Jim isn't sure what made him do it. What made him schedule that third Kobiyashi Maru test on that day, of all days. Bones - if he knew, which he most certainly does not - would say he was subconsciously trying to replace tragedy with more victorious memories. And hell, he guesses that's a possibility.
So, yeah, he's not quite sure. What he does know is that he can't bring himself to just ignore the date's significance completely, so on his way across campus, he buys an apple. A bright red one, firm and lovely, and once he's secured himself a win, he'll eat it and think of them (the four thousand who ate and lived and the four thousand who starved and died, and the few that survived, and the many that hunted them). He'll sit there in the simulation's captain's chair, thumbing his nose at everything that Starfleet was (late, late, why are they so late?) and is (snobs like Uhura and brainless brawn like Cupcake) and will never be, and they'll have no idea why. Which he has to admit, is more than a little bit satisfying, because the 'Fleet admirals seem to think they know everything, but they don't. They don't know what it's like to be hungry, hungry in more ways than one. They don't know that George Kirk's son does. And they have no idea what's about to happen in this idiotic simulation that is there for the sole purpose of teaching future officers that giving up is the only option.
The sim blanks out, returns, and he knows that he has beaten it. He looks up at the observation window, smirks, and pulls out the apple. He makes sure that the obnoxious crunch is loud enough to be heard over the speakers. Hear that, Starfleet? He chooses life. He wins.
Fourteen year old J.T. is laying in his hospital bed, contemplating the tube through which he is being fed (or that's what they've told him it's doing, anyway, and they must be telling the truth, because for the first time in ages, his stomach isn't clenching with starvation). When the nurse who periodically checks on him asks if there's anything he needs, he requests solid food. Knowing the tube's function is absolutely useless. He can't make himself believe that he won't need to go hungry anymore until he has real, solid, honest-to-god food in his hands. He ignores the pity in her eyes when she acquiesces.
She brings him an apple. That crisp first bite is the sweetest, juiciest, most delicious thing he has ever eaten. Jimmy decides that this must be what victory tastes like. Hear that, Kodos? He chooses life. He wins.
He and Bones and the main crew from the Enterprise are at the bar, celebrating the end of several long years of studying. Jim has received his post-graduation assignment (finally), and he is…well, there really isn't any word to cover how ecstatic-relieved-disbelieving he feels. He is an officer on a starship. And not just any officer, he's a Captain. And it's not just any starship, it's the Enterprise. Jim is giddy, high on life, has never felt this good before, because ha! This is a win against anyone and everyone who has ever told him he was worthless. This, his life now, is like every pipe dream he has ever dared to harbor, all rolled into one and made real.
Jim elbows Bones, jerks his head towards the bar. Nods at Uhura on his way past. Chekov and Sulu are in their own little math world in the corner, but he grins wildly at them anyway. He leans against the bar – a shiny, antique, wooden monstrosity – and waves the bartender over.
"What can I getcha?" And okay, wow, this chick is hot, but he's got something else to focus on at the moment.
"You wouldn't happen to have an apple would you?"
He has a victory to celebrate.