Ron Was In The Elementary School When He First Met Tom. The Teacher Introduced Him As The New Kid Joining

Ron was in the elementary school when he first met Tom. The teacher introduced him as the new kid joining their class, asking everyone to welcome him with open arms. Ron looked at the name written on the board and just couldn’t help himself.

“Woah! You have a long last name!”

Tom didn’t respond, just kind of stared back until the teacher ushered him to an empty desk.

Tom was a quiet kid, kept to himself and never really spoke unless it was to answer the teacher’s question. He never really had any friends, mostly just read big books with small letters that made Ron’s head spin.

Jack took Ron’s spot at the lunch table one day so he decided to take a seat across from Tom. Ron thought Tom’s lunch box was cool and told him so. The boy’s eyes lit up and informed him it was a F-5 Freedom Fighter, saying that it wasn’t anatomically correct as its fuselage was far too long, whatever that meant, so Ron just smiled and agreed. They already had a Tom in their class and that’s when Ron decided to call him Tommy.

Ron always sat with Tommy at lunch from that day. They quickly became inseparable, doing everything together. Tom was crazy smart and knew everything about everything, especially planes, but he never really made Ron feel dumb when he helped with a long word or a difficult problem. They kept each other company, Tommy didn’t exactly have any other friends since moving and Ron didn’t have a need for any other friends. Tommy was his best friend, even when he talked about airplanes a lot Ron didn’t mind; he decided they were pretty cool too.

One day Tommy exclaimed declared that he was going to be a pilot in the Air Force when he was older, taking down bad guys and protecting the country. Ron was impressed as he didn’t even know if he was going to pick pizza or lasagna at lunch that day. Monday rolled around and Tommy showed up to school with a black eye and a new tune.

“I’m not going into the Air Force anymore,” he had informed Ron.

“Why?”

Tom shrugged. “I’m just not.”

Ron had a feeling he knew why. Tommy would show up with bruises once in a while, said it was from falling out of his bed or climbing a tree, and this time he was hit in the fact playing baseball. But Ron was confused because Tommy never fell out of the bed at their sleepovers and Ron was confident he was the best tree climber like ever. But Tom said he was okay and that’s all that mattered.

But Tom’s dad? That guy was scary. Ron had only met him a couple of times but when he did he wanted nothing more than to run away. Tommy was terrified. The look on his face when keys jingled in the lock was one Ron would never forget. They’d abandon their game and run to Tom’s room, a book shoved into Ron’s hands. They’d sit on the floor and read until the man paused in front of the doorway, nodding in approval at the two boys, and then proceeding down the hall out of sight.

Thankfully his father was away on trips a lot so Tom’s mom let him spend the night at Ron’s house sometimes! Tommy would always tell Ron that his mom was super cool and Ron would agree, his mom was the coolest. At one of these sleepovers Mrs.Kerner asked Tom what he wanted to be when he grew up, but Tom got quiet.

“He wants to be a pilot!” Ron exclaimed, but Tom shook his head.

“I’ve got to join the Navy, like him.” Like his dad, he meant.

“Well why don’t you be a pilot for the Navy?” Ron’s mom asked, setting a plate of apple slices and peanut butter on the table.

“But he said the Navy doesn’t need pilots.” Tom took an apple slice.

“Sure they do! Someone’s gotta protect those boats. You know, Ronnie, your great uncle was a pilot for the Navy in World War II.” Tom’s eyes snapped wide open, staring in awe at Ron.

“I can be a pilot and be in the Navy!”

“What about you, Ron?” His mom asked. “What are you going to be?”

“A pilot for the Navy. Then we could fly together!” he nodded firmly and his mom laughed. And he’d swear he’d never seen Tom smile that bright.

The happiness was short lived as about a month later Tom informed Ron that his family was moving again. He’d never seen Tom look so devastated.

Years went by and Ron moved on, as children do. When he hit senior year of high school it came time to decide what he wanted to do with his life, but he was stumped. He confided in his mom such thoughts one night while she was doing the dishes and she smiled warmly. That’s when she informed him of his longtime desire of becoming a Naval pilot when he was young, reigniting the memories of his best friend, Tom. “Two peas in a pod you boys were” she had said. Something clicked and he had made his decision, applying to the Naval Academy and getting accepted, much to his surprise. He hugged his mother, gave a tearful goodbye with the promise to call, and watched her leave.

“Excuse me.”

Ron turned around, a man stood in the doorway of the dorm across from his.

“F-14 Tomcat or F-16 Fighting Falcon?”

“Huh?”

“In a dogfight, who would win? The F-14 Tomcat or F-16 Fighting Falcon?”

“Leave him alone, Bill,” a voice from inside the room shouted across the hall. “We don’t even know what it’s capable of.”

Bill scoffed as he rolled his eyes but there was a smile on his face. He turned back to Ron and stuck out his hand. “Name’s Bill Cortell. And that a**hole is my roommate, Tom.”

“Ron Kerner.” They shook hands.

“So where are you from, Ron?” But before Ron could respond Bill’s roommate emerged from the room, leaning agains the doorframe.

“San Diego, California. Sunset Park Elementary School.” Ron just nodded, confused as fuck.

“Tom. Tom Kazansky.”

As they shook hands, Ron couldn’t help his grin.

“You have a long ass last name.”

The blonde merely raised an eyebrow with a smirk.