Story 6
A young man is upset to hear his doctor prescribe exercise. The young man secretly begins exercising so that his family doesn’t know what the doctor said.
Todd’s Secret
Miss Crin went to the board. She wrote, “Page 257, evens.” Todd Bome copied the math homework into his planner. He put his planner into his backpack and went to lunch. The lunch hallway was the only cell-phone area in the school. So, Todd called his mother. “Hi, Mom. Were you able to get me into the doctor?”
“Yes, Dear. This Friday at 1:00 p.m. You will need a note to get out of school. Make sure to ask me for it.”
“I’ll put it in my planner so I don’t forget it. And, thanks for calling for me. I’ll see you after school.” After Todd hung up, he got in the lunch line. It was the only lunch line in the school that did not flow clockwise. On most days, he had a burger or pizza instead of the full lunch. That meant short, clockwise lines.
But, today was tacos. He didn’t mind waiting for his favorite school meal! Todd picked up his lunch and looked for his friends. He joined Kyle Cortez and Mitch Milton at a table by the window. He said, “Hi, guys!” as he pulled out his planner and wrote in it. “I’m going to miss lunch on Friday. I have to go to the doctor.”
“Why are you going to the doctor? Are you sick?” Mitch asked.
“No, I’m not sick. My dad has new insurance with his new job. Our whole family has to have checkups. I wonder what it will be like.”
“I bet it is a lot like our sports checkups,” Mitch said. “You know, temperature, blood pressure, and go in a little cup.”
“You are probably right,” Todd said.
After school, Todd met his sister Hannah in the parking lot. Hannah was older and usually drove. But today, she was deep into a talk on her cell phone, so Todd drove. She never even said “hello” to Todd. She stayed on the phone all the
way home.
That night, Todd talked to his mother about the checkup. “Do you think it will be like a school checkup? For school checkups, I always have to start by going a little in a cup. Then, a nurse checks my temperature and blood pressure. The whole thing takes about 10 minutes.”
Mrs. Bome said, “This checkup might be a little longer. I think you will also have to put a gown on. Then the doctor can check for lumps and listen to your heart and lungs. And, I’m pretty sure you will have to have a blood test.”
“That doesn’t sound very fun,” Todd said, making a face.
“No one said it would be fun. But, it will be over in 30 minutes. It really isn’t that bad,” Mrs. Bome said.
“Mom was right. It really wasn’t that bad,” Todd thought. It was Friday, and he was leaving the doctor’s office. His checkup was almost just like his mother said. Except for one thing. And Todd couldn’t get that one thing off his mind.
He drove back to the school parking lot and went to the office. He checked back in just in time for the start of art class. Todd walked into class and sat by Kyle. Kyle said, “What’s up?”
Todd said, “Nothing,” and sat quietly the rest of the class.
Two weeks later, Todd came home from school about two hours late. His mother said, “Todd, where have you been? You have been late for the last two weeks.”
Todd said, “I’ve just been doing stuff with my friends.”
“What kind of stuff?” Mrs. Bome asked.
“Just boy stuff,” Todd said as he went to his room.
The next night, Todd was even later. It was almost 9:00 when he came home. His was all wet and went right to the shower. When he came down the steps, Mrs. Bome said, “What’s going on, Todd? No more secrets.”
Todd looked at the floor. Then he looked at his mother. Finally, he sat down and said, “I’ve been playing basketball and tennis.”
His mother looked puzzled. “Why are you keeping that a secret?”
“Because,” Todd said, “the doctor told me I had to exercise. He said I was on my way to being fat. He also said I’d have bad health if I didn’t change. I hate to exercise, so I was really upset. But, I started a group that plays basketball after school. I started another group that plays tennis at 6:00 or later. It’s Mitch, Kyle, and some other guys. I should have told you. But, I didn’t want to talk about what the doctor said.”
Mrs. Bome said, “Everyone needs to exercise. It’s not just you. So, you don’t need to hide it. In fact, you should tell everyone. Maybe you will get more people to do it.”
Todd pulled his planner out of his backpack and showed his mother. “See my schedule? It keeps me really busy, but it’s fun. It started out just as exercise, but now I don’t want to quit. I can’t let Kyle sit in a wheelchair and play better than me!”
What do you think?
- Todd took some steps to make exercise a priority in his life. List two pros and two cons of Todd’s actions.
- On the last night in the story, Todd took a shower as soon as he gets home. Do you think Todd should have done that? Explain.
What would you do?
- Todd is 16 years old. If you were him, would you make your own doctor appointments or have your mom make them? Explain why.
Life Skills in This Story
- Setting priorities
- Keeping yourself clean
- Making appointments
- Understanding counterclockwise
- Knowing parts of a routine physical
- Making a regular exercise plan
- Using a planner
- Scheduling errands
- Setting and following a routine
- Writing school excuses
- Scoring sports
- Recognizing and accepting authority
- Being honest
- Using community resources
- Respecting individuals with physical/mental challenges
