The Great Glue Incident

Lexile: 880 | Grade: 6

Passage

It all started with a glue bottle and a little too much confidence.

Lucas was known for being creative—and slightly chaotic. When Ms. Jensen announced that the class would be making cardboard cities for a history project, Lucas had big ideas. He wasn’t just going to build a house. He was going to build an entire skyscraper, complete with balconies and a working elevator (powered by string).

By Friday, cardboard scraps were everywhere, and Lucas had built a tower that reached almost to the windowsill. But it kept leaning to one side.

“More glue,” Lucas muttered, squeezing the bottle like it owed him money.

Unfortunately, he didn’t notice that the cap wasn’t on tightly. A thick blob of glue shot out—and landed right on Owen’s brand-new hoodie.

“Dude!” Owen cried, jumping up.

The class froze. Ms. Jensen turned around slowly. “Lucas?”

Lucas’s face turned red. “Uh… we had a structural emergency.”

There was silence. Then Owen burst out laughing. “At least now I’m part of the project.”

Even Ms. Jensen smiled. “Next time, maybe fewer balconies.”

By the end of class, Lucas’s skyscraper was taped back together, and Owen had earned the nickname ‘Glue Guy.’ Lucas promised to keep his future blueprints slightly less sticky.