Backfire
Do you like playing tricks on people? Have you ever wondered what could wrong? This may have the answers.
BACKFIRE
Billy Ground his teeth together. He was upset and angry. Each time he tried to get his own back his schemes backfired on him.
His friend Thomas was to blame. Billy had gone to the park to meet Thomas. Near where they had planned to meet Billy spotted a bright, yellow balloon. It was hanging from a branch of a tree. When Billy stood underneath the balloon and looked up he could see something was written on it. He squinted his eyes to read the words. He could just make out what it said.
“Message inside. Please pop me.”
What is all that about, Billy thought? Obviously he had to burst the balloon to get the message. He looked around and picked up a piece of fallen branch. He broke off the end and nodded as plenty of sharp slivers of wood stuck out from the shattered end. But when Billy reached up he found it was only just long enough to reach the balloon. It was only just long enough if he stood on tiptoe.
Billy plunged the pointed, needle-sharp slivers into the balloon. Instead of a loud
bangthe balloon SQUELCHED.
Sticky, green, artificial gung fell from it.
Billy had no time to move.
He only just managed to close his eyes before his head and face was covered in the soft, smelly, slimy substance. He scraped the sticky gung from around his eyes with his fingers. With an angry fling of his hands he threw as much as he could onto the grass.
It might have been all right if he had not heard stifled laughter coming from behind a stand of trees. He turned towards the sound and that was when he saw Thomas. Billy tried to shout but the slimy gung oozed into his mouth. As he spluttered and spit he saw Thomas running away through the trees.
I’ll get you for this Billy vowed no longer seeing the funny side of the experience. But getting his own back on Thomas turned out to be more difficult than Billy expected.
The following day Billy took a large, hairy spider to school. He had found it in an old industrial shed by the river. He put it carefully in Thomas’ desk. He expected Thomas to leap from his chair when he saw it. Instead Thomas spent the rest of the day showing off the huge specimen. He was the hero of the school.
Billy went home kicking at anything lying on the pavement. “That was very successful I don’t think,” he told himself. “He never told me he loved spiders.” This only made Billy doubly determined to have his revenge. Before he fell asleep that night he knew what he was going to do about his friend Thomas.
The next morning Billy picked up his school bag and made for the front door. “Why are you leaving so early?” his mother asked with a frown. “Nothing wrong at school is there?”
“No Mam. I just want to collect a few leaves… For the Biology lesson,” Billy replied.
But it wasn’t leaves Billy was after.
Billy was after a bucket.
Not a large bucket. The kind of plastic bucket used to make sand castles on a beach. Because he was early he knew the classroom would be empty. He partly filled the bucket with water. Then he dragged a desk over to the door, climbed on top of it and balanced the bucket on top of the partly open door of the classroom.
Billy crouched behind the teacher’s desk a broad smile on his face. As long as he could remember Thomas had always been first into the classroom. What a surprise he was going to have today. Billy was ready to jump out of his hiding place as soon as he heard the bucket fall. He was trembling with excitement as he waited for Thomas to fall into his trap.
But Billy’s trap turned into a nightmare.
As the bucket bounced off the floor Billy leapt to his feet. His cry of triumph died on his lips. Standing in the doorway was his class teacher, Mrs Draycote-Jones.
It earned Billy an hour’s detention.
All day long Thomas sniggered and smiled every time they saw each other. It only fuelled Billy’s desire to get his own back. But it did make him more cautious. “I’ll get you Thomas. You wait and see,” he muttered under his breath.
As he was walking home after school Billy had to smile. It had been worth a detention. He could still see his teacher’s face.
Wet hair sticking to her cheeks and rivulets of water dripping off her chin.
Then Billy recalled her eyes and he shuddered. They had blazed with fury. “I reckon I was lucky to get away with only one detention,” he muttered to himself. “I’ll have to be extra polite for a while.”
Billy decided he had to be more cautious. But he had no intention of giving up. He had already come up with another plan, which he decided was foolproof. He put his plan into operation as soon as he arrived in school the next morning.
Mrs Draycote-Jones ushered a new boy into the classroom. “Sit at that empty desk,” she told him.
“But that is Thomas’ place,” Billy blurted out.
“Thomas will not be in today. Robert can sit there until I arrange for another desk for him.” Mrs Draycote-Jones replied indicating the matter was closed.
“Oh, no,” groaned Billy. He banged his forehead on his desk quietly. He didn’t want to attract Mrs Draycote-Jones’ attention. After a few minutes the new boy tried to stand to answer a question.
As he stood up the chair rose with him.
The chair was stuck to his trousers. Mrs Draycote-Jones had no doubt who was to blame. Billy had another hour of detention. When he arrived home he found himself grounded for a whole week.
This only made Billy even more determined than ever. He would have his revenge on Thomas. And he had a whole week to come up with a foolproof idea. At the end of his grounding he rang Thomas.
“Meet me in the tree house after tea,”
he said. He said nothing else and put the telephone down quietly.
Billy watched from behind a bush for Thomas to arrive. He saw him pull the ladder from its hiding place, lift it into the tree and climb into the tree house. With a cry of triumph Billy ran from his hiding place, pushed the ladder and let it fall to the ground. “Now I shall have my own back, he shouted as he ran off. “Do you good to spend a few hours on your own in the dark,” he chuckled.
Billy was dreaming. At least he thought he was dreaming. He thought he was dreaming his mother was trying to wake him. And something was shaking him. He opened his eyes and blinked. Why was the light on and why was his mother sitting on his bed.
“Billy. Billy. Wake up,” he heard his mother say as if from a long distance away.
“What’s the matter,” Billy managed to croak.
“I’m sorry to wake you Billy but it is Thomas. He has not been home for hours. Everyone is out looking for him. Do you have any idea where he could be?”
Billy’s face turned the colour of blood. He groaned.
“I… about Thomas,” he replied in a quiet whisper.
“Forgot about him,” said his mother. “What do you mean you forgot about him?”
Billy had to tell her everything. It was hours before he could get back to sleep. And he wasn’t looking forward to facing any one the following day either. “Never again,” Billy vowed. “I’ll never try to get my own back on anyone again… Unless I really, really, really think about it first.”