It was a cold, stormy night. My parents were out and I was all alone at home. Suddenly the door opened and two men came in, wearing black masks and I realised they were up to something.

One of them said: "You search upstairs and I will search the basement." I ran but without knowing what to do. I hid in my room and then I noticed the emergency button for calling my mum's mobile.

I pressed it and I heard the door open. A man came in and I knew there was no escape. He saw me and I was done for. He called his friend and tied me up. They carried me to the car and drove off.

My mum came home and called me and there was no reply. She called again but not a sound.

In the meantime I was thinking about my birthday. They took me to their house, untied me and took me into another room. I was surprised because there was a birthday cake. The two men removed their masks and I found out that they were my uncles, playing a trick on me for my birthday, though it was very late.

My mum then remembered the plan. They did it because they missed my birthday party. I was relieved and lucky because I had two birthday cakes in one day!

Christopher, a Year 5 student at St Edward's College, wrote this story in exam conditions. The task was to think of a title and write a story beginning with the first sentence.

We very much like the twist this story takes and the boy in it appears to be adventurous and fairly calm in a scary situation. But we should mention that this kind of birthday treat could leave some people terrified!

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