Average Boy Article 10.14
Feb, 24, 2015
It Came From the Fireplace!
KERBOOM!!!
Our whole house shook, and a huge, white cloud poured from the fireplace. I sat frozen on the couch as a hideous, pale figure stumbled toward me. He had bloodshot eyes and smelled like burnt pine. His long, bony fingers clawed the air as he cried out my name.
I started to scream, then I realized it was just my brother, Brian. He’d been sitting by the fireplace and was covered in soot.
Dad ran in, shouting, “Bob, what did you do?”
“Don’t you mean, ‘What happened?’ ” I asked.
“I’m sticking with my original question.”
“Nothing,” I insisted. “I was just sitting here, listening to the thunder, when—”
“Aaaaaugh!” Dad screamed, finally noticing my brother. Brian did look pretty creepy.
We checked the house. Pictures were knocked off the walls. None of the light switches worked. There was a huge orange juice stain on the couch. (OK, that was my fault. Did I mention how scary my brother looked?)
The storm raged on. Somebody had to go outside and look around.
“Bob, go outside and look around,” my dad said.
I figured he asked me to go because I’m so observant. Nothing gets past me. I’m like a super-detective! I see all! These thoughts were racing through my mind when I tripped over a brick.
Hmmm, that’s weird, I thought. We get golf ball-sized hail sometimes, but it had never rained bricks. Broken bits of brick were scattered all over the yard. It looked like an Easter egg hunt for construction workers.
“The house is fine,” I reported, “but somebody threw bricks in our yard.”
My brother rolled his eyes and stepped out into the rain.
“Good idea. With all that ash on your face, you could qualify for a Pale Grant,” I joked. “Get it, Pale Grant?”
He didn’t get it. Instead, he looked up.
“The chimney’s gone,” he said. “It must have been struck by lightning.”
Dad looked at me. “You didn’t check the chimney?”
I quickly shouted, “Nice detective work, Brian! You just qualified to be my sidekick.”
“I’ll give you a side kick,” he mumbled.
Now that we had found the problem, I volunteered to climb on the roof to survey the damage.
“That’s too dangerous,” Dad said. “No. 1, it’s a lightning storm. No. 2, it’s you.”
Before I could argue, lightning hit the TV antenna. We all ran inside together . . . which was easy because my brother and I had both jumped into Dad’s arms.
Life is full of surprises. Sometimes, you get free ice cream. Sometimes, your chimney explodes. Either way, it’s good to know that my family will always be there to ride out the storm. [ ]
