The Job

“Where were ya last night?” asked Jamal, “you were supposed to meet me at the bank so we could do the job.”

“I’m sorry, I was having second thoughts,” answered T.J. guiltily.

Robbing a bank was something that had never entered T.J.’s mind until James brought up the idea a month ago. The plan was to wait just before closing time and enter the bank. That’s when there would be the fewest number of people. They would then just hold up the bank and make their way to a safe house, a vacant building, a block away.

The plan sounded good until T.J. started thinking “what if”.

“What if we get caught?” asked T.J.

“Don’t worry about that, my plan is flawless,” answered Jamal, “we have nothing to worry about.”

“I still don’t like it, I think I’m just gonna pass on this on yo,” said T.J.

“Suit ya self, I’ll just find another busta to pop that joint,” said Jamal angrily.

T.J. felt relieved to be out of the job and back to his old life. He knew that he could never make the same money by working at a factory as he would’ve by robbing a bank, but then again, he couldn’t make any money in prison.

A few days later, T.J. was watching the news and saw a story of a bank robbery. There were two culprits and both of them had been caught. It appeared that they slipped on some ice right outside the bank and were apprehended shortly after.

T.J.’s jaw dropped. He knew that it had to be Jamal and some other punk he’d picked up. T.J. though of how a week ago that would’ve been him. He blew a sigh of relief and chuckled at James’s “flawless” plan.

T.J. continued his job at the factory and worked his way up to a foreman position. He became successful at his factory and developed a very comfortable life. He often though of how close he came to being in prison and was proud he made the choice he had.