I apologize for the lack of updates. I went to upgrade the ram on my computer and for some reason or another it died. I don't have access to my files right now since I have been unable to fix the computer and am on a laptop so I can begin writing again. I had to rewrite a lot of the story since it was on my desktop computer. Again I apologize.

Chapter 14

Stealthy Operations

By the time the bus arrived at the mall, I had butterflies in my tummy. What if I could not do this? I thought that maybe I should just get back on the bus and then go home. Then I told myself to calm down. I could not just go home. I had a big important job to do. Stealing from Club G was going to be very hard work. I shouldered my backpack and set off across the parking lot to the mall entrance.

The mall was very crowded. The crowds were a gigundoly good thing. It meant it would be easy for me to blend it and not get noticed as easily. The last thing I wanted was to stand out so that if Club G reported the missing things to the police, someone would remember me as a suspect.

I made sure to smile big as I walked through the air-conditioned mall to Club G. Looking nervous would make me look suspicious. A happy, relaxed little girl would not make anyone think twice when they saw me.

I walked into Club G feeling determined. I gazed around the store with a smile. There is a saying that I have heard Nannie use before which says the world is your oyster. I guess it means that you can achieve anything in the world you want. I do not really know for sure

I had made a list of my plan of action for shoplifting. It was stuffed in my pocket. I took it out and unfolded it. The first thing it said was to stuff a bear into my backpack. I was not sure there was enough room in my backpack for a bear. I had not bothered to clean it out so maybe I could not steal a bear today. Boo and bullfrogs. I would come back to that later.

However, I did not come all this way for nothing. I headed to the clothing department. I took a Club G jean skirt and a baby blue Club G t-shirt from the rack. I grabbed a pair of Club G knee socks, Club G barrettes and a Club G tote bag from the accessory rack. I stuck the knee socks and barrettes into the tote bag and put the tote bag over my arm. Then I draped the clothes over my arm so that the tote bag was covered.

I headed over to the dressing rooms. The lady at the counter smiled at me. "Just go on in and whatever doesn't fit, hang it up inside the dressing room on the hook."

I smiled back and walked into the dressing rooms. I chose a stall that was the farthest away from the counter out of all the stalls. There were already clothes hanging up on the hooks in the stall. My plan was going off perfectly so far. Since so much was already up on the hooks, no one would notice that I had not hung anything up.

I closed the stall door and then I saw something under the bench in the stall. Something that made me gasp with surprise. I bent over and pulled a Club G bear off the floor. It was an already bought and paid for bear and it looked like someone had brought it to visit Club G and had left it in here. The bear was not the bear I had wanted. It had red hair and dark brown fur with black eyes but still it was a Club G bear. I knew that the honest thing to do would be to turn it into the customer service but I was not there on an honest mission. I was there to steal and stealing is very dishonest. I was not really feeling guilty about it though so I stuffed the bear into my backpack.

I smiled to myself as I quietly took the tags off the clothes I wanted and stuck the tags into pockets of clothes hanging on the racks. Then I took off my own clothes and put on the clothes I was stealing. I put my own clothes back on over the new clothes. The clothes felt gigundoly hot and tight but at least the new clothes were not visible.

I looked in the mirror. I turned around and around. I looked very fat with my clothes on top of the new ones. I frowned. I did not care though. I had a new Club G outfit and my very own Club G bear. My shoplifting trip was almost a success. Now I just had to get out of the store.

I put the tote bag into my backpack with the bear and did one final check of the dressing room to make sure nothing was out of place or looked suspicious. Then I put on my backpack and walked out of the dressing room stall.

The lady at the counter smiled again at me, "How did those work out for you sweetie?"

"Oh the clothes were not what I had in mind really. I put them on the hooks inside the dressing room. I am going to go out and browse to see if I can find an outfit I like better." I smiled and waved at the counter lady and then hurried off before she got suspicious.

"Let me know if I can assist you," she called after me as I walked off.

Now it was time for me to make my escape to the front of the store and then back to the bus stop. I had to get home before the junky aka Claudia Kishi noticed my absence. Or worse yet my family arrived home. I wanted more things from Club G but I had to high tail it out of there to ensure my success.

I made my way casually towards the front entrance of the store, humming the Club G commercial theme song softly to myself as I went. I picked up my pace to a brisk walk but not fast enough to be running. Running would be suspicious and my parents and teacher always tell me that running inside is dangerous.

I approached the front of the store. I saw the security sensors at the front entrance and my heart stopped. Then I remembered that I had removed the tags from my clothes and continued walking. I walked out of the store and into the main corridor of the mall. I breathed a sigh of relief when I did not set off the alarms. I was going to make it after all. I looked back into Club G to see if anyone had noticed me but no one was looking my way. I had just successfully shoplifted from Club G. It was the most brilliant moment of my life.

I walked happily towards the entrance of the mall that was nearest to the bus stop. I was on top of the world and nothing was ever going to bring me down. All I had to do now was make it safely home without anyone noticing my return. That would be easy enough though.