Stick To The Plan

"We need to stick to the plan. Any slight adjustment -"

"And mom will kill us." Billy muttered rubbing at his arm at the memory of past plans backfiring.

"We got 45 minutes until she gets home. If we do it right she'll never know."

The other boys nodded.

"But what if he hears us?"

"Do we abort?"

"No, we stick to the plan."

We made our way over to Old man Haggarty's place. Keeping low we crawled along his hedges to the backyard where a trellis rose up to the second floor window.

Jeb took his spot as look out. He gave a thumbs up and Jerry began to climb. Billy followed him.

At the top Jerry flung his leg over the eaves and hoisted himself up onto the roof. He helped Billy and together they made their way to the window that was cracked open just enough for Jerry to get his hand in and raise it up for them to get inside.

The room inside was dark.

"No lights." Jerry whispered as he handed Billy a flashlight.

"You check that side of the desk, I'll check this side."

Several minutes later Billy let out a whoop.

"Idiot, you'll get us caught." Jerry whispered as he grabbed the page. took a quick couple of snaps, then tossed it back on the desk.

"Someone's coming."

They scrambled out the window. Billy started to climb down the trellis when Jerry saw the light in the room switch on.

Without thought he jumped; landing hard on the patio stones.

Billy landed and they took off.

"Man that was close," Billy muttered.

From behind them they heard their mother's voice, "What are you three up to?"

Now they needed another plan. One that would save their hide.

Word count = 294.


Written for Daily Flash Fiction
January 30, 2025