No. 168

It was a picture that finally did it.

Jack Rushton was a terrible student. He had very little use for school until the day the physics teacher brought in the example of aerodynamics.

 Jack was captivated.

He waited until everyone else had left the classroom, then he surreptitiously removed the clipping from the whiteboard. He folded it carefully and put it in his wallet between Mila Kunis and Alexander Hamilton.

The next day, after the lesson, the teacher called Jack’s name.

“Yes?” answered the boy.

The teacher was a large man, with one long hair that the razor had missed. The hair jumped as the teacher spoke.

“I see you’ve taken an interest in British machinery.”

Jack was surprised. He hadn’t thought that anybody had seen him. He tried to reply but no words came out.

The teacher noticed.

“That’s ok. The picture’s nothing special,” he assured the lad.

Jack removed the evidence from his pocket and placed it on the edge of the table.

“What is it?” he asked.

“That is an Aston Martin. It’s beautiful, but very expensive. You’d have to work very hard to have one someday.”

Jack heard what the teacher was saying. He nodded silently.

Many years later, Jack ran into his teacher.

“Mr. Rushton! It’s good to see you,” said the older man. “Any closer to that Aston?”

Jack grinned from ear to ear.

The teacher’s eyes widened.

“No,” said Jack. “I don’t own one. I was never that good at school.”

The teacher shook his head. “Well, there’s still time to get on the right track.”

“Funny you should say that,” said Jack. “I don’t own one, I race them. I figured that I probably wasn’t ever going to get straight As, so I concentrated on driving. My next event is in three weeks. Want to come by for a ride-along?”