On a random Tuesday morning, I was awoken by a rock that hit my window. I jumped out of bed and pulled the blinds wide open. My friend, Edgar was throwing pebbles from quite a distance away – from behind a bush to be precise. It was only 6:45 a.m., and my mother was still fast asleep, like an angel. I ran down stairs and cracked the door open to speak to Edgar. I only cracked the door open a small amount because I did not want my mom to be awoken. My mom always wakes up in a bad mood. I strongly believe she has mood swings. Yeah, like bipolar people. People with that disorder can really be a pain in the butt. Literally, because they will probably punch you right in the face if you don’t do what they ask. I’ve always felt that way towards my mother. The fear of being punched is not a good feeling.

“Let’s not go to school and go downtown? Maybe watch a movie? Let’s invite some girls?” Edgar asked me.

I didn’t want to reject my best friend so I agreed. “Yeah, let’s go, I have 50 bucks” I told Edgar.

I had 50 dollars because I work so hard. Not really, I sold an old portable video game that I didn’t seem to have space for in my life. The little game was worth way more than just 50 dollars, more like 120, but whatever, money is money.

I decided to take a quick shower, so I gave Edgar instructions to wait outside because there was too much of a risk for him to be inside and my mother being woken up. My mom would freak! She had never met Edgar and would probably call the cops.

Anyways, Edgar waited outside on my porch, and I jumped in the shower. Every time I am in the shower I hear loud thumps, as if somebody is breaking into my home. It’s extremely depressing knowing that if a burglar actually came into your home, you would have to fight him naked with soap in your hands; he might laugh and run off because he saw your body parts. Or, maybe he would take a picture and upload it on the internet for everyone to see. It’s just in my head right? That can’t actually happen, can it? Good thing Edgar was outside waiting for me. It’s pretty difficult anyone to get past him (he was protecting my castle).

I stepped out of the shower and immediately brushed my teeth. It looked like I wouldn’t be having orange juice for breakfast. I got dressed and put on the nicest clothes in my closet: Jordans, polo, express jeans. I actually thought of inviting the girl of my dreams. She’s really cute: light skin, big eyes, and a great smile.

“Today, I shall be the king”, I said to myself. Pretty much I felt like a king. Why? Because I had 50 dollars in my pocket.

It was going to be a fun day. Ditching school, and going to the movies with my best friend. Sounds fun, right? I just hoped that my mom didn’t find out or she would kill me. I remember my mom telling me, when I was in the first grade, “if you don’t behave in class, I will take you up in front of everyone, pull your pants down, and spank you until you cry.” That was the most terrifying thing I’d ever heard in those short five years of my life!

I didn’t actually invite that girl to the movies that morning, because I was frightened to talk to her. She was so beautiful. Anyways, Edgar and I caught the bus downtown. I was so excited to watch a movie during the school day. I mean, it was something I had always wanted to do. All of it made me feel like a bad boy and for the first time in my life, I felt cool.
Before attend the movie theater, Edgar and I stopped at a grocery store; Rite Aid to be exact. We stepped inside and we both felt the cool breeze of the AC. It felt like stepping into a room that was all of a sudden the North Pole. Edgar and I split up and began to walk the aisles. I went through aisle one, and he went through aisle five. I was really craving candy, something sweet, and fun to eat. I absolutely love Airheads, so I decided to pick them up. My mentality, and personality just flew off. I looked around for people and cameras and inserted the piece of candy into my pocket. I was scared because it was my first time doing something like that. Was I really a thief? What would my mother think; would her perspective on my change if she found out what I was doing? Would she ever look at me, her only baby boy, the same? I decided to continue and walk out of the store. Edgar didn’t know anything about what I was doing. As I was walking out, a man came up to me and asked “what’s in your pocket son?” I replied “nothing”. As I was answering his questions, I felt my face burning up because I knew I was lying.

I tried to walk past him and take off like a jet, but I halted. Feeling the pressure of his arms around me made me feel that I was going to be kidnapped; kidnapped by a man who worked at Rite Aid. I was screaming my lungs out, gasping for air. While he was taking me back inside the store and to the back office, all I could think about was my mother. She didn’t raise me to be a thief. I knew she was going to hate me because I stole something, even though I had a large amount of money in my pocket.

In the office of the manager, who caught me like a fish, I was crying my eyes out. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. This was my first time. Please don’t call my mom” I pleaded. With a smirk on his face he snarled, ‘yeah, that’s what they all say. Do you have anything else in your pockets boy?”.

“No sir” I responded immediately. “Well, I do have fifty dollars” I then admitted. He looked at me with such shame and confusion; this crushed me because he knew in that moment how stupid I was. Just another brown boy stealing.

He called my mother and put me on the line. There was a moment of silence before I said hello. My mother asked “what’s going on?”.

“I’m downtown and I was caught stealing” I admitted. “I’m very sorry mom, it will never happen again.” A little while later, my mother arrived and took me home.

I was grounded for two months, I had to do all the chores and I couldn’t leave the house unless I was going to school. Let’s just say that my mother’s sandal didn’t taste very good. But it definitely tasted better than those Airheads I stole. If I didn’t get caught, and hadn’t learned my lesson, where would I be now? Prison?