Mrs. Wrythe was an orderly woman and maintained a happy family, but found that her one and only son was somehow peculiar against her ordinary fashioned ways.  She proudly boasted her two intelligent and beautiful girls, but never found herself talking heavily about her one peculiar, and troublesome son Ezra.  She had a reputation for raising very smart and talented girls compared to the other moms of her community, and often boasted how well they were doing in school or in their designated sports.  When the others would gauge over the depths of jealousy but soon overcome by explaining their prized son’s accomplishments, Mrs. Wrythe would feel strongly left out. 
She always wondered if her son had a learning or attention deficient, causing an explanation for his vague and odd personality.  Ezra had no friends at school, and performed in no extracurricular activities outside of school for the fear of not being good enough, or so that is what he said to avoid the discussion of why he had no hobbies.  When the Wrythe’s would ask Ezra how he was getting along in school and with grades he would barely answer their questions by either saying, “It’s okay”, or “my grades have been great.”  When Mrs. Wrythe attended the student conferences at Ezra’s school there were never any bad complaints about his grades, but maybe an occasional grouse with one of the students on the playground.  She wondered if her son was perceptible to bullying or fights due to his personality but was often told by the teachers that her son was an advocate of the fights too. 
Mrs. Wrythe became so driven by curiosity one day that she finally confronted her son one evening after dinner.  “Ezra, I just received a call from Mrs. Southerly about school today, she claimed you punched another student for the third time in a row this week.  What has gotten into you?” demanded a furious Mrs. Wrythe.
“It was not my fault he was asking for it, he kept calling me rude names and accusing me of being weird, and he wouldn’t stop!  Jack told me it would be a good idea to make him stop. 
Mrs. Wrythe suddenly paused and pondered, “Who is Jack I have never heard his name before?” 
Ezra answered with a quiet voice tinted with a slight hint of anxiousness, “You wouldn’t know him, he does not attend my school, and he’s just a friend.” 
Mrs. Wrythe responded in a fit of anger, “This friend does not sound reliable, and if he does not attend your school then where exactly does this Jack go to school?” 
Her son took a moment to process his thoughts in a somewhat decisive manner, “He does not go to school,” Ezra finally responded.
“For heaven’s sake! Ezra’s mother exclaimed, “Who are the parents of this child, and why in the world is he not in school?” 
“Jack is not a child! He is just a friend, and he has no parents, mom.” 
Mrs. Wrythe was slowly losing her energy for the complicated discussion.  Her frustration was finally getting the better of her and she was almost ready to let the conversation go, when suddenly a vague idea occurred to her.  Her son was only in the second grade and there was still a possibility of Ezra pretending to have an imaginary friend.  She thought to further the discussion by confronting him. 
“Ezra is Jack an imaginary friend of yours?” asked his curious mother. 
“Of course not mom quit being so ridiculous, Jack told me that I am not allowed to tell you who he is, or else I may be in trouble.” 
“You are going to tell me right now who Jack is, or you are going to be in trouble with me young man,” demanded Mrs. Wrythe! 
“Jack is the ruler of Jack’s Castle and he is helping me,” replied her son. 
Finally understanding the situation, Mrs. Wrythe came to a conclusion that her son was blaming his situation on his imaginary friend in order to get away with hitting another boy.  “I want all nonsense to stop now.  Is that understood?  If I receive one more complaint I will have you taken out of school myself.” 
After their brief discussion, Mrs. Wrythe’s life continued to follow in an orderly fashion, and soon a week had passed and there had been no complaints from the second grade.  However Ezra began acting stranger than she had ever seen before; he barely spoke during meals or ate for that matter, and he hardly talked at all. 
When the second week finally arrived, Mrs. Wrythe received a call from the school office that her son had punched another boy during recess and had given him a black eye.  The assistant principle called her and requested that she come to the school immediately to pick up her son.  When she arrived at the elementary school in a furious wrath, her son was waiting for her in the principal’s office.  Once she had a long apologetic discussion with the principal over the matter, she marched her troubled son to the car and drove home without letting one word escape from her mouth. 
When they both arrived at the house she made him sit down on the sofa and explain why he had made bad decisions and hit another boy yet again.  “Jack demanded that I do it, and he said that if I didn’t do it, he would hurt me.”  Mrs. Wrythe was ashamed that she had not thought of the idea sooner, and decided just exactly what she would do with the situation.  Ezra needed therapy and there was no simpler way to put it, she would not put up with such ridicule any longer. 
“Ezra there is no such thing as imaginary friends, and I will no longer put up with any more nonsense from you.  You have ridiculed this family enough and embarrassed our reputation!  Do I make myself understood?” 
“But mom don’t you see I can’t help it, Jack is making me do it!” 
“No, that is not acceptable young man, you are a nuisance and a troubled young man that I will not put up with; I will see that this situation is taken care of immediately, and that your father will be told.  Go to bed, you will have no super, and you will not be attending school tomorrow.” 
The next morning when Ezra woke up, Mrs. Wrythe discovered small bruises distributed throughout her sons face, and when she startlingly asked what happened, his response was Jack.