A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.
~Roald Dahl
As children, my brothers and I constantly terrorized our mother. When we combined forces, we had the power to make that sweet, loving woman go mad.
One day, I had just arrived home from school feeling overheated, exhausted, and furious with my brothers for kicking me out of the car and making me walk home. Taking a few steps inside, I dropped my books and realized the house was a little too quiet. Looking around, my anger turned to weariness, and suddenly I felt a fierce stream of water glide across my shirt. Before I realized what was happening, another blasted me directly in the face. I dove behind the couch as I heard my brothers yell, “Water fight!”
Scrambling to the other side of the room where my own water gun was hidden beneath a loose floorboard, loaded and ready to go, I grabbed it and congratulated myself for preparing in advance. Instantly, my anger with my brothers disappeared, and I eagerly joined in the water spraying.
We didn’t stop until we were nearly soaked and out of water. Calling a truce, we decided to team up and take on a larger, more dangerous enemy. While taking turns reloading our weaponry, we hatched our devious plan.
Our mother was outside watering the garden, blissfully unaware of the three menaces approaching her from behind. We silently counted to three and began showering her with water. She turned around and stood eerily still as we finished the last of our supply. Only when she thought our guns were empty did she dare speak a word. However, when she began to lecture us, a stray round shot from my gun, landing smack dab in her right eye, and she lost it.
We sprinted for the house with our mother close behind and barely reached the door in time to shut her out. She began pounding on it and shouting for us to let her in, but we had no idea that this was all an act. She actually had a key to the door in her pocket, but she had decided to hatch her own devious plan.
Once she went back to watering the garden, we refilled our guns and decided to keep the prank going. We would take turns slightly opening the door, spraying her, and then quickly shutting and relocking it. Every time, she would play the furious mother role, but inside she was calmly waiting for an opening.
Our confidence grew as we successfully sprayed her and saw her increasing flustered state. We would leave the door open for longer periods each time, laughing at her until we left it open a little too long. With the water hose in hand, she swiftly flew through the door and demolished us — and the entire living room — with water.
Impeccably timed, our father appeared in the doorway and absorbed the scene. Furious, he shouted, “Clean this place up! You’re all grounded!” Then, looking directly at Mom, he clarified, “All of you!”
~Madeline Evans
