Haunting Winds

Chapter 2

"Ang mamatay nang dahil sayo!" The little girl ended in her lovely voice. The student chosen to lead in singing the national anthem for that day was a fifth grader, who was being pushed by the school in joining interschool singing competitions. She has had banners hung outside the school campus congratulating her on her victory last year.

"The school should just make her sing the national anthem every day. I'm sure the school would want that anyway," Robert whispered to David in front of him.

"Better than having you sing it," answered David. Robert gave him a small push for the jest.

"I've got an idea on how we're going to get inside the auditorium."

"How? And please don't say hairpins."

Robert pinched the back of David's arm. "I told you my cousin told me this technique on how to open locked doors in the school, but don't worry. If that doesn't work I have a plan B, and you're going to help me."

"What's your crazy plan this time?" David turned to Robert with a grin.

"We're going to steal the keys from one of the janitors," Robert said with pride of his plan.

"What? That's even crazier than picking locks. How are we supposed to get the keys and how would we know which one to take? Every janitor has like a hundred keys with them," David objected.

"That's easy. We'll just take them all."

"And how are we supposed to get the keys?"

"I told you. We'll get it from one of the janitors," Robert cringed his nose in frustration.

"I know what you told me. How are we going to get it from the janitors?" Argued David as their class started walking towards their classroom.

"You think of that. Don't you always say you're the best secret agent in the school? Why don't you do your Splinter Cell stuff? You should be able to think of something."

"And what if we get caught? They might not let us join the stargazing anymore."

Robert paused to think. "I got it. We'll just say you were trying to get the key because the bathroom door is locked and you had to go."

"That plan is really stupid. Then the janitor will just open it himself."

"Then you think of the plan! You've got four classes to think of one. Let me know about it on recess," Robert said as he sat in his chair thinking of plans himself. He took out a piece of paper and started drawing the layout of their floor.

He encircled the janitor closet at the end of the hallway between the boys' restroom and the girls' restroom. He knew the keys had to be in there. He saw a set of keys dangling behind the door when Mang Ben took a mop from inside the closet. That was when the school supervisor tasked Robert with mopping the flooded restroom after he caused one of the faucets to break. He thought maybe he could try and sweet talk Mang Ben to letting him borrow the keys, but given the pranks he had pulled on him in the past, he didn't think that would work. Robert drew out plan after plan, each one less likely to work than the one before it.

Robert was drawing up another plan involving smoke bombs when the bell rang for recess. He rushed to David's side hoping he had come up with better plans than he did. "So, you have a plan or what?" Robert asked.

"Of course I do," David beamed with pride, "but it's gonna be hard and you'll have to do a really good job of distracting the janitor."

"What? Well why don't you do it?" complained Robert.

"Because," sighed David, "I'm going to be the one who gets the keys."

That made Robert smile. "All right. That sounds simple. It might just work. What else?"