When he was only five years old, his dad had set up a backboard and hoop in their driveway. He had spent literally thousands of hours since then firing shot after shot, winning imaginary championships, silencing imaginary doubters. So it was only fair that, during his senior season, at the NE Pennsylvania District 2 title game, with his team trailing by a single point and time running out, he found himself with the ball in his hands and an open look at the rim. The point guard, the team's best player, had driven, drawn the defense in on himself, and kicked the ball out to the team's best shooter: Jim. Jim wasted no time, launching a gentle, arcing shot... for everything...
Clank. His heart sunk. The gym went quiet. The final buzzer sounded with its piercing, mechanical cruelty. It was over. Jim was shattered... for about 30 minutes. It was only a game, after all. Basketball was fun, but it wasn't his life. He rode home that night with his parents and Jamie, his beautiful high school sweetheart. That night they made love as quietly as they could on the living room sofa while his parents were sleeping. Two days later he received an acceptance letter from the University of Scranton, along with a partial scholarship.
College was everything he imagined it would be. He worked part time as a tutor so he could afford to move out of his parents house and get an apartment of his own. He loved teaching, and he was naturally gifted. He and Jamie had broken up... she was a year below him after all and still in high school, but there were other women. Not a whole lot, but certainly enough to keep things interesting. He planned to join Americorps or the Peace Corps after college for a couple of years and then get a job as a teacher. But not, of course, until he had milked four years worth of great life experiences from his college years. He was even learning French.
The call came seven months into his junior year. His father had been diagnosed with colon cancer. Although Jim nearly collapsed when he heard the news, it turned out it wasn't too bad as far as cancer goes. His dad's doctor had caught it early, and it was very treatable... almost routine. But his father's insurance covered only a small portion of the significant costs of treatment. Worse yet, his dad had to miss a lot of work. His parents could no longer afford to help pay his tuition.
Rather than go heavily into debt, Jim decided he would take a leave of absence and support himself for a while, after promising himself he would come back and finish what he started. His friend, Jason Truck, set him up with an interview at his father's old company, Blunder Driftin or whatever it was called. He put on his suit, left his apartment, and met Michael Scott for the first time. That was over five years ago.
Another day over. He changed out of his suit, tossing it carelessly on his bed, and put on an old T-shirt and some sweatpants. He slogged over to the living room, switched on the Phillies game, and plopped down on the couch. A few minutes later Karen emerged from the bathroom. She had changed out of her work clothes, washed her face, and grabbed the nearest article of Jim's clothing to wear, as she had made a habit of doing lately. She smiled at him as she skipped over to the couch, wearing only her underwear and one of Jim's sweatshirts, which was giant on her. He looked up at her... his sweatshirt. University of Scranton. His heart filled with disappointment. She had no idea. He forced himself to smile back.
