Rough Draft Narrative

“Are you and Allexis coming to the J-Wride concert? The tickets cost $3 each.”

“Of course I am going to the concert! We’ll see you in 5 minutes.”

I grab a five dollar bill out of my wallet and stuff it into my front pocket and head out the door with my roommate Allexis. My friend Ty pulls up in his sporty silver car in the parking lot. His older cousin Rob is in the front seat so Allexis and I get in the back. We were running a good 30 minutes late to the J-Wride concert, but thanks to Ty’s amazing parallel parking skills and tiny car we were able to get a parking spot directly in front of the Muse music venue.

The concert was being held for Jenna, a good friend of mine from freshman year of college, who had recently discovered that she has a brain tumor on the left side of her brain. Jenna had some good friends that were in a band called J-Wride so the group got together and set up a concert for her at the music venue known as Muse. They asked some other bands they had played with before to join them and held the concert to raise money for Jenna to help pay for some of the medical costs. Jenna couldn’t make it to the concert because her biopsy was the day before, but they had special equipment that allowed them to broadcast it live on the internet so she could watch it while at the hospital.

The four of us walk into the front door and head to the ticket lady at a small dark brown school desk by the far wall sitting right outside the entryway of the concert. She has a small silver tin box in front of her to store the money. I hand her the crinkly five dollar bill, and I get my two dollars change back and put it in my pocket. I head toward the concert area and turn around to see Ty paying for his ticket, but not with a five dollar bill. I see his lips moving and realize he’s still talking to the ticket lady.

“Give the extra money to Jenna’s family. I don’t need any change back.”

Underneath his five dollar bill, he had two twenties. I hadn’t noticed them before, and wouldn’t have ever known that had happened if I hadn’t turned around just at that moment. Ty was so generous, and so humble about it. I then wait and watch the other two, Allexis and Rob, to see how they go about paying for the ticket. They hand the ticket lady a ten dollar bill from each of them and not take any change back. As we all walk into the concert, I feel guilty for being so selfish and not even having the thought cross my mind to bring extra money. I came to support my friend, so why did I only bring the bare minimum of cash and then take my two dollar change back?

We were standing in the very back next to the microphone controls stationed by the door most of the concert because Jenna had so many friends there supporting her. About fifteen minutes after arriving, a man bumps into me on accident as he tries to get into the concert. He’s about 6’ 3” and makes me feel a little nervous because he has the appearance that he might be drunk. He wasn’t clean shaven and had a straw fedora hat on his head that had clearly been used for many years or found in the garbage and a hobo-esque jacket that was dark gray that went down to his knees and had some tears in it.

“Do any of you know Jenna’s family?”

This catches my attention. I turn around with the intention of telling him I know her family, but find that he is talking specifically to the members of J-Wride who had been standing behind us the whole time.

“Yeah we do. We’re close friends with her. Can we help you at all?”

“I was wondering if you could pass this on to her family.”

I look down because I notice his arm move and see his right hand tightly closed around something. His clenched hand opens and inside is a tight roll of various types of dollar bills with a single rubber band wrapped twice them.

“It’s only about five hundred dollars. Don’t tell her I gave this to you. I want it to be anonymous. My son passed away just a year ago from a cancerous tumor and I know how scary and emotionally draining this situation can be and I just wanted to show support for Jenna and her family in some sort of way.”

I stand there watching this transaction, completely shocked that it is really happening. He then walks up towards the front of the concert and finds his wife. She wraps her arm around his and they begin to sway to the music, taking in every note being played and lyric being sung. This man who I had judged so quickly just gave a generous amount of cash to help out a family he didn’t even know. He was just a normal guy trying to do his part in the world by helping others. I get a huge feeling of guilt and shame as I think of how I only brought five dollars and took my change back. I should be the one giving that kind of money to her, not some stranger.

The whole next hour of the concert I can’t stop thinking of the generosity of my friends and the man. The concert comes to a close and we begin to head out so we can go visit Jenna in the hospital. We’re getting closer and closer to the ticket lady from before. As I put my hand in my pocket, I feel my fingers touch the crinkly green paper – the measly two dollars that I kept as change.

“I would like to give this money to Jenna’s family. I know it’s not a lot, but I hope it helps.”