He’s very sad about it again

WILSHIRE, NC–This tight-knit community is reeling after word began to spread that sixth-grader Jimmy West was absent from school again due to the unexpected death of his grandmother, Alice.  West’s teachers and fellow students were shocked to learn of her passing, and pledged their love and support to the West family, which has been no stranger to tragedy this school year.

“It is so awful what that family has been through,” said Laverne Connors, the Wilshire Middle School nurse, “This is the fourth time Alice has died this semester.  I honestly don’t understand how they are holding it together.”

Witnesses say Jimmy appears to be putting on a show of strength, as he was spotted in the nearby town of Dent, where a spring carnival is underway.

“The kid’s strength of spirit is amazing,” said the witness, who asked to remain anonymous, “He loses his dear grandmother this morning, and this afternoon he’s laughing and having a great time riding the bumper cars.  The resiliency of children is inspiring.”

West is described as a somewhat quiet student, who doesn’t have many close friends.  One classmate said West’s father is a rocket scientist/engineer for a local defense contractor, and his mother is a Hollywood actress.

“Jimmy says his parents are super busy with their extremely demanding careers,” said Alex Ross, who sits next to West in algebra class, “He also has an uncle who works for the CIA, but he’s usually deep undercover.  Hopefully, he has someone to lean on.  The first few times his grandma died were really hard on him and caused him to miss a lot of school.”

There has been no word of the cause of death, although Connors said Alice West had died of cancer two previous times, and suffered a stroke the third.

“There’s been no announcement, but I know that Alice has dealt with fatal illnesses off and on for the past few months,” Connors explained, “It’s so difficult to bounce back from a cancer fight.  I would think it would be especially difficult to regain your health after you succumb to it.