Getting Inside
They’re in the mall. Now they’ve got to make it into the store…
Welcome back!
Happy April! The year is going by quick, as is this series.
First off, I just wanted to take a second to thank those who have pledged support to Story Whale. It really means a lot and it is always incredibly motivating to see that level of support.
As always, find the full series here:
If you’re new here, please do subscribe! You won’t regret it (I hope):
And if you know someone who might get a kick out of Story Whale, please do spread the word!
Now, please enjoy today’s chapter!
The store seemed to sparkle as we approached it, as if the whole thing were just one big jewel.
“There it is,” I told Joan and Ruby.
The front of the place was made of glass with all manner of shiny gizmos on display. It was quite a big store and there was action at the entrance of it with humans coming and going.
We couldn’t just rush on in there though. We needed to find somewhere to stop for a moment and think things over. We needed a plan.
Gliding high, I saw a spot that could work. Down in front of the jewellery store, there were a couple of human benches in the middle of the laneway with a little stretch of indoor ferns separating them. With no one sitting there, it would work just fine.
I nodded down towards the little plot of plants and Joan and Ruby instantly knew what I meant.
We slipped down through the air and landed among the ferns with a quiet rustle. There wasn’t a heap of cover, but it was enough.
The three of us stood in a row among the low dense plants, looking out at the jewellery store in front of us.
No one seemed to have noticed our descent. We were in the clear.
We watched the front entrance of the jewellery store, scoping it out, trying to get the measure of it.
It was a relatively busy store compared to those around it.
The automatic door moved like a giant mechanical mouth, eating people up, spitting them out.
There was one human who didn’t move at all. He stood just outside of the entrance and watched over the people coming and going. A security guard, looking out for pesky pigeons just like us.
“There’s security?” said Joan, frustrated.
“Francois didn’t mention them,” I said.
We ducked our heads back inside our little forest in the mall and had a group huddle.
“What are we going to do about the guard?” asked Ruby.
She was expecting me to have a plan, but I didn’t have one. I could feel myself starting to become overwhelmed. My confidence was wearing off and I didn’t know what to do.
“I’ll distract him,” said Joan suddenly. “I’ll get him to chase after me and then you two will have a chance to go inside.”
“Are you sure you can do it?” Ruby asked.
“I’ll manage,” said Joan.
“What’s your plan?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea,” she said.
She was looking at the store, mapping out her plan in her head, whatever it was.
“We’ll still need to time it right,” said Ruby. “It’s an automatic door. We’ll need to go for it at the same time as a human is entering or leaving.”
“I’ll take care of that,” said Joan. “I’ll make sure to distract him at the right moment.”
“What’s it going to be like inside?” Ruby asked, looking at me.
I thought it over for a moment and then confessed, “I don’t really know.”
“Perfect,” remarked Joan sarcastically.
I jumped in and tried to redeem myself. “I know there are glass cabinets and that’s where they keep the shiny stuff. And, just like the door, we’ll need to time it right. We need the humans to open it, that’s the only way we can get inside the glass cabinets.”
“Which is where the trouble started for Francois…” Joan added.
It was true. Being inside a small glass box and surrounded by panicked humans, it was a pigeon’s worst nightmare. No wonder it was what tripped Francois up.
Joan stretched her wings.
“Let’s get to it then,” she said.
In that moment, I wanted to just stay hidden there among the plants forever. Except some things just can’t be avoided…
Joan checked that the coast was clear and then she scuttled along the bench on the opposite side to the jewellery store. Clearly, she had a plan.
We watched as she got some distance between us and her and then took off, flying up high to the ceiling of the laneway. She then made her way back towards the jewellery store, eventually landing on a tiny little ledge above the security guard’s head.
Now it was a waiting game.
Ruby and I stood at the edge of the little plot of plants, eyeing down the jewellery store, ready to launch.
In that moment, Ruby could sense how nervous I was.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
I lied and nodded.
Through the glass I saw a couple of humans in the store making their way towards the exit. I looked up and Joan clearly saw them too. This was it.
Just as the humans were getting close to the door, everything kicked off.
The white blotch of Joan’s poop moved through the air like a giant teardrop and hit the security guard plonk on the forehead, then briefly sliding down his face like a smear of paint.
It took a second for everything to register for the security guard as he felt his face with his hand and then looked at the white poop that was now all over his palm. His head snapped upwards and rage took over when he saw Joan standing smugly on her little ledge above him.
She swooshed down through the air, just close enough to make him think he could get her.
He swung his fist at her, missing by a mile. With the big sudden movement, he almost knocked himself over, stumbling on the spot and tripping on his own legs.
Joan landed on the ground nearby to get him to try and land a kick.
He made his little run up and took a shot at Joan with his boot. Joan dodged it easily and shuffled back, encouraging him to have another go.
As this was happening, the couple inside the store where just coming up to the automatic doors.
The second those doors moved, Ruby called out, “Go!”
As always, thank you so much for reading. See you next week!