As Billy walked out of his house with his lunch in hand that morning, he only had one thing on his mind: skipping school. He had done it plenty of times before and even though his mom knew about his habit, he continued to visit the mall during the day instead of his classes.
But what Billy didn't know was that his mom knew that he wouldn't be going to school that day and she was already a step ahead of him. She planned to intercept him and carry out her own plan that would make sure that her son would never even think of skipping school again...
Billy Was A Rebellious Boy
Marge’s son Billy was a rebellious boy. His teachers had a hard time keeping him quiet and still during class. He was known to sometimes start trouble on the playground. But worst of all, he often found ways to skip school. It seemed there was no end to the excuses and schemes he’d invent just to avoid school for a day.
His Teachers Still Liked Him
Despite his status as a troublemaker, Billy’s teachers all had a fondness for him. He was smart and kind. When he attended class, he tended to get good grades. But no matter how much they or his mom tried, it was always a struggle to ensure he would show up to class.
His Schemes Were Legendary
Billy developed a reputation among his classmates for coming up with elaborate ways to avoid being at school. Over time, his classmates would tell stories about his escapades, which soon became schoolyard lore. There was one incident in particular that he was especially well-known for. To this day, nobody could figure out how he pulled it off.
He Tricked a Doctor
Billy had figured out a way to trick a doctor into signing an excuse form saying he was too sick to attend school. How had this youngster tricked an educated grown adult? Apparently, he hid the excuse note inside a birthday card for one of his teachers. Then he asked the doctor to sign it.
Billy’s Plan Worked
The doctor thought it a bit off that this young man wanted him to sign a birthday card but indulged the boy nonetheless. Because Billy had carefully cut out the card so that the bottom half of one page was actually the bottom half of the excuse form, it appeared as if the doctor had signed the form.
Everyone Was Amazed
Although he had broken the rules, everyone was amazed he had pulled this stunt off. Not only did Billy love skipping school, but he also seemed to love coming up with creative ways to do it. Now that everyone had heard of his doctor’s form trick, he felt he needed to top it with something even more clever.
His Next Scheme
Billy spent a lot of time thinking about what his next scheme would entail. Of course, now a lot of adults knew that he loved skipping school so they were wary of his actions. In order to successfully get out of school again, he would need to come up with a remarkable scheme.
Billy Plots
Billy debated a bunch of ideas in his head but landed on one he thought would work. This one was perhaps a little crazy but he thought he had to outdo himself. His plan was to fake a field trip so that he could spend an entire day by himself at the local zoo.
Billy’s Plan
To make this plan work, Billy would have to first convince his mom that the trip was real. He would need to create a fake permission slip. Then he’d need to convince his mom that she had to send money with him to school to pay for the trip. In fact, he would use the money himself to buy a bus ticket.
The First Step of His Plan
First thing was first: Billy needed to create a fake permission slip. He knew that the kids in the grade above him had received permission slips recently. So he got his hands on one of them. The slip was on school stationery. All he needed to do was change a couple things on the slip.
Document Forgery
Billy worked carefully and diligently to white out the location and date written on the slip. Then he used a typewriter to fill in the correct information over the whited out words. He needed it to look perfect so that his mom didn’t suspect anything. But this wasn’t so easy to do...
A Difficult Task
Unfortunately, Billy could only get his hands on one permission slip. So if he messed this one up, his plan would totally fall apart. So he practiced on other pieces of paper, learning to apply just the right amount of white out. He also practiced using the typewriter so that he could align the paper just right.
But He Pulled It Off
Thanks to all his practice, Billy was able to create a permission slip that looked pretty real, at least to him. If you inspected the paper carefully, you would be able to tell it was tampered with. But Billy was hoping his mom wouldn’t look too closely.
He Had to Find the Perfect Moment
Billy needed to find the perfect moment to present his mom with the permission slip. She needed to be busy and distracted so that she wouldn’t look too closely at the form. So Billy waited until the perfect moment. His mom was busy making dinner and was waiting for an important phone call. Now was the time...
Billy Shows His Mom the Permission Slip
Thinking this was his best opportunity, Billy quickly explained his class was going on a field trip to the zoo next week. He told his mom she needed to sign the permission slip and give him money for a ticket. As he predicted, his mom was too busy to inspect the slip. She signed it and handed him the money.
His Plan Was Working Perfectly
So far, Billy’s plan was working perfectly. He had convinced his mom that the permission slip was real, and he’d gotten the money he needed for the ticket. But the more he thought about his plan, the more he came to think it had one big flaw.
His Plan Had One Flaw
Billy thought that he had made a mistake by telling his mom the field trip was at the zoo. Since he was actually going to the zoo, now everyone would know where he was. If he didn’t show up for school, his teacher might call his mom. And his mom would tell the teacher where he was.
He Changed His Scheme
So Billy decided to change up his plan. Instead of going to the zoo, he would go to the movies instead. He had enough money for a ticket and a snack. And there was no way anyone would know where he was. He thought this new plan was even better than the original plan.
The Day Arrives
The day Billy was supposed to go on his fake field trip to the zoo had arrived. His mom didn’t suspect a thing. She told him to have fun on his field trip and asked if he needed any more money. He said he probably didn’t but she gave him some more anyway. Now he could afford even more snacks!
Everything Went According to Plan
Billy went outside to wait for the bus. But when his mom left for work, he quickly ran down the street to catch the public bus into town. He went to the movies, bought himself a ticket and some snacks, and spent the entire day going from one movie to the other. But his plan would soon backfire on him, making him regret going through with this scheme in the first place.
He Knew What Would Happen Next
He had successfully pulled off his scheme. But he knew that when he got home, he’d be in big trouble. And he’d also be in big trouble at school the next day. But his classmates would all be thrilled that he’d pulled off his biggest plan to date. Honestly, in his opinion, the whole thing was worth getting in trouble.
Billy is Punished
When Billy got home, everything he predicted would happen did indeed happen. His mom was furious and grounded him. When he went to school the next day, he was sentenced to three weeks detention. It was a tough punishment. But his classmates were amazed by what he’d done. They all wished they could pull off these school-skipping stunts too, until Billy's true punishment arrived.
A Few Months Went By
Billy knew he needed to lay low for a while. He needed enough time to go by before he could even think about skipping school again. His last stunt had landed him in hot water. He decided that his next plan would also have to keep him out of trouble.
Billy Considered His Next Plan
Billy figured that if he got caught skipping school again, he might risk being suspended, or maybe even expelled. Although he loved skipping school, he couldn’t risk getting into that much trouble. So he decided his next scheme would need to keep him out of trouble entirely. But how would he do this?
The Ultimate Plan
Billy needed to come up with the ultimate plan, one that would convince both his school and his mom that he was excused for a day. It was then that he saw a movie on TV that gave him an idea. It was called Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Billy thought it was the best movie he’d ever seen. But soon he would wish that he had never seen that movie.
Billy’s Inspiration
Billy was inspired by the movie to pull off a stunt in which he could convince both his mom and his school that he was out sick for the day. But he also needed to make sure his mom wouldn’t stay home with him. Then he would sneak out of the house and do whatever he wanted all day long.
Part One of His Ultimate Plan
Part one of Billy’s ultimate school skipping plan was to make himself appear sick. He got some theater makeup from a friend that he could use to make himself look a little haggard. He would secretly use a heated blanket to increase his body temperature and cause himself to sweat. Pretending to cough or sneeze was easy enough to make his mom really believe his act.
Part Two of His Ultimate Plan
Part two of his plan was to pick the perfect day. Sometimes when he was sick, his mom would take the day off and stay home with him. So he needed to pretend to be sick on a day he knew she couldn’t take off work. He heard that she had a big, important meeting coming up. That was his perfect opportunity.
Part Three of His Ultimate Plan
Part three was to convince his school that he was out sick. His school knew that he pulled stunts like this all the time so they had to be convinced. If his mom genuinely thought he was sick, she would call the school and convince them he really was sick.
Part Four
The final part of Billy’s plan was that as soon as his mom had left the house, he would sneak off to the public bus again and get a ride into town, where he could do whatever he wanted all day long. As long as he got home before his mom, he would totally get away with it.
The Day Arrives
Billy waited until the day of his mom’s big important meeting. Then he woke up extra early and went to work. He covered himself with the heated blanket. He cranked up the temperature in his room. He applied the makeup so he looked haggard. He looked at himself in the mirror and thought he really did look sick, but he wasn't sure if he could fool his mom.
Would His Mom Be Fooled?
But the whole plan depended on his mom being fooled. When he heard her wake up, he quickly tossed the heated blanket into the closet. He ran around in circles in his room just to make himself seem even more exhausted and sweaty. Then he dove into bed and waited for his mom to come in.
His Mom Came Into the Room
His mom opened Billy’s bedroom door and told him it was time to wake up. Using his best acting chops, he told his mom he’d barely slept and that he felt warm. She felt his forehead. She said he was burning up. Wow, he thought, it was actually working.
His Mom Called the School
His mom went downstairs and called Billy’s school to tell them he’d be out sick for the day. Billy’s plan was working perfectly so far. Then she came back into Billy’s room and told him she needed to go to work today. But she would have the neighbor check on him at 3pm.
A Flaw in Billy’s Plan
Billy hadn’t anticipated that the neighbor might come by, but it wasn’t a huge problem. He would just have to make sure to be home by 3 o'clock so that nobody suspected anything. Then his mom handed Billy a packed lunch and told him to stay in bed for the rest of the day. Then she left, leaving Billy to act out the rest of his plan.
Billy Leaves Home
Billy waited for his mom to leave and then quickly jumped out of bed and got dressed. His plan had worked almost perfectly. He would just need to be home by 3. As he got dressed, he grabbed his packed lunch and headed out the door. He was free for the entire day!
Billy Heads Into Town
Billy caught the next public bus into town. He decided first to go to the arcade at the mall. He wanted to play his favorite game, Mortal Kombat. He figured he would play the game for a couple hours, then eat his lunch, then maybe go to the movies. The world was his oyster, he could do anything he wanted.
Billy Goes to the Arcade
Billy went to the arcade and raced to his favorite game, Mortal Kombat. For some reason, the arcade owner gave Billy a strange look when he came in. He figured the owner just wondered why Billy was on his own. But he didn’t think the owner would bother him at all.
Billy Goes to Play His Favorite Game
As Billy raced to the part of the arcade with his favorite game, he was filled with joy and excitement. If he could pull off this ultimate plan once, he could do it again and again. As long as nobody suspected anything, he could skip school all the time. But his mom wasn't as naive as Billy thought she was...
Billy’s Mom Was Smarter Than He Thought
But Billy’s entire ultimate plan was about to completely unravel. He had never suspected for a second that his mom knew exactly what he was up to. In fact, his mom knew he wasn’t actually sick. And she knew he would try to skip school again. The second Billy said he was sick, she knew he was up to his old tricks.
Billy Is Shocked By What Happened Next
Billy was absolutely shocked by what happened next. Right there in front of his favorite game at the arcade was his mom. She was standing in front of the game with her arms crossed, obviously not happy with Billy’s stunt. But how had she known?! Billy couldn’t make sense of it. His plan was perfect!
His Mom Catches Him
Billy’s mom grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the arcade. Billy knew he was caught so he didn’t even try to make up an excuse. All he wanted to know was how had his mom caught on to this plan? How did she know he was headed to the arcade?
His Mom Reveals All
After his mom had given Billy a long lecture about how his days of skipping school were over, she revealed how she had known about his ultimate plan. First, she suspected he would try to skip school again. Second, she could tell he was faking being sick. But how had she known he’d go to the arcade?
His Mom’s Ultimate Plan
It turns out Billy’s mom had her own ultimate plan. One day, she went to a store and purchased a tracking device. Usually these devices were used to track luggage but in Billy’s case, he was being tracked. But Billy still didn’t understand one thing: where was the device?
Billy Realizes Everything
Billy then glanced down at his lunch bag. Of course. His mom had put the tracking device in his lunch bag. All she had to do was follow the device on her phone. As soon as she saw Billy headed toward the mall, she knew he’d be at his favorite place: the arcade.
Billy Couldn't Believe It
Billy couldn’t believe it but his mom had been one step ahead of him the whole time. He thought he’d come up with the ultimate plan for skipping school. But he’d underestimated his own mother. Although she was definitely angry that he’d tried to skip school, he could tell she was slightly amused that she’d caught him red handed.
Billy’s Mom Punishes Him
Billy’s mom punished Billy for a long, long time. So long, in fact, that he decided never to skip school again. His mom knew Billy wasn’t trying to hurt anyone but she made him learn that skipping school could put himself in a lot of danger. Billy came to realize that his antics had been a bad idea.
Billy’s Mom Ensures He Never Skips School Again
Billy’s mom made sure that someone was checking to make sure Billy was going to school every day. If the bus driver didn’t see him get on the bus, he was in trouble. If the teacher didn’t see him in class, he was in trouble. And if he wasn’t home on time, he was in even more trouble.
The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree
In fact, between all her watchdogs checking on Billy and her tracking device, it was pretty much impossible for Billy to ever skip school again. Although he’d learned his lesson and had no desire to skip school again, a part of Billy couldn’t help but admire how good his mom’s plan was.
Billy and His Mom
As the years went on, Billy and his mom ended up forming a closer bond due to the whole mess. At one point, they could even laugh a bit about Billy’s antics. But Billy learned that as good as his plans might’ve been, he could never outmatch his mom, who had the best plans of all!
The events of this story are entirely fictional and are products of the author’s imagination. Images included are meant for illustration purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.