Chapter Seven
Erica, Josephine and I are together. Mason and Trace are together, and, of course, Adalyn and Lucas are together.
Since I've only been in here once I decide to let Erica and Josephine take lead on where we should try first. Erica takes us to the 'home decor' section.
The entire store is piled with boxes of giant stuff like fans, car supplies, furniture and even toys. But our first choice is house decorations. Makes sense considering Erica picked out our first stop.
"Isn't this the cutest thing!" She exclaims holding up a stuffed pig.
"That's adorable. If this was a robbery and not just a break in, that'd be in the steal pile." I admit.
It's a giant pink pig with a nose that oinks if you squeeze it. I consider coming back tomorrow and buying it for a split second before my brain kicks itself for being so easily distracted.
"We need to stay focused," I shake my head to clear my thoughts, "Do either of you see anywhere you could fit comfortably for however long we'll need to?"
Josephine shrugs as she looks at her phone. A giant smile is evident as she texts someone furiously.
Erica looks at me and smiles politely on her friends behalf.
"Josephine?" she asks, "Talking to Marcus again?"
She says nothing but smiles wider indicating she is.
"Is Marcus your boyfriend?" I ask and her smiles fades.
"No," she shoves her phone into her pocket and begins explaining herself, "not yet anyways. We've been texting for about a week. He keeps trying to make plans for us to hangout."
If she likes him then why haven't they hung out?
"But you don't want that?"
She sighs, "It's not that I don't want that. I like him a lot but Ethan keeps warning me about him. I'm not sure if his warnings are a hundred percent accurate though. I feel like as my best friend he's just looking out for me and trying to protect me from all guys but then again, as my best friend, I trust what he says. It makes me a bit weary of Marcus. I don't really know what to do because I'm scared that if we hang out Ethan will be right and it'll mess everything up, but then what if Ethan is wrong and I'm missing out on a good guy?"
"Marcus is hot, don't overthink this. Just go out and do something with him. See what happens and if he's a douche then your answer is obvious but if he's sweet then you'll know to keep going," I tell her and she smiles at me.
Marcus is in my theater class but I was absolutely oblivious to the fact he was talking to Josephine.
She gives me a hug and I wrap my arms around her.
Suddenly, she sees something and intakes a deep breath, "I can fit behind that! And it'd be super comfortable."
I turn to see what she's pointing at and resting on a shelf behind me is full body pillow. She holds it up to her body for clarification and it hides her perfectly from head to toe.
"Let's go find somewhere for us to hide now."
The three of us begin walking toward the toiletries. We'll have a better chance of finding somewhere to hide over here. It's not like you could hide behind picture frames and lamp shades like we were finding in 'home decor'.
We find an isle of toilet paper and Erica sees an empty spot behind some paper towels, "This could be improved a little bit and it'll be big enough. I'd have to move a few rolls but this could work."
Now Josephine and Erica have a spot, all that's left is me.
At the end of the isle I scan the shelves with eyes opened sharp, searching for anywhere that I might could fit.
Finally, I see a small opening and I poke my head through the hold. It's a big area with more than enough room for me. I'd be able to fit comfortably back here in case things get delayed and we have to hide longer than expected.
The girls walk up to me, "Find one?"
I nod, "Yea, I have plenty of room back there. This should be an easy stakeout."
The three of us walk back to the exit door where we'll meet back with the others. Lucas and Adalyn are already there.
"Where are you guys hiding?" I ask them.
"I'm hiding behind the vacuums," she starts and looks over at Lucas, "he's across from me behind the mops."
Josephine opens her mouth to say something but gets interrupted by her phone dinging.
"You better put that thing on silent if you want to get away with this." Cameron says abruptly as he and Ethan walk up.
She silences her phone quickly, embarrassed to be called out.
The seven of us stand patiently waiting for Trace and Mason to get back when Ethan breaks the silence, "We're hiding in big ass buckets like you see in the movies."
Just then, the final two people walk up and Cameron begins talking quietly, announcing the finishing plan.
"Everyone has some kind of time piece on them correct?" Cameron asks and we all nod. He knows we all have a working cell phone, he just enjoys doing this.
"So at exactly 8:55 everyone needs to go into their hiding spots and shoot a 'clear' message into the group chat when you're position is secured."
Ethan and Lucas laugh at Camerons serious commando role, earning a glare.
"At 9:10 everyone can come out of hiding when we're certain there are no suspected threats, am I clear?"
Everyone nods again and Cameron straighten up, "And I'm sure we've all already silenced our phones and made sure there's no possible way of having our cover blown, correct?"
Josephine blushes at the indirect calling out and we all nod for the third time.
He flairs his hand in the air, "Dismissed."
I smile at his deliberate role play. Erica and I make our way to the toiletries and Josephine goes to the home decor.
I stand in front of the toilet paper and look down the isle to see Erica climbing into her spot behind the paper towels, a few feet down from me.
She's getting into her spot a little early but I guess that doesn't matter, Cameron just likes having schedules.
"What are you doing here?"
I'm startled by a deep voice coming from behind me. I turn around slowly, hoping to see anyone other than the owner.
Trace has his hands in his sweat pants pockets and a confused expression taking over his features.
"Hiding?" I reply as more of a question than a statement.
Isn't it obvious what I'm doing? I'm doing the same thing he should be doing and getting beside his hiding place so he'll be ready when-
Oh...
I understand his confusion now. His hiding spot is my hiding spot.
Realization crosses his face and he takes a step back, "I can find somewhere else to go."
I remember how when I looked at the spot before it had more than enough room. Trace could still hide here it just wouldn't be as cozy but that's okay. It'd be dumb to send him away and risk his exposure when we'd both be able to fit.
Risk his exposure?
Wow, Cameron is beginning to rub off on me.
"We can both fit back there, there's not enough time for you to find anywhere else."
He ponders the idea for a moment, "You're right."
The store is so quiet I feel like I can hear my own breathing.
I take a deep breath to calm my tingling nerves before moving a package of toilet paper from the shelf, giving us enough room to crawl through.
I go in first and get far over being sure to leave Trace enough room.
My phone buzzes again with a 'clear' message from Erica, Cameron and Mason.
Trace climbs in and puts the package back in it's original place before pulling out his phone and I do the same.
"This is so dumb," he laughs as we type out the message and I agree entirely. It's a good idea in theory but if any of us get caught we'd message the group chat saying we got caught so texting 'clear' doesn't do much.
When we send the text out I realize Josephine is the only one who hasn't sent in her message yet and the store closes in two minutes.
All the possibilities begin rushing through my mind. Did she get caught? Is she on her way to jail right now? Would the store be this quiet if she got caught? Do I have enough bail money for her? What if there wasn't enough room on her shelf and she's roaming the store right now trying to find somewhere to go?
This is such an absurd plan and I'm absolutely certain that this is the only group of people who'd be able to talk me into something this reckless and wild. I'm also certain that there's nobody else I'd trust enough to make this risk with. If it comes down to it they'd all sacrifice themselves to make sure I get out safely and I'd do the same for them.
That's how friendships have to work, otherwise whats the point. If you can't trust your friends with absolutely everything then you're not one of the lucky few who are able to do that. But I am, I'm lucky enough to have eight wonderful friends who managed to make breaking into a store sound like a good idea but have my back the entire time for if things go south.
My phone buzzes with a text from Josephine and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
There's still a little light coming in from cracks where the packages of toilet paper don't meet. The owner hasn't left yet or these lights would be off.
I look over at Trace who has his eyes fixed on something down the isle. He's got a hard stare on it like he's trying to prepare for whatever might happen.
I follow his gaze and nearly scream when I see a pair of shoes... pointing towards the toilet paper.
We've gotten clarification that everyone we know is in their hiding spot which means those shoes have to belong to the owner of the store, the one who can bust us in the blink of an eye and have the cops on their way even faster.
My eyes widen and I turn to Trace frantically.
He scoots closer, "It's okay, just stay quiet." he whispers.
The man starts talking and for a moment I think he's talking to us. But his conversation is so bizarre that I know he must be talking on the phone.
He walks down the isle, coming closer to us. His eyes are still scanning the shelves as he asks the person on the end of the call what kind of toilet paper they want. Hearing the word toilet paper, knowing very well that that's where I'm hiding, is enough to make me want to scream.
I'm not a complete idiot so I know screaming is the dumbest thing I could do in this situation.
The man speaks into the phone, his voice deep and raspy, "You want Angel Soft?"
My eyes flicker down in front of me and notice that Angel Soft is the brand surrounding me.
He takes a step closer to where he's right in front of us and my heart starts pounding in my chest.
"Trace?" I whisper desperately and he brings a finger to his soft lips.
He pushes me down gently and I let him. I lay on my back, feeling the cold metal pressed into my skin but I don't care. If the man takes a package then he'll see nothing but the back wall instead of my face.
I'm extra careful not to bump the packages and cause them to tumble down onto the mans feet.
The area isn't wide enough for Trace to lay beside me so he just sits there and watches the man.
"What are you doing?" I mouth the words and he shrugs.
"If he gets one he'll see you."
He rolls his eyes at my obviousness and I shake my head.
The man speaks, "Yeah, I'll grab one and head home."
Shoot!
I'm not going to let Trace get caught because he's too worried about getting close.
I grab his hands and pull him to me. His eyes widen in surprise but he catches on quickly and leans over me.
He keeps his body mere centimeters from mine as he hovers delicately over me. If the man grabs a package of toilet paper then he won't be able to see either of us. It's a weird position for the two of us to be in but it's necessary to keep from getting caught.
Suddenly, a yellow light shines through onto the back wall as a package of toilet paper gets taken from the top. It startles me so much I almost scream but Trace puts a hand over my mouth.
Our body's are pressed so close together that I can almost feel him breathing against me. He's keeping his weight off of me but nothing more.
When we're sure the man is gone he takes a hand from my mouth and winks at me before raising up and laughing lightly.
"What's so funny?" I ask quietly in case the owner isn't far gone.
He shakes his head, "Never imagined I'd be covering your mouth while I layed on top of you."
My face heats up at his words and I suddenly realize just how wrong that entire situation was.
The lights in the building cut off. I'm glad Trace won't be able to see my red cheeks.
Once our eyes adjust to the darkness we peek out of the new hole in our hiding spot. Neither of us see anyone so we decide to get out and message that the coast is clear.
Coast is clear?
I wonder if I'm the only one who's beginning to talk like a soldier.
Trace sends out the text and everyone slowly emerges to meet us in the toilet paper. I'm not capable of knowing who is coming until they're only a few feet away. I can just see the haircut and height, coming up with a best guess until they're to us.
Erica climbs out of her spot and meets us at the end of the isle. A few moments later another person walks around the corner: Mason I think.
He gets to us and speaks, "You guys ready to get your party on?"
Authors Note:
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