Lucas sat in the corner of the playground, as usual, playing with the wood chips. As he was making the “spaceships” battle, something outside the gate caught his eye. A woman was walking her golden retriever down the sidewalk.
Lucas bolted toward the gate. He looked back at the teachers, who were deep in conversation. He turned back to the gate and reached for the latch. When Lucas tried to open it, he found it locked. He tried to undo the latch, but it was too high. Before he could try to jump for it, though, one of the teachers spotted him.
“Lucas! No! You must stay inside the playground,” his teacher said walking briskly toward him, “I am going to have to tell you mother about this.”
Lucas dropped his arm, “Okay,” he said, dejectedly, as he continued to look at the dog. Sadly, Lucas watched the dog and its owner walk into the distance.
 
When Lucas got off the bus that afternoon, his mom was waiting for him.
“How was school?” she asked giving him a quick hug.
“Good,” Lucas said. “Miles invited me to his birthday party, he says it’s gonna be a bounce house party and that they might even have an obstacle course. It’s on Saturday, I think. Can I go?”
“We’ll see. I need to see the invitation and you have to show me I can trust you,” she replied. As she reached out to grab his hand, Lucas quickly moved it away.
“Please hold onto my hand,” she said sternly.
“Mom,” Lucas whined, “I’m five years old; I’m big enough to walk on my own!”
“Lucas,” his mom said assertively, “you need to hold my hand so that I can keep track of you.”
“Mom, I’m not a baby!” Lucas cried out as he yanked his hand away.
Lucas's mother grabbed his wrist, practically dragging him down the street toward their house as Lucas mumbled, “This is the worst day ever.”

When they arrived home, Lucas headed into the kitchen to grab a snack. “You can have graham crackers or goldfish, but you also have to have at least five baby carrots.”
Lucas grabbed the box of goldfish and ran to the table where his mom had laid out a napkin on the shaky old table.
He began to open the box but his mom stopped him, “Let me, Lucas.”
“I want to pour them,” Lucas whined.
“Lucas,” his mom said sternly, “please give it to me.”
Lucas sighed and handed over the box of goldfish.
After she poured the crackers and retrieved the forgotten bag of carrots from the fridge, she sat down across from him.
“Mama,” Lucas asked between goldfish, “have you thought about me going to Miles’s party?”
His mother sighed, “I said we’ll see.” 
Lucas finished his goldfish quickly and glared at his carrots. He had carefully selected the five tiniest carrots that he could find, but his mother made him swap them for larger ones.
Lucas’s mom looked up from the dish towels she was folding on the table, “Are you going to eat your carrots?”
Lucas wrinkled his nose and shook his head. 
“Lucas,” his mother warned.
“Why do I have to eat them?”
“Because they are good for you.”
“But they’re gross!” Lucas exclaimed, pushing them around the napkin.
“You are lucky to have food on the table,” his mom scolded, “some people don’t get three meals a day. I have asked you to eat your carrots and I expect you to, or you will be looking at an early bedtime, Mister.”

After his snack, Lucas sat on kitchen floor working on a color-by-number while his mother started setting out the ingredients for meatloaf.
“Look, Mom,” Lucas demanded, beaming, “it’s a barn.”
“That looks great, honey,” his mom said, “Ms. Jones will be very proud of you.”
“Are you making meatloaf? Can I help you crush the crackers?” Lucas asked his mom as he put the coloring page on the counter.
She smiled. “Sure, let me grab a baggie.”
Minutes later, Lucas stood on step stool, smashing the saltines with an old rolling pin. He loved the crunching sound they made and he loved the fact that he got to hit them as hard as he wanted. Suddenly, his mom’s phone started ringing.
“I’ve got to answer this,” she said, looking at the screen. “I’ll be right back. Good job on that crushing.”
Lucas’s mom made her way out of the tiny kitchen and into the shabby living room, with her back to her son. Lucas kept crushing the saltines. A thought occurred to Lucas and he twisted to see if his mom was watching. I can mix the meat, and then Mom won’t have to. I can show her how ‘sponsible I am. She had her back turned, deep in conversation with whoever was on the other end.
Lucas looked to the bowl of raw ground beef; he moved the rolling pin out of the way and grabbed the bowl, and as he plunged his unwashed hands into the meat his mom hissed, “Lucas, no!” she said speeding into the kitchen. “I’m sorry - I’ll have to call you back.” His mom sped back into the kitchen and grabbed Lucas’s messy hands in her own, “Do not just stick your hands in mixing bowls, especially since you haven’t washed them.”
She grabbed a paper towel and wiped the raw meat off his fingers.
“You have to ask me before you take over, okay?” She asked, running a hand through her hair.
“I was just tryin’ to help,” he pouted.
“Alright, let's finish up.”

An hour later, the pair sat at the table with their dinner.
Lucas happily ate his meatloaf as his mother pushed the food around with her fork; her lips were pursed and her brows knitted. Taking a deep breath, his mom began, “Ms. Jones called me this afternoon.”
Lucas froze.
“She said you tried to leave the playground again.” Lucas wanted to explain about the dog, but his mom started again. “This is the third time this month, Lucas. You know the rules and continue to disobey them.”
Lucas looked at his now empty Spiderman plate on the table.
“How am I supposed to let you go to a bounce house party when you can’t follow the rules at school and stay where you are supposed to stay? Those bounce house parties are sheer chaos. I would hate for you to wander off because you saw something shiny and didn’t have the self-control to stay put.”
“I’m sorry,” Lucas mumbled, still not meeting her eyes.
Lucas's mother sighed. “You need to show me that by changing your behaviour, sweetie.”
A tear slipped down his cheek.
“Come here,” his mother said and Lucas climbed into her lap. “I love you very much. You need to follow the rules because they are there to keep you safe, okay?”
Lucas knodded.
“Alright, how about you play outside while I clean up?”
“Okay,” Lucas said as he hugged his mom once more.
“Do not go into the street,” she instructed him, “If you do, you will not get to go to Miles’s party.”
Lucas bounded outside. The sun was low in the sky, but still cast plenty of light over his front yard. Scanning his arsenal of toys, Lucas found what he needed. He placed the two orange cones at one end of the yard to create a goal and then grabbed his soccer ball. Soon Lucas got bored of kicking the ball into the goal. He glanced back at the bin of toys looking for something else to entertain him. He saw the bag of action figures and had a great idea. He set up the action figures all over the yard and started to “defeat” them by knocking them over with the soccer ball.
“Take that, Loki!” he yelled, as he kicked the ball. The sun was setting, and Lucas knew that his mother would be calling him to come inside for his bath soon. Maybe she would decide to let him stay out just a little bit longer if he was being good.
Lucas was lining up the perfect shot to take out Captain America. He kicked the ball, but it strayed from its course. Instead of taking out Hydra’s leading agent, the soccer ball flew past the figure and into the street. Lucas started to follow it, but remembered his mother's words. He looked at the grubby kitchen window where she should be washing the dishes. His mom was nowhere in sight. 
Lucas stood in the yard, unsure. Suddenly, he bolted, his mind made up.
Instead of heading for the street, though, he ran up the front steps and yelled, “Mom! My ball went into the street!”
She rounded the corner with a sigh of relief, “I’ll grab it for you.”
After she had retrieved the ball, she handed it to Lucas. As he took the ball, his mom bent down, her heart swelling with pride.
“I am proud of you, Lucas,” she said, smiling. “After I finished the dishes, I went into the living room where I could keep an eye on you. You made my heart so happy when you made the choice to obey me and stay out of the street. By coming inside to get me, you showed me that I can trust you.”
Lucas smiled and giggled as he hugged his mom, letting the ball fall to the ground.
“I think we can let Mrs. Morales know that you’ll be at Miles’s party.”
“Really?” Lucas said, jumping up and down, unable to control his excitement.
“Yes, really,” his mom said, smiling and laughing with him. “I think you have earned it.”
“Thank you, Mama!” Lucas exclaimed in excitement as he gave his mom a bear hug. “This is the best day ever!”
“I thought you said it was the worst day ever,” his mom chuckled.
“Well now it’s the best,” he replied with a huge smile on his face.