by Kenji Tan (P6 2020)

 

Chuck-ching! Mother unlocked the doors as she took in a big plastic bag with her. Her sons, Jack and James, stared with curiosity. Mother took out the object in the plastic bag to reveal a beautiful vase. Jack and James stared in astonishment. It was the most beautiful vase Jack and James had ever seen.

 

Mother glanced at her watch, “Boys, I would have to run an errand, you two better behave! If any of you breaks this vase, either of you will face a punishment from me!” Mother warned the boys sternly.

 

The boys loved to squabble with each other as brothers sometimes do, and loved to prank each other. As a result, both of them were often scolded by their mother. She would rather have them work together and not quarrel every day but her wishes fell on deaf ears. This time, Mother ensured that the boys heard her stern warning by demanding a verbal confirmation from them. Jack and James let out a resounding “Yes, Mother!” in unison. Without further ado, Mother closed the door and went out of the house again.

 

James thought it was a very exquisite vase and went over to admire it. Jack looked at James and a sneaky idea flashed across his mind. As James was admiring the vase, Jack pushed him in an attempt to cause James to fall. The next thing he saw was a broken vase and James lying on the floor with blood trickling from his head. Jack was shocked and started to panic. What had he done?

 

“James! James!” he shouted anxiously.

 

Jack rummaged for his phone in his bag but he realised he had forgotten to charge it. Jack then called the ambulance from the house telephone. Overwhelmed with anxiety, he called  his mother to come back home as well.

 

Minutes seemed like hours. Finally, the ambulance arrived. The paramedics took out a stretcher and put an unconscious James on it. After that, the ambulance made its way as fast as it could to the hospital.

 

After James regained consciousness in the hospital ward, Mother made Jack apologise to James. Both of  their parents were concerned for James and they were disappointed with Jack. Mother and Jack went back home while Father took care of James. At home, Mother severely reprimanded Jack for causing hurt to James and breaking her favourite vase. She also grounded Jack for a week and deducted $100 from his savings to pay for a new vase.

 

After that incident, Jack was sad and disappointed with himself. He learnt never to prank or scare others in the future. Fortunately, James forgave Jack very quickly as they pranked each other all the time.

 

Two months later, Mother took in another big plastic bag with her. She took out the object in the plastic bag to reveal an even more beautiful vase. One day, Mother had to run an errand. She warned the boys about the incident that had taken place two months ago and wanted the boys to be careful. Jack thought the vase was very beautiful, so he went over to admire the new vase. Suddenly, a thought flashed across James’ mind.