Last week I posted a letter from a school principal. The letter was about a mischievous Tom Foolery. During the week I got an email from the actual Tom Foolery, he was a bit upset with what I wrote, so I apologised. And to make amends I went to interview him and tell his story.

Tom Foolery, a hard-working gentleman who’s found love

Tom went to a fine private school from Transition to Year 12. He graduated top of his class, his secret was hard work and asking for extra homework. Teachers never complained about his behaviour, in fact every teacher wished every student was kind, quiet and mild-mannered like him.

His marks got him into the best university in the country where he studied law. He continued to work hard and passed all his classes with high marks. Before graduating he was offered a position at the country’s top law firm, a position he started after working hard to graduate from university with honours. He still works there, earning promotions at regular intervals because of his hard work on high profile cases. He loves his job and would one day like to be a judge.

He’s aware that his name is a synonym for mischief, his parents even admitted to mischievously giving him his name, but he hasn’t let it hold him back. “It always raises a few eyebrows at first. But I just knuckle down and get all my work done. And when everyone sees how hard I work they forget what my name means.”

Because of his name Tom has struggled to find love. “I tried online dating, but everyone thought my name was a joke.” But he didn’t give up, and for the first time I saw an amazing smile and a hint of mischief in his eyes. “Yes, I have a girlfriend now, but you’ll never believe me, no one does! Her name is Hi J Inks.” She’s Chinese, and as Tom continued to talk about her his smile grew bigger, clearly they’re meant for each other. “I think- no, I know she’s the one.”