The Prankster

Lennix was the golden child to a set of loving mother and father who believed her to be the most auspicious thing that ever happened to them. They never reprimanded her for her childish pursuits let alone denied her anything she ever wanted. An army of helpers were always at her beck and call. She pulled immature pranks and toyed with them to her heart’s content. Her impishness was further encouraged by her parents who laughed it off her as a sign of childishness and immaturity.

Asher, Freddy and Sara were all Lennix’s best friends. They belonged to well off families and were as unruly as Lennix. They were all indifferent to the pain their actions might cause to the person at the receiving end. A boy named Austin was the current target of Lennix and her gang. Austin lived in the servant quarters along with his father who was a driver at Lennix’s house. He was a nerdy and ambitious kid who wanted to support his father when he grew up.

Lennix often instigated him to join her gang but he politely refused because he was aware of the activities, they indulged in. This made Lennix despise him and she decided to hit him where it hurts. She stole the extra key of the servant quarters from her mother’s bedside drawer and located the books she often saw Austin reading passionately. She set all of the book on flames which left poor Austin crying bitterly.

This was just one incident of the many that followed once Lennix’s parents shrugged it off as a mistake. With the passage of time, Lennix became more obstreperous and even started talking back to her teachers when they rebuked her for her rebelliousness. Her partners in crime always did as she said and supported her in her petty pursuits.

One day, Lennix was playing catch with her friends. One of her friends dared her to throw the ball as high up in the sky as the overhead rooftop of the adjoining house. Lennix being the competitive girl she was, immediately accepted the challenged and flung the ball with all her might but the wall hit the glass casement of the house resulting it to crash into pieces. Lennix had failed to complete the dare. She headed towards the house to collect the ball fuming with anger.

She rang the doorbell. It was answered by an elderly woman whose gray hair was neatly tied in a bun. She was wearing a thick-rimmed black frame containing bifocals. She gave Lennix a sneering look and remarked angrily “You broke my window you insolent little brat. You will never get that ball. Get out of here! Shoo!” She shut the door with a loud thud that made Lennix flinch.

Lennix returned to her house with her cheeks turned crimson red with anger and embarrassment. Her friends who bore witness to the whole scene were snickering at her adding insult to the injury. “I’ll make the old hag eat her own words and beg for forgiveness.” She vowed to exact vengeance on the poor old woman who was her next target.

The next morning, Lennix and her gang hatched a devious plan that would extinguish the fire of revenge ignited inside Lennix’s heart. They dug up some information on the old woman and found out that she lived alone in that big house. They had decided to make a fool out of the poor old woman by making her come to a realization that her house is haunted.

They made their way towards the old woman’s house in order to execute their seemingly flawless plan. Everyone hid behind the car parked right outside the house. According to the plan, Asher ran towards the house and rang the doorbell as many times as he possibly could and quicky joined his friends who were hiding behind the car.

A few minutes later, the old woman poked her head out of the gate and muttered something under her breath when she didn’t find anyone standing on the other side of the door. She shut the door with all her might which made a loud banging sound. Lennix felt amused at her frustration. This process was repeated thrice till the old woman was heaving tiresome breaths and sat on the pavement outside the house with beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She bent down and struggled to pick up her staff which showed clear signs of exhaustion.

A few moments after she went back into the house, Lennix declared that she would bang on the door this time instead of ringing the doorbell. She headed towards the gate and started banging on the door with all her might. A few moments later, she heard a loud thud and the sound of a piece of wood falling on the ground. Curious to find out what had happened, she looked through the peephole of the gate and gasped as soon as she saw the old woman lying flat on the ground along with her staff that had a significant tear in it as a result of impact with the ground.

Lennix immediately rushed towards her house and narrated the whole incident to her mother in one breath. Her mother was shocked. “I am very disappointed in you Lennix. I have always ignored your childish pranks because I thought you will eventually learn on your own that it is not okay to hurt people just for a few laughs.” Her mother reprimanded her while calling the nearest hospital for an ambulance. The old woman was rushed to the emergency room. The doctors revealed that she had minor heart-attack as a result of a strenuous activity. Lennix came to the hospital every single day to see the old woman, but she didn’t have the guts to meet her.

After a week, she finally found the courage to make amends for her mistake. She bought a colorful bouquet a brand-new staff for the old woman. When she arrived at the hospital, she came to know that the woman had left the country with her son who had recently come from Italy. Lennix fell down on her knees and started sobbing. At that moment, she vowed to never pull pranks on anyone. She returned home and apologized to Austin and all the other people she had wronged throughout her life.

Moral: In an attempt to satiate our ego, we often end up hurting people beyond repair.