Years ago, I was in a parking lot with multiple surrounding stores. It was my cousins and I, just sitting there filled with boredom while waiting on my Aunt Lori. We were all just sitting there on our phones, scrolling on our social media as hours passed by. An idea of going into the pet store pops into my head. Without any hesitation I say with excitement “let’s go into the pet store.” They quickly agreed. We made sure that we got our phones, and we got out of the car as fast as we could, with Micah almost falling out onto the blacktop. We grouped together and ran across the road to the store.

 We got to the door, and I pulled it open and held it back for them to catch the door behind me. As I step into the store, it smelIed surprisingly not bad, more so like a well cleaned store, which was very well put together. I was astonished by all the different animals I saw. While barely even being inside,  my cousin Jalyn then had to push me to get me to keep going while I stood there trying to take everything in, as I just stopped from the push of Micah.

Before I could even say some rude remark to him, he was way ahead of us. I watched him to see what was so important that he had to push through me. Standing there, I watched him, and I thought to myself, “I can only imagine what the employees were thinking as all this was happening.” I watched Micah, thinking I would see where he would go but I couldn’t tell where Micah was rushing to, so I told Jalyn to come with me. We started to walk quickly behind him. I noticed him stop. He turned to look into the half grubby looking window that I could barely see from a distance. After we walked for another good twenty seconds, I made it to him and I stood beside him while he’s there just staring into the window looking more fascinated than ever. I notice there’s a little white mouse. Why was he so fascinated by that, I’ll never know. Jalyn squeezed in the small gap between us and said, while out of breath, “Really.” I thought she would continue speaking, but I saw her gasp for air and look at the mouse. 

Minutes passed by while we just stood there and tapped the glass and laughed at the mouse, finally someone said something. 

 “I think I’m gonna get it,” Micah said in all seriousness. 

It got quite a few seconds as we waited for Micah to inform us that he’s actually joking. He said nothing and stood there grinning. Jalyn then replied several seconds later “yeah right” as she slowly walked towards the front of the store. I stood from crouching and followed behind her. Micah then yells, “why not” from across the store to Jalyn as we’re already out of the door, and the door was barely open enough for us to have heard him. 

I crossed the paved parking lot and walked toward the car. I entered the car without realizing Micah was still in the store. I thought I would try to call him, but as my finger hovered over the green call button, he strolled up to the car, a huge grin across his face. While holding a little cage, which holds the little white mouse. I gave him an “Are you crazy!” look. Micah’s expression remained a grin as he opened his car door. He places the cage on the center armrest and shuts his door. I grab the cage before he can even grab it.

 While I held the mouse in the cage, I could hear Jalyn and Micah talking back and

fourth, about what’s the best way to go about the situation of hiding it for the ride home, as they talked, Micah reached back and grabbed the cage to examine it. Micah took a deep breath and let it out to say,

“We’re gonna have to put it under your feet.”

 I thought he was talking to Jalyn but he turns and looks at me after, like I was supposed to reply. I say “Are you kidding me, it’s going to be so obvious”. He doesn’t reply to me. He turned around his seat with the cage smiling as he handed me the cage. 

I softly sat the cage underneath my feet, then I grabbed a white towel that happened to be on the floor behind the driver’s seat. I placed the towel over the mouse. 

TIme passed by. I sat there and  watched out the windows as people and cars passed by, Micah was researching what’s the best food to feed the mouse and Jalyn was on her phone messaging her friends. That went  on for about twenty minutes. Only twenty minutes because I noticed aunt Lori walking out of the store that happened to be right beside the pet store. I gave out a few little coughs that notified them that I saw their Mom. They seemed to act normal. I’m checking to make sure the cage is covered and not noticeable. She pulled the cart to the side of the car and started to unload. Aunt Lori started to move things around to have enough room for her bags. 

I think to myself “She’s definitely going to find the mouse.” Instead of moving whatever she thought sat under my feet. Aunt Lori asks me to “Set this bag by your feet.” as she handed me a bag full of clothes. I felt so relieved and I could sense that Micah and Jalyn were as well. Aunt Lori finishes placing all her bags into the car. My phone suddenly dings. I looked down at my phone right away and  noticed it was a text from Micah “Thanks Journ.” I replied “No prob.”

Finishing up putting her bags into the car, she takes the cart across the road and into the cart holder area. Micah is hooking up his phone to the aux cord in case of the possibility that the mouse could squeak or scratch the cage, which would blow our cover. Aunt Lori crosses the road quickly and enters the car. Micah then quickly turned his music on loud enough to cover any sound the mouse could have made. 

Backing out of the parking lot I thought to myself “I wonder how this is going to go?” Leaving the parking lot, everyone remained quiet.  All I heard was the music coming from the speakers. I decided to take a nap as it looked like that’s what everyone was doing, other than aunt Lori of course. The whole ride everyone remained quiet. One minute I was asleep the next I heard aunt Lori say “We’re here Journey.” I woke up in shock and grabbed my charger, phone and my water bottle, almost tripping over the cage I forgot lying underneath my feet.

 I waved goodbye as I walked to the front door. I ran inside and straight to my room without saying hello to my grandparents. I jumped onto my bed, grabbed my phone out of my pocket and immediately started texting Micah. I texted “Let me know when you make it home and what all happens.” Waiting for a text back, I got up from my bed and ran to the kitchen to get some food. 

I grabbed some chips and dip and continued back to my room. Walking in the hallway about to enter my room, I hear my phone ding. I rushed into my room and threw the unopened bag of chips and dip onto my bed and picked up my phone to see a text message from Micah, “We made it home and we told Mom we would bring all of her things inside so she would go inside which gave us the chance to sneak the mouse into the basement.”

I reply with “Oh that’s great text me when you get the mouse inside.” 

I pushed the turn off button on my phone and flipped it onto my bed. I opened up the chips and dip and started to eat, as I’m waiting for him to message back. Not even a few minutes pass by and I get another message. I flipped my phone over and it lit up with a message from Micah “We did all that for nothing.” I quickly rub my fingers off on my pants and start texting back “I had a feeling you would get caught.” 

He began typing right after I sent it, as I’m watching the dots transition across the screen. His message pops up and says “We managed to bring the mouse in through the basement door, and even get it up the stairs to my room.” He didn’t say anything else, but he was still typing. Another message lowered from my screen saying “When I got the cage to my room, I sat it down in my closet and went to go get Jalyn so she could help me figure out what to do and apparently I left the bottom lock of the cage door open, and the mouse got out.” 

He continued to type after sending the message. I immediately thought “Micah lost the mouse.” As I typed  up my message asking if he lost the mouse.” He said “The cat got the mouse”. I drop my phone on the bed in disbelief. I thought to myself “He’s probably joking”, as I’m grabbing my phone to ask if he’s serious. My phone vibrated from a snapchat notification from Micah. I noticed it’s a picture so of course I opened it and it’s a picture of the dead little white mouse.

I was so scared I couldn’t even text back. I grabbed my charger from the floor, plugged it into the wall and then into my phone. I laid my phone down on the dresser and leaned back onto my bed and fell asleep right as I hit my head on the pillow and that was the day.