One average boy, Tom Limbo, ran home from school, waving his report-card excitedly. Tom was screaming words of bliss. Tom passed by his best friend, Kevin Von Smilter.

“Hey! Tom! Where are you going so fast to? Late for a baseball game or somethin’?”

“Oh. Hey, Kevin. I need to get home. I just got all A’s on my report card!”

Tom didn’t wait to hear Kevin’s reply. Tom ran all the way to his house (which was about a half a mile away).

“MOM! MOM!” yelled Tom as he broke down his front door in excitement. Tom’s mom was up in her room, doing some semi-annual-spring cleaning.

“What is it Tom? Is the cat on fire again?”

Tom slowed down for just a second. “Is the cat on fire again? Where did that come from?”

Tom ran up to her room. Tom’s mom was very glad to see Tom’s superior grades. She was so excited that she had to tell all the people at her book club. Mrs. Limbo grabbed her coat and ran over to the book club headquarters (which was just a neighbor’s house). Tom ran up to his room.

Now, you see, Tom was a good seventeen-year-old boy. He was just, well, a little misleading. Tom was saving up for a car. He had about $1000.48 cents for the down payment. Tom shoved his report card onto his clutter-filled desk. Tom picked up his telephone.

Tom dialed a number. The number was a number that belonged to someone in his town. Tom waited. Waited. Waited. Someone picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hi is there an Ivvanna? Last name tinkle?”

Tom couldn’t hold in his laughter. Tom quickly hung up his phone before the person could tell that this was a prank call.

Tom had to be swift. Even though Tom knew this, prank-calling’s illegal. Why, you ask, is it illegal? Well, it is illegal because no one in his town had caller ID. That’s the law. That is why Tom called someone in his town. Also, no one knew about Star-sixty-nine. Tom had nothing to fear.

So far.

Tom just had to have more danger, excitement, and thrill at that moment. Tom picked up the phone. He opened a phone book. Tom went through the J’s.

Johnson. No, they live on Clover lawn. Clover lawn leads to the next town. Tom decided to call the Jar-jar’s. They lived on Horton Street. That is the street that Tom lives on. Tom dialed the number.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

“Hello?” a young lady asked.

“Hello, ma’am.” Tom whispered into the phone, trying not to laugh. “This is the electric company. We are working on some wires outside your house. What ever you do, do not, I repeat, do NOT pick up the phone until we tell you to. I could be electrocuted if you pick it up.” Tom finished, hanging up the phone after the young lady replied with an “okay…”

Tom redialed the number. The phone rang. It rang. And rang. Rang some more.

The young lady hesitated to answer the phone. But, after twenty two minutes, the lady had to pick up the phone.

“He…Hello?” she whispered into the phone.

“AHHHHHHH! I’M DIEING! CVALL THE POLICE! HELPPPPPPP!!!!!” Tom yelled into the phone, rolling with laughter. Tom hung up the phone swiftly. Tom felt good.

The young lady knew that she just got pranked. She hung up the phone. She took out a piece of paper, and wrote down the address.

But how did the young lady know Tom’s address? Simple: she looked at her caller ID. Tom called the lady, who was a lady on his street. She didn’t even know who the Tom Limbo was. Tom didn’t know that Horton Street was a street that went onto the neighboring city.

And in that city, it is illegal NOT to have caller ID.

The police quickly came. Tom was taken into custody within fifty minutes of Tom’s frightful joke.

Unfortunately, Tom’s mom wasn’t back from her book club brag meeting (Now Tom being arrested is something she won’t be bragging about). And Tom’s dad was still working at the office. Tom had to try to find out the neighbor’s number to tell his mom, since Tom’s dad’s office doesn’t allow “Personal Calls”. Tom walked up to a police officer.

May I please have my one-call now?” Tom asked in a pleading way, behind a personal cell.

“I don’t see why not!” replied the police officer. The police officer opened the cell. Tom walked up to the pay phone. The officer gave him a quarter to put in.

Tom opened the phone book. He had to find his neighbor’s house number. The police knew that Tom didn’t know his neighbor’s number. But than why was he looking through the business section of the phone book? Tom found a number. He dialed it.

“Hello?” asked an old lady.

“Hi. I would just like to know if your refrigerator is running…