The Heist

 

Noah

     I was trying to keep my breath as shallow and hollow as possible. My back was pressed up against the wall as I inched through the hallway, trying to stay as quiet as possible. It was exactly 12 midnight. Everyone was supposed to be in their dorm by ten, and wandering around on campus after hours was strictly prohibited, but I needed to get to the kitchen.

     It was dark. All of the hallway lights were off, but the light shining in from the moon and stars through the windows made it easier to see. With my dark hair and clothes, blending in with the shadows in the corners shouldn't shouldn't be that hard. Besides, I was used to sneaking around campus at night, mainly because of Nemo, and borrowing things for him.

     I came to a corner, and slowly craned my neck around to see if any security guards were roaming these halls. None in sight. I put my right leg around after my head, and slowly, the rest of my body followed. I could feel the softness of the red carpet as my feet pressed in slowly, one foot in front of the other. The wall was a little cold through my thin black sweater, but it I ignored it. The mission ahead of me was more important than a little coldness.

I got to a staircase, and stayed to the side closest to the window, because below it was nothing but shadow, and perfect for keeping me hidden. I made sure I didn't make any sudden movements, and crept down stair step by stair step. I was almost down when I lost footing. My foot missed a step, and I was traveling face first into the ground. Luckily, just before my face landed on the floor, I managed to grab hold of the railing, making a slight thud, and clanging noise.

     I held my body in place. I held my breath. I didn't move a thing except my heart, which was about to beat out of my chest. I sat there for about a minute straight, listening intently for any footsteps, or voices. I didn't hear any.

     Slowly, I moved my feet down the rest of the staircase. Now on the ground floor, I took my shoes off and put them in my back, so I was just in my socks, making sure I didn't make a sound. Still staying close to the wall, I scurried my way through the lobby, making sure I stayed away from the Leopard insignia in the middle. Any contrast between the black of my pants, and the orange of the insignia would instantly result in me getting caught. I was still making sure I kept my breathing shallow and quiet, when I slowly crept into the cafeteria. Knowing all the lunch ladies had gone home for the day, and no janitor or security guard ever bothered to check in here, I slowly inched along the wall, and into the kitchen.

     I tried to find my way through everything in the dark. The tiny cracks of light peaking through the translucent, tiny windows built high in the walls helped a little, but not much. I pulled my gloves out of my back pocket, slid them on my hands, and felt through the work places slowly, making sure I didn't bump anything.

     A scuff around the corner stopped me. Instinctively, I quickly hid under the counter I was scoping. Holding my breath, I slowly peered from under the counter, making sure I stayed hidden.

     A lunch lady was still here. She was cleaning off the area I had just scanned down. She seemed to into her work to notice me. She was humming a little tune that sounded like the song Dorothy, the scarecrow, lion, and tin man sing on their way to the Wizard of Oz.

     She swiped the same area for what seemed like 5 minutes. Maybe she did see me, and she was just waiting for me to come out. The thought made my palms sweat inside my gloves. When she moved down farther away from me, that theory became less likely. Finally, she finished, and left out of the kitchen, leaving me free to roam it once again. Letting out a huge breath, I glided out from under the counter.

     I eased from out of the counter, and found what I was looking for. The cup that held all the cooking tools. The spoons, forks, ladles, rolling pins, spatulas, and in the midst of it all, I reached in, jiggled around a little bit, and pulled out the shiniest, most jagged, perfect looking knife I could find.

It's stainless steal glinted off the little moonlight that shown through the windows. Yes, I thought to myself. This was going to do just fine.