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"When I found out why my math teacher always wore the same bracelet.

In high school, everyone thought Mr. Finn was just this weird, strict teacher who never smiled. He had this old, faded leather bracelet that he wore every single day, and whenever students asked about it, he'd just change the subject. Some kids joked that it was probably from his ex-girlfriend or something stupid like that.

But what really confused me was how he'd randomly disappear during lunch breaks. Like, he'd be there one minute, then completely gone for exactly 20 minutes, every single day. And when he came back, his eyes would always look a little red, like he'd been crying or something.

One day, I forgot my calculator and went back to his classroom during lunch. The door was cracked open, and I heard him talking to someone on the phone. But it wasn't a normal conversation. He was speaking really slowly and patiently, like he was talking to a little kid.

I heard him say, 'Did you eat your sandwich today, buddy? Good job. I'm so proud of you. Yes, I'm wearing our bracelet right now. Can you see it through the screen?'

That's when I realized he wasn't talking on the phone. He was on a video call.

Turns out, Mr. Finn had a seven-year-old son with severe autism who lived in a care facility three hours away. His ex-wife had moved there for better treatment options, and he couldn't afford to move because of his teaching contract. So every single day during lunch, he'd video call his son.

The bracelet? His son had made it for him in art therapy. It was falling apart, but he wore it every day so his son could see it during their calls. His son would get upset if he couldn't see the bracelet, so Mr. Finn never took it off.

But here's the part that broke me. I found out that he'd been saving every penny from his teacher salary for two years to buy a house near the facility. He was eating the same peanut butter sandwich every day for lunch to save money. He never bought new clothes, never went out, nothing.

The other teachers had started noticing too. They saw how he'd grade papers until midnight, take on extra duties, tutor kids for free after school, all just to save that extra money to be closer to his son.

So they secretly started a fund. Every teacher in the school contributed part of their paycheck. The principal even reached out to former students who had become successful. Within three months, they had raised enough for his down payment.

They surprised him on the last day of school. When they handed him the check, he just stood there staring at it. Then he looked at his bracelet, and for the first time ever, I saw Mr. Finn smile.

He moved that summer. His son got to live with him again.

And that bracelet? He still wears it every day.