Vinny and Cody are brothers. They are getting ready for their first day of school. Summer was a nice break from all the pressures of being a typical child. 

Vinny looks at Cody as they walk to their mom's car and says, “I am so scared to go to school today.”

    “Why?” Cody asks. 

    “Everyone always makes fun of me for not eating,” Vinny explains. 

    “Don't worry, I’ll be by your side the whole time,” Cody says. 

Vinny is sitting in class, unable to pay attention. All he can think about is lunch and all the people that are going to say something. 

"I wish I was normal like everyone else. I wish I didn't hate food so much. I need to tell them about it so it makes it easier. But I don't want to. What if they don't

 like me now? I should tell them."

Vinny is snapped out of his daydream. The bell starts ringing, it's time for recess. 

During recess, Vinny and Cody meet up with their best buds, Cameron and Benjamin. They play a fun game of foursquare and are then called in for lunchtime.

    “I can’t wait for lunch. I’m so hungry,” Cameron exclaimed.

    “I hope they have pizza today!” Benjamin adds.

Vinny quietly walks in with them, unable to shake the nervous feelings away as he knows the comments will start soon. Cody notices his brother's face and says quietly, "It'll be ok, Vinny. I am right here with you! If you tell them, they will accept you no matter what."

As the boys pile into the cafeteria, they grab their lunches and find a table to sit at. 

    “Hey Vinny, where’s your lunch?” Cameron asked.

    “Did you forget it at home?” Benjamin adds.

“Um, I’m just not very hungry right now,” Vinny responds.

Cody looks at his brother and says, “Vinny, just tell them what's happening.” 

    “Well, I have trouble eating. When I try and put food in my mouth, it makes me want to scream and cry because I don’t like the way it feels,” Vinny admits.

Benjamin and Cameron start to laugh at Vinny.

    “Hey! That’s not nice! Vinny is your friend, and you should like him for who he is,” Cody snaps.

Benjamin looks at Vinny with concern and says, “Oh, this is real?”

Vinny looks at him with tears in his eyes, “Yes, Benjamin, it’s real.”

The boys are unsure what to say; they feel terrible.

Cameron finally gets the courage to say something and asks, “So, what do you mean you don't like the way food feels?”

    “It’s not that I can’t eat. I don’t like to and haven’t since I was a baby.” 

    “Tell them about the tube, Vinny,” Cody adds in. 

    “You know how I leave class sometimes?” Vinny asks.

The boys all shake their heads, yes.

Benjamin says, “Yeah, I have wondered why but didn't want to ask.” 

    “Well,” says Vinny, “I have to go to the nurse to get food put through this tube,” he says as he lifts up his shirt to show the boys his stomach. 

Cameron and Benjamin look at each other with open jaws.

    “That’s a thing?” Cameron says. 

    “Yeah, it’s called dysphagia,” Vinny explains. 

    “What’s that?” Benjamin asks.

Cody answers and says, “Well, when Vinny was a baby, he had trouble swallowing because he had a burning feeling in his throat. When they tried to fix this problem, they used different tools to try and get Vinny to eat like you and me. But that didn’t really work out. So since he can’t swallow food, the doctor told my mom he has dysphagia.” 

    “One time, I went days without eating. Whenever food came near me, I would scream, cry, and spit on my mom and dad because I couldn’t stand it. My mom was concerned, so I had to go to the doctor” Vinny explains.

    “Yeah, it was a bad time at our house,” Cody says. 

Vinny glares at him and continues, “They gave me this special food that allowed the doctors to see how things got to my belly as they watched me eat on a screen. You know what an X-ray is?” Vinny asks the boys.