When I was a Freshman at Samford University we decided to pull a prank on Halloween. It was simple really. We just shot a fire extinguisher under the door of another guy on our floor. Ironically enough, when you use a fire extinguisher it apparently sets off the fire alarm. Which in turn empties the entire building of about 400 freshman. Which then gets you on a social suspension for a year. I would have been pretty fantastic to have known all of these eventualities prior to firing the extinguisher.
When I called my parents that night, right before the security guards grabbed me out of my dorm room, they weren’t too disappointed but I could tell that for at least one night, I had become “that kid.”
“That kid” is the person your parents don’t want you to play with. He’s the bad egg, the bad seed, the bad influence. He’s bad.
Every VBS has a “that kid.” This is the kid that fills other kids shoes with crayola paint. He eats glue, not for the flavor, but just to spite you. She has a PHd in hair pulling and while you’re teaching the kids Noah stories, she’s teaching them new swear words. Sometimes in multiple languages.
So usually what happens is that VBS teachers get together the week before and assign someone to run point all week on that kid. Since most churches won’t allow tracking collars, it’s best to print out a mugshot of that kid and memorize it. Know their moves, study the videos from last year to understand what makes them tick. Understand them inside and out like when Morgan Freeman profiled kidnappers in that movie “Along Came a Spider.” Then, when you see them about to do something unspeakable to the flannel display of Jonah you can stop them.
