Instead of Homework, Boy Accidentally Shows the Whole Class Mom's Personal Video – Story of the Day

12-year-old Jack's perfect life falls apart one morning when his single mom's personal video is shown to the entire class instead of his homework. He's horrified as he watches her reveal a heartbreaking truth about their lives.

"No! No! I'm late! AGAIN!" Jack cried as he tossed his blanket away. He threw on a hoodie and a pair of trousers and dashed downstairs, grabbing his backpack and study materials from the study table. His alarm clock continued to ring, but he didn't bother turning it off.

"I don't have time for breakfast, Mom! I didn't even brush!" he mumbled, ignoring the post-it note she'd left for him on the table alongside his breakfast. Amelia was a single mother and left home early sometimes.

Jack shut the front door behind him, jumped on his bike, and rode as fast as he could. He didn't want to be late for Mr. Dixon's class...

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

It was just another ordinary Monday morning. Jack had spent the entire night working on his social science project, making final edits to the video, and it was finally done. He was eager to present it in front of his class after working on it for three long weeks!

Mr. Dixon, Jack's social science teacher, was a slow, older man who wasn't particularly generous when it came to giving straight As to his students. But Jack was determined to get a good grade this time, so he'd worked super hard on his assignment.

Jack grinned as he walked into his social science class, his gaze on his wristwatch. "Phew! Close call! Wasn't it?" he scoffed.

Mr. Dixon was running late for class, so Jack dashed over to his seat. He then took out his study materials, most importantly the flash drive where he'd saved his social science project.

Right then, Mr. Dixon walked in. "Oh, we're here again! Good morning, class!" he said, smiling tightly. "I believe we're ready with our presentations?"

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

Mr. Dixon was not the type to exchange pleasantries other than the good morning he said with his monotonous smile. He liked getting right to the point, and while Jack didn't like his attitude, he didn't mind it now because he really wanted to brag about the cool video he'd made.

When it was time for Jack to present his homework, he confidently approached Mr. Dixon's table and handed over his flash drive. Jack then turned to face the class and began briefing his classmates on his project before Mr. Dixon played the video on the projector screen.

Mr. Dixon's computer skills were atrocious. He managed to find the 'correct' video quickly because the USB had only one file. Not a lot of thinking to be done there, thankfully. As he played the video in front of the class, Mr. Dixon expected to see Jack's project. It didn't take long for him to realize the video needed to be stopped immediately.

A loud gasp rang in the classroom, and students began whispering as they watched the screen before them. Jack was frozen in place. His cheeks grew red as he realized he had brought the wrong flash drive to school! Instead of his project, his mother's personal video was shown to the entire class!

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

There was little Jack could do to stop it. As his mother began speaking, he couldn't move an inch. She was talking about him, about herself, and he had no idea she had kept a heartbreaking secret about their lives from him.

"OK! This has to stop! Jack!" Mr. Dixon called out to him. "Oh, how do you turn off this thing? Can anyone assist me?"

Someone eventually helped Mr. Dixon stop the video, but Jack noticed nothing. He could only hear his classmates saying weird things about him and his mother.

The video played in front of the entire class was footage from Amelia's psychotherapy session, where she was confiding in her therapist and telling her how hard it was for her not to reveal the truth to Jack that she had adopted him.

"...this is one of the most challenging times of my life. I have no idea how to tell Jack about it. His biological father recently contacted me," she'd said. "I don't know what to do. Jack's father said he had been looking for Jack for years. He wants to connect with him now after all these years. It's difficult for me, and—" And then the video was cut off as Mr. Dixon removed the USB from his laptop.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

Jack was in shock. He could feel all eyes on him as he returned to his seat. His life's biggest secret was revealed in front of the entire class, and he could do nothing to stop it.

Mr. Dixon tried to diffuse the tension and get the class back on track, but Jack couldn't concentrate. Amelia's words and his classmates' taunts and laughs kept ringing in his ears, and he jumped to his feet.

"Jack, are you alright? Get back to your seat!" Mr. Dixon said.

Jack didn't utter a word as he collected his things. Then he bolted from class and didn't stop running. He ran as far as he could, his mind replaying the same montage—his mom's video on the screen, his classmates whispering and laughing, and Mr. Dixon's annoying kindness.

"Why, Mom? Why didn't you just tell me?" Jack sobbed breathlessly as he wiped his tears away from his face. A couple of minutes later, he collapsed on a bench in an abandoned park, panting like a tired dog.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

Nobody visited that nook of their city, and Jack was glad to be alone. With tears still streaming down his cheeks, he decided he wouldn't go home. Amelia had betrayed him! She wasn't his mother! But then, where were his real parents? Who was his dad? How could he find him?

Jack's mind was plagued with thousands of questions. He'd do anything to find answers, but he'd never return home to Amelia. She had lied to him all his life, and he would never forgive her for that.

Jack spent all day on that bench. He didn't go anywhere. When it got dark, and he started feeling cold and sleepy, he curled up on the bench and dozed off, using his backpack as a pillow.

While Jack was upset about his fate and believed his life's story had ended, a poor, homeless man was attempting to change his fate and continue his life story by rummaging through city bins for more food.

As he arrived at the park where he usually slept, he was surprised to see a young boy like Jack alone. The beggar was kind and gently tapped Jack on his shoulder, waking him up.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

"Ewww! Who are you?" Jack flinched, hugging his backpack. The man before him looked dirty and smelled terrible.

"Get away from me!" Jack cried.

The kind beggar smiled. "I'm Alex," he said. "I never thought I'd find company here. Nobody visits this park."

"I'm not your company or whatever," Jack snapped. "I just don't have a home anymore! Mind your business and stay away from me!"

Right then, Jack's stomach grumbled because he hadn't eaten anything since morning, and Alex laughed. He sat beside Jack on the bench and opened his rucksack to take out a bag of leftovers he'd discovered in a restaurant's trash bin. "Would you like some?" he asked, pulling a sandwich and eating it. "I understand your plight 'cause I ain't got no home either, boy!"

"Thanks, but no thanks!" Jack said rudely. "I don't take things from strangers. Mom says…" and then he trailed off.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

Jack's mouth was watering as he watched Alex eat. "Umm, you got another of that?" he eventually asked Alex.

The poor beggar smiled. "Well, you lucky today 'cause I got lots of food on me!" he said as he shared his food with the young boy.

Jack ate Alex's food and slept on the park bench that night. The following morning, he decided to follow Alex around the city. It's not like he had a place to return to anyway.

Three days passed. Jack never told Alex anything about his life, and the poor man realized it wasn't his place to inquire about a boy's private matters. He just helped Jack as much as he could.

When Jack proposed that he could sell some of the textbooks he had in his backpack and get them a good dinner, Alex showed him where old books were sold. When he needed a more comfy place to sleep, Alex showed him the alley where he slept sometimes.

Jack had assumed that the money he had earned from selling his textbooks would keep him afloat and that he would still have Alex to rely on when it ran out. But when Alex returned to the park one evening, he wasn't alone. He was accompanied by cops.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

Back home, Amelia was distraught. Her eyes were sore from crying, and she still hadn't heard anything about Jack. She had already reported him missing, but police had not been able to locate him.

Alex had told Jack to wait for him at the park and had gone to sell the last of Jack's textbooks. When Alex returned, the cops had him handcuffed.

After spotting Alex selling books, the cops were perplexed about how a homeless man obtained books in such good condition and pursued Alex, only to catch him red-handed. And then they tracked Jack down.

That afternoon, when Amelia got a call that Jack was found, she was over the moon. She hurried to the station and embraced her son, and cried.

He walked out of the station to their car and refused to talk to her. Amelia didn't even wait for the cops to tell her how and where they'd found Jack. She just wanted her son back, and she didn't care about anything else.

However, her heart sank to see an upset Jack. As they reached home, he pushed her away, ran upstairs to his room, and slammed the door in her face, refusing to let her in. Then he started screaming.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

"I hate you! YOU'RE NOT MY MOM! I know everything! You lied to me! No point getting me home! I'll run away again!"

Amelia pressed her palms against her lips, tears welling up in her eyes. She could take anything but the hatred her son was showing her. Her knees buckled, and she found herself crying on the floor in front of Jack's room.

"I'm sorry, Jack! I didn't want the truth to come out this way. Forgive me, honey!" she sobbed.

She cried even harder when she heard him throwing things on the floor in rage. She gathered her courage and moved closer to his door. "You—You were a little baby when I took you in, Jack," she told him in tears.

"Some of my friends told me that having a baby would help me move on, and they were right. Jack, you became my life, and I became your mother. God brought us together in the strangest circumstances. I swear I didn't know anything about your birth father!" she continued.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

"I know about the video mishap. My psychologist called me the day you disappeared from school and told me everything. Then I got a call from your school as well. I made that video just to work through my thoughts, honey. When your father contacted me, I was afraid of losing you. I…"

Jack was crying silently as he listened to Amelia speak. She was apologizing and crying uncontrollably. Suddenly, she stopped talking, and everything fell silent before an unfamiliar male voice took over.

"Jack, I understand you weren't expecting to find out everything, let alone how it happened. But what happened is in the past. I'm Bill, and I'm your biological father. Can we please talk? I was waiting for you to come home."

Jack wondered what his REAL father looked like! In his excitement, he opened the door and saw a tall man who resembled him standing outside.

"Hey, Jack," Bill smiled. "Mind having a little talk alone? Like adults...just you and me?"

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

"It was a closed adoption, so I knew nothing about your and Amelia's life. When I finally did manage to find you both, I learned she was an excellent mother. She gave you this good life, Jack, and she loves you like her own child. That's what a good parent does. You know, she loves you so much that she had eventually agreed that she'd let you go with me if that's what you wanted. She just wanted you to be happy, Jack. That's all."

Listening to his father made Jack realize he had been too unappreciative of Amelia. He immediately rectified his errors and hugged her, and apologized.

"I love you so much, my little boy!" Amelia cried. "I never told you the truth because I wanted you to be older to comprehend everything. But now that you know it anyway, I want to tell you, Jack, that I love you and always will. Nothing has changed."

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

"I love you too, Mom," Jack said. "And I want both you and Dad by my side. Please."

Then Jack revealed how he'd been mocked by his classmates after he took the wrong flash drive to school, and Amelia assured him she would speak with his class teacher and Mr. Dixon.

***

The following day, Jack stood outside his classroom door, afraid to enter. He was worried his classmates would tease him again. Jack closed his eyes, gathered courage, and opened the classroom door. Unfortunately, he was late again!

To his surprise, his classmates welcomed him as if nothing had happened. Jack took his seat, and a huge smile spread across his face as he noticed their class teacher was discussing adoption.

"This topic is very special to us!" she smiled, glancing at Jack. "Love is what builds a family. Real parents are those who love you no matter what…"

"True!" Jack thought, listening to his teacher. "Mom adopted me, and I've got the best Mom in the world! I love her!"

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash

What can we learn from this story?

• A family is built with love and care, not necessarily biology. Jack realized it after Bill sat him down and explained what a great mother Amelia was.
• Children have tender minds, and we need to be patient with them, especially when it comes to our relationship with them. Amelia's heartfelt apology and love eventually make Jack accept the fact that his mom is the best in the world.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a mom who ends up at a gas station while searching for her missing son and finds a video there that confirms him getting into a stranger's car.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.