Chapter 1: How It All Began
Robbery is an art; one that takes years to master. There will be a lot of failures in the journey. But each of those failures will teach us something. We got to learn and adapt and move on to be successful.
According to my mom, I've got enough and more experience. She says that I started out very young, stealing toys from my younger sister, Casey. But I am pretty sure that was quite simple. I still do that. She is kind of blind, never notices anything.
But, my real experiences began as I met my peers in preschool. Unlike most of the people around the world, I precisely remember every single detail of my first day; especially the black pencil box with a calculator on it. I wanted it so badly.
I was not highly into robbing those days; I was kind of polite. So, I asked my mom whether she could get me one of those. But the answer was a no. And she left me with no other choice.
But still having some goodness inside me, I went straight to Henry and asked him if he could give it to me. But he laughed at me. He humiliated me in front of all those people. And that was a mistake; A terrible one, from his part. He had made me so desperate.
The pencil box haunted me in my dreams. My nights turned dreadful. Henry's laugh still rang in my ears. I had to get it. It no longer mattered how. I needed it.
So, I decided to steal it.
Next day at school, I did not hear a word the teachers said. Everything except the box was out of focus, a blur. I had to come up with a plan. And after two long hours of thinking, I decided how to do it.
So, here is the plan.
Just before the bell for lunch, I go straight to Leo, who is sitting near Henry, and ask him if he could lend me a pen. Henry will most probably look at me first, giggle for some time and stare at Leo, who is giving me the pen. At that time, I would slip his box into my pocket, thank Leo for giving me the pen and smoothly come back to my seat. The next thing is lunch, so he most probably would not notice his missing box for almost an hour.
The fourth hour was nearly over. It was Social Science, and was drifting one by one into a deep sleep. The warning bell rang. It was time.
The teacher sat back on her chair. Everyone started waking up. I stood up and went straight to Leo. "Leo, can you please give me a pen?" I asked politely.
"I am sorry. I only have one." His answer surprised me. Why in the world didn't I think of that? But as in the plan, Henry was giggling at me. He laughed and laughed and was now turning around to Leo. I realised this was my chance. My eyes searched the entire desk for his box. Where is it? He was turning back to me. Why didn't I note the position of the box first?
Suddenly, my eyes found the box in the space under the desk. I slipped it into my pocket so quickly. Henry looked right at my face. But, he had not yet noted the missing of his favourite box. I wished the bell rang faster.
Tringgg! The bell rang, and the prayer began. Henry, after one last peal of laughter, closed his eyes and joined his hands for prayer. I swiftly moved back to my place. I let out a deep breath. That was so close. And I hid the box in my bag.