The Chase: Part 1

Not a cloud in sight.

…

The birds chirped their happy tune.

…

From the east, the moon crept towards the sun.

…

And millions of light years from the moon, Spencer looked up at the bright sky, following the moon’s slow westward trek. He was awestruck at the very notion a solar eclipse was about to happen.


Then, Bruno (Spencer’s best friend) honked the horn in his car.

“Spencer, are you coming along or what?”

Bruno’s voice quickly brought Spencer’s attention back to the plan: to steal Richard Nixon High School’s mascot (Wolfie), using the darkness from the solar eclipse as their cover. They had been talking about this prank for a while now (well, only to themselves, of course). Now wasn’t the time for Spencer to not be able to fulfill his role because he was staring up at the sun.

So Spencer squeezed into the backseat, between the two cheerleaders they talked into joining this half-baked scheme, and off they went.

Bruno drove to their school’s athletic complex, across the street from the main school building.

He parked in the back of the parking lot.

Spencer peeked out the car window and saw that the moon had just started to pass over a small sliver of the sun.

“Okay,” Bruno said, turning to face the backseat. “Everyone is at lunch, so the athletic complex is empty.

“We need to be quick, though, because there is an alarm system around Wolfie’s crate.”

Bruno looked at Spencer and then at the two cheerleaders. Everyone seemed to understand.

“Any questions?” Bruno asked. No one answered.

“All right, let’s do this. . . Senior prank!”

Spencer and Bruno got out of the car and maneuvered towards the building. The two cheerleaders followed in tow.

They came to the wall and crept along towards a corner. Bruno looked around and saw the bright blue back door.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Spencer, wait for me to go in before you follow. You two,” he said, pointing to the cheerleaders. “Wait out here. Once Spencer and I come back out, we will need you to guide us with your flashlights.”

The cheerleaders nodded their heads in unison. Spencer felt the temperature drop even more and noticed the sky became slightly darker. He looked up and saw that the moon now covered half of the sun.

Bruno saw that Spencer was looking up, and Bruno looked at the sun too. Although he didn’t say anything to Spencer, he agreed with him that the eclipse was a beautiful sight.

Bruno then waited another moment (while still staring up at the eclipse) and sprinted to the blue door, which he quickly opened and then slowly closed once he was inside.

That was his moment. Spencer moved towards the door and pulled on the handle.

The door opened . . . and he walked in.