Spider Man
A few days had passed since the camping trip and William was anxious to pull off another prank. This time around it was going to be a very simple and straightforward one. William’s grandma was still at his house and had a terrible fear of spiders. (Why William had to torment her, I had no idea, but he seemed to enjoy it.) While at school, William traded a kid in our class his Whoopee Cushion (which he used to prank Mr. Mousseau) for a giant fake spider. He said the idea came to him during class while Mr. Mousseau was teaching a science lesson and talked about people who had arachnophobia. Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders, and his grandma was deathly afraid of them. William thought it would be a great trick to scare his poor grandmother when she was in her bed reading for the night. He explained that there was an old heating vent that wasn’t used anymore above the bed and that it was covered by a wooden box and some insulation in the attic. William said he would carefully crawl across the floor joists and quietly remove everything so he could lower the fake spider down through the vent with some fishing line. His grandma would be reading as usual and he would lower the spider down until it was just above her head. It would then be only a matter of time before she spotted the spider and freaked out. He was sad to know that he would miss seeing her face as she screamed at the sight of the spider. He had written the plans in class and had them ready for me to see. The first plan showed William crawling through the attic above his grandma as she was reading in bed.
I was concerned about him crawling through the attic, but he assured me nothing could go wrong. It was going to be a harmless little prank that he and his grandma would laugh at for years to come. This was a straightforward prank that was simple and easy to pull off. The second plan showed William lowering the spider down through the vent and his grandma screaming and throwing her arms in the air.
William and I decided to watch some TV until his grandma headed off to bed. The good thing was she went to bed early, so we didn’t have to stay up late waiting for her. His grandma popped in to see William and asked if she could borrow his tablet to read with, as she had finished her book. William, being nice, went and grabbed his tablet, handed it to her and gave her a great big hug. She gave a strange look and then shuffled off to bed. William and I waited a few minutes and then headed to the attic door that was located in his room. William pulled a step ladder out of the hall closet and positioned it below the attic door. He then grabbed a flashlight and the spider and headed up the ladder. Within seconds he was gone in a flash and disappeared up into the open space above. I decided it was best to wait below and not distract him as he made his way across the joists. One wrong move and he’d go crashing through the ceiling.
I waited patiently and finally heard a loud scream coming from his grandma’s bedroom. It was then followed by a tremendous crashing sound. Almost instantly, there were cries for help. I ran down the hall and to the bedroom door. The cries continued and I quickly opened the door and figured out what had made the crashing sound. Wanna know what it was? William must have missed the floor joist and came crashing down through the ceiling and landed on top of the bed. Granny Grunt was underneath William and a pile of drywall and insulation. The two of us quickly pulled the mess off her and helped her to her feet. As she headed for the door, we both noticed the fake spider stuck on her head. William was about to point it out to her, but then looked and saw his tablet lying on the floor with a smashed screen. I looked around the room and then slowly up at the giant hole in the ceiling above the bed. Boy was he going to get it! The room was a disaster and I thought it best to leave before his parents got home from a night out. I made sure William was okay and then shook his hand. He gave me a little smile and I turned and walked out of the bedroom door. I headed home as fast as I could and waited for William to text. Hours passed and I continued to wait. There was no reply. Was this possibly the last time I would see him?
Will Mr. Mousseau be back?
