"Mom, what can I do now? I need to pay before I can apply for the scholarship exams. I thought scholarships were meant to be free." John complained to his mother.
"Well, those who happen to be too rich always find a way to punish the poor." Elena, John's mother, said.
"Did father set this scholarship up? Is he sponsoring it?" John asked, his voice slightly higher than normal.
"Yes, I think your father is sponsoring this, and he'd obviously know that you would want to apply for it." Elena replied.
She felt bad for her son. Every day, she lived in regret of her fling with the Simpsons CEO. She had no idea that he had been married before they met, and when she found out that she had his baby, she went back to him, but he pushed her away and denied being responsible for the pregnancy.
Elena had tried in so many ways to get him to support their son, but he wouldn't budge, and for this, she engaged in so many things just to find a way to cater to her son's needs.She understood John's pain. All he ever wanted was to get into the university and become a prosecutor afterwards, so he could prosecute the likes of his father. Now, this same father of his stood in the way of furthering his dreams.
"John, you could always go to the university at any time in life. Maybe now's not the right time." Elena consoled him, but he wasn't going to listen to her.
"Mom, if I give up now, I don't know how long I can keep doing it. I'll do whatever it takes to get that scholarship. I'll work and save money for it, but what I won't do is sit here and let that man ruin my life." John said to her and walked away.
Mr. Hudson was in his office when he heard a ruckus outside. It was getting louder, and it seemed like the intruder was asking for him. He opened his office and met the scene.
John had been struggling to get out of the grasp of the security men who were trying to haul him out of the company. He kicked and scratched their faces while screaming for Mr. Hudson.
"Leave him be." Mr. Hudson said. After the security men loosened their grip on John, his father motioned to him to come into his office, but John refused.
"I'll stand just here and spill what I've come to say." John said. He was heaving with anger.
"What is it that you want to say? Make it fast, though." Hudson said and rolled his eyes, seemingly uninterested in what he had to say.
"You know I'm your son, right?" John asked him.
"No, you're the outcome of a drunken mistake." He replied sharply. After he saw the twitch on John's face, he sighed and wiped a sweat off his forehead. "You didn't cause this ruckus just to ask me that. Did you?" He asked John.
"You abandoned I and mother, and she has been doing everything to take care of me, and finally I'm out of high school, and I'm ready for college." John said to him.
Mr. Hudson clapped his hands in mockery and laughed.
"That is nice. Elena sure is one hell of a woman." He said and laughed some more.
"Keep my mom's name off your mouth, or I'll rip it off your face. The scholarship fee you attached is too high for me to pay, and I need that scholarship. That's why I'm here." John finally said.
"Whoa! You really do want to go to the university. Isn't that being selfish? You should stay home and help your mother. But if you would rather go to the university, I guess you should start by paying the fee; after all, you won't be paying another till you graduate." Hudson replied to him.
"We can't afford it. I need you to get me a pass." John demanded.
"John, you really should give up on this. It's way above your league, and I can't help you. Why don't you take a break and help your mother with the chores..." Mr. Hudson was still speaking when John lounged at him, but the security men intervened and pulled him away from him.
"I won't give you the satisfaction of giving up. I'm going to get that scholarship, no matter what it'll take. You just wait and see. I won't back down!!!" John yelled as the security men hauled him out of the company.
He fell to the ground and sat there, crying his heart out. The embarrassment had been too much for him to bear. He never thought that his father would be hardhearted when he saw him. He thought he would at least hear him out and help him a little, but instead, he got the shock of his life.
As he sat there still crying, a lady walked up to him and held out her hand. She got him up on his feet and took him to a coffee shop nearby.
"What's wrong with you?" She asked him.
John told her his story, and her heart tore up for him. She felt bad for him and decided to help him.
"What's your grade score currently?" The lady asked him.
"I'm an 'A' student, and that qualified me for the scholarship." John replied and sniffled.
"I'll help you get into the university." The lady said.
John was dumbfounded. He stared at the stranger sitting with him and wondered if he heard her wrong. His doubts vanished when she reached into her bag and pulled out a bank cheque; she wrote a huge figure on it and handed it to him. John accepted it with shaky hands.
"No one should be punished for being an illegitimate son. It wasn't your fault." The lady said to him and stood to her feet.
John hugged her and thanked her wholeheartedly for her goodness and help. His mother was overjoyed when she heard the news. John was able to register for the scholarship, and he was accepted.
The money was more than enough to pay the application fee and to get the basic things he needed to begin his life as a university student.
Life wasn't all rosy for him at the university, but John never gave up, and he made the top in his classes and graduated with 1ST CLASS HONOURS.
A prosecutor's office took him in immediately, and the first thing John did was convince his mother to sue his father.
Mr. Hudson was shocked at the turn of events. The court hearing wasn't an easy one, as John didn't give up easily. Mr Hudson was later charged with child neglect, and he was instructed to give John some shares from his company, and he was also fined a huge amount of money, which was given to Elena for compensation of the pain she had been through.
That was how John excelled and became wealthy, and whenever he was asked how he managed to get to where he was, he would smile and say,
"Never back down. That's how you achieve greatness."
Thanks for reading.
