Now that I knew I hadn't mistaken him, I treated him even better.
The boy who used to be so kind had turned into someone so sharp and prickly. The society must have done this to him.
I didn't blame him.
Dylan didn't treat me any better after recognizing me.
He remained as distant as ever.
Things changed in our senior year when Dylan's father got very sick. He had a severe kidney disease and needed a transplant.
Fortunately, Dylan's kidney was a match.
He could donate a kidney to his dad.
Unfortunately, they didn't have enough money for the surgery.
I always knew Dylan's family was poor, but I didn't realize just how poor.
His family lived in a small rural village where his parents were farmers. He was the only one in his family to go to college. Their pride and joy.
He had no real way to make money even as the most successful one.
Dylan had a lot of pride and didn't want anyone to know about his family's situation.
That's why, even though he used student loans to pay his tuition all four years, he never applied for financial aid.
He hid it so well that none of his classmates knew the truth about him.