Lester's Home

There was a truly kind and loving young boy named Lester who was sometimes mischievous. He was not the best-behaved son because he didn’t like his parents' rules. Some nights he snuck out of the house because he thought his parents were mean and too strict. One night something shocking happened. Lester had a secret staircase made from cardboard boxes on the side of his house that he used to sneak out of the house. That night he snuck out as usual, to his best friend José’s house. José was about the same age as Lester, around 11. José met Lester outside. “Hi!” said Lester. José smiled and said, “What’s up?” “Not much, do you want to go sledding?” Lester inquired, “You know I do!” Shouted José Lester followed José to the sledding hill with a sled in hand. They were having so much fun until Lester said, “I’ve got to go, sorry.” When Lester got home, he saw his staircase had been reduced to a pile of crumpled cardboard boxes! Lester was scared now because he didn’t know how he was going to get back into the house and he knew his parents would be incredibly angry. Lester tried to knock and yell his parents’ names a lot, but no one answered. Lester checked his watch and saw it was 4:00 AM which meant he had to wait three hours before his parents woke up at 7:00 AM. When the three hours were over Lester was so relieved to see his mother open the door to check the mail. He apologized for sneaking out and gave his mother a great big hug. She had been so worried and relieved to see him. That’s how Lester learned that home didn’t just mean a house to live in, he learned that home meant a safe place with a loving family. Ben Clayton (10 years old, Grade 5) 84 McNeice Street Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A5V2 705-575-0402 Clay7099@adsb.ca