevered. I had a goal in mind, and I achieved it."

Henry couldn't believe what John said, as unlike him, he was self-made. | Source: Pexels

"My father retired early thanks to my education at this school, and all the help I received from the wonderful teachers here," John stated, looking at the faces of his former mockers with an almost bragging smile. "I want to honor those educators, and that's the only reason I'm here today. I don't expect that any of my classmates have changed, but their mocking, their comments, and their actions made me the man I am today. So, I guess, I'm grateful to them in a way. Thank you, everyone. Have a great night."

John finished his speech, shook Mrs. Adams' hand, although she looked flustered at his words, and came down from the stage. Henry saw how some people wanted to approach him, but John moved swiftly through the room, exiting through the front door.

"Wow, John got gorgeous! I wonder if he's married," Henry, Camille, and Carson heard some of their former classmates say nearby.

"I'm going to Google him and go to his restaurants. I never openly mocked him. Maybe I'll have a chance," another person commented.

Henry forcefully placed his glass on a nearby table and left the reunion in anger. He never talked to his older friends again.

John lived prosperously, expanding his business and taking care of his family. | Source: Pexels

Meanwhile, John became even more prosperous as he expanded his business into all parts of the food industry and conquered markets in Europe. He married a nice woman from a humble background, and his family was set for life. He also made sure that his father never knew struggle ever again.

What can we learn from this story?

• You have to persevere no matter what happens in school. Unfortunately, there are always mean kids at school, but you have to keep going to achieve your goals. High school is not forever.
• Some people never learn in life. It seemed like Henry and his buddies were still the same immature people, and it showed when they realized how John had changed.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about classmates who mocked a girl for working as a janitor to help her mom.

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