As a kid, no toy fascinated me like a catapult (that plaything consisting of a Y-shaped stick with elastic between the arms; used to propel small stones). Unfortunately, my parents viewed it as a hazardous toy, so any requests to get one earned me nothing but a lengthy lecture.Knowing that I would never convince them to buy me one, I decided to save some money and buy one myself. It took me about three months to raise enough money. The day I bought it, I was filled with so much joy and a great sense of accomplishment.The only problem was that I couldn’t celebrate my achievement at home because I had defied my parents’ advice. I hid it and used it secretly. I remember one day while playing with it at school, the small stone in the catapult hit a kid, who also happened to be my friend. It missed her eye by an inch and I was taken to the disciplinary teacher who took the case to the headmaster.My mum  was summoned at school and I was suspended. Lucky for me, my dad wasn’t in country at the time. The day he returned I was so afraid and worried for my bottom that  I climbed up to the ceiling to hide! I could literally hear him asking for my whereabouts.Even with all the fear and panic, I drifted to sleep. They looked for me everywhere but couldn’t find me and had to call relatives and family friends thinking I was there.While they were contemplating taking my ‘missing person case’ to the police, I woke up and couldn’t remember where I was. I felt like I was in a cage somewhere in a basement! I screamed my heart out!They came and helped me down and were all genuinely happy to have me back, for they feared I had been kidnapped. I apologized for all my mistakes and promised my parents I was going to be a better kid. Naturally, there was no more catapult for me!