A noisy teenager made problems for the school janitor and felt guilty. He learned about the man’s life and resolved to do something extraordinary for him, and it was only then that he realized something crucial.
“Jeez!” Holden spat when he noticed the mess he had caused on the floor. He and his friend planned to perform a prank on another kid by painting his locker. However, he dumped the paint can in the middle of the basketball floor, which would have been noticeable.
“Come on, Holden! Let’s go! Let’s go!” his friend, Andrew, yelled, and they both dropped everything and ran away.
They weren’t awful kids, but they were definitely boisterous and rebellious, always skipping classes and attempting to prank others. However, they were not ʙᴜʟʟɪᴇs and had no evil intent. Holden despised school and desired anarchy, as did many teenagers at the time.
“Wow. That’s terrible,” the teenager commented before widening his eyes. “Sorry. That was rude.”
Fortunately, no one discovered what they had done, but as Holden passed by the basketball court later, he noticed the old school cleaner cleaning things up and heard the principal, Mr. Figgins, yell.
“We have the prep rally tomorrow, and scouts from all over the country are coming! This needs to come out immediately!” the principal yelled at the poor elderly guy, who hung his head and attempted to clean up the mess. However, the paint was oil-based, so it was a difficult task.
“Yes, Mr. Figgins. I’ll make sure it’s ready for tomorrow,” the janitor spoke as he continued to scrub. The principal swung his arms around again, made some commands, and stormed away in a huff.
Holden felt bad watching the old man on his knees attempting to correct his error, so he did something entirely unexpected. He strolled into the court, took a cloth, kneeled, and began cleaning alongside the janitor.
The old man gave him a brief glance. “I guess you did this, right?” he said, continuing to scrubbing.
“Sir, please. I’m so sorry. It was a mistake. I didn’t know you would get in trouble for it,” Holden apologized sincerely and continued moving the rag up and down. “Please don’t tell the principal. My mom would ᴋɪʟʟ me.”
The old man sighed and shrugged. “I won’t tell anyone, but you have to help me until this floor is back to normal,” he negotiated, and Holden nodded rapidly.
They talked while working. The janitor’s name was Fred. At first, they talked about basketball and football, as the school had some of the greatest sports in the state. But then Holden asked the elderly man why he was working at his age. Based on the wrinkles on his face and his feeble arms, he had to be well over 60.
“Well, I need to pay a mortgage, kid,” Fred responded with pursed lips. “And I’m 76.”
“You haven’t paid your mortgage still. Wow. That means I can never dream of having a house of my own,” Holden commented.
“Well, things are hard now, kid. But actually, I never wanted to own a house. I rented most of my life. I bought that house for my daughter. She needed her own place, and I wanted to give her something,” Fred revealed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “I put a down payment for her and helped her with the mortgage for years. But then, she died in a car accident, and it was all on me.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Holden muttered, and they stayed quiet for a while. “Why don’t you sell the house now?”
“Where would I live, kid? With rent these days, I would be homeless. And I have to keep working to eat,” the janitor continued. He wasn’t bitter or sad. He was just realistic.
“But you might not ever retire!” the teenager added.
“That’s true. I just hope I can pay the mortgage before I ᴅɪᴇ,” he continued.
“How much is it?” Holden asked boldly.
“Well, I believe it’s a little under $30,000.”
“Wow. That’s terrible,” the teenager commented before widening his eyes. “Sorry. That was rude.”
But Fred laughed. “Let’s just work, kid.”
Despite successfully removing the paint, they went home late that night. Holden was unable to fall asleep. He wanted to do something kind for the elderly man who had not gotten him in trouble.
A few days later, he confessed to his mother and told her everything; he then asked her how they could help the elderly janitor. Fred could be able to retire if they paid off his mortgage.
His mother told him that he could mow lawns in the area. It was mowing season, and thousands of individuals were asking for assistance. So Holden did, and to his surprise, he received a large number of clients. He took his father’s lawnmower and worked tirelessly.
But after a few days, he understood that the task was nearly impossible. He would have to work for years, just like Fred, to raise the funds, so he spoke with his neighbors whose children also attended the school. He pulled a picture of Fred off the school’s website and uploaded it online, detailing his experience, before deciding to start a crowdfunding campaign for the janitor.
To his surprise, donations began to pour in, totaling $30,000 in just one week.
Following that, Holden and his mother approached the school principal about holding a special ceremony to commemorate and surprise Fred. The teen also had to explain to the principal about the paint on the basketball floor. Finally, Mr. Figgins agreed.
The entire school heard the story, and they all gathered on the basketball court to applaud when Fred entered. The ancient janitor had no idea what was going on because he didn’t have access to social media. But Holden handed him the money, and many in the audience cried as the two of them hugged. Fred officially retired that week.
Holden eventually heard that Fred had a granddaughter, Erin, who was only a few years younger than him, and the janitor wanted to pay off the house so she might inherit it after he ᴅɪᴇᴅ. She and Holden became good friends after he began visiting the old guy after school and assisting him.
He stopped hanging out with Andrew and began taking his lessons seriously. The entire experience showed him that success required hard work.
His rebellious ways had vanished, and he graduated at the top of his class a few years later. The entire school staff was startled and pleased by his 180º turn, as it was something instructors rarely witnessed. And that was all thanks to Fred, who spent the afternoon clearing up some paint on the floor.
