Chapter 8

I could feel my foot sag into the velvety grass with a loud squish as I scurried after the bully. After the lack of practice for running in a couple of weeks, I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage and oxygen drawn out of me. I felt like a human tin can, numbed and lifeless. My muscles were taught and I was aching for a break. Not a positive sign when you are on a chase that’s for sure. And then I wasn’t sure how but my infallible friend Violet started yelling at me. “Move faster you sotong!” I was appalled not only by the fact that she could still keep up with the speed she was running at and still being able to talk, I was also astonished by the fact that she was asking me to hurry up. Wasn’t I fast enough already? I didn’t bother to reply, it was a hopeless cause. Reasoning with Violet was as good as talking to a choo- choo train. I quickened the pace of my clumsy lumber and brushed my fringe which was soaked in sweat aside gingerly.
“We need a plan,” Violet called out to me, I nodded my head in silent agreement. I was too breathless to talk. “Any brilliant ideas?”she added. I racked my numbskull for one but all that came to me was a message from my brain to gasp for air. Instinctively, I panted heavily as the whirl movement of legs came to an abrupt stop. Violet upon seeing me halt, lectured, “Move it Jen, or we’ll lose this guy like we lost the kidnapper.” I didn’t bother to budge, “I have an idea, how about I rest and rejuvenate here while you go on your wild goose chase with that fatty?” Violet considered the idea for a fraction of a second and replied, “If we lose the guy it’s your fault.” “Sure, no problem,” but my answer was unnecessary, she had already vanished from my sight. I shook my head, if she had bothered to stay, I would have shared with her another one of my ingenious plans. Guess that’s Violet for you. Whipping out my communicator, I messaged the boys, “Group gathering at ten minutes past four, we meet at the starting venue, I have a plan to propose.”
*****
Violet was sweating profusely by the time she arrived. “So did you catch our criminal?” I queried as she shot me a scornful scowl, I needn’t ask to know that she had failed the task. “It’s your fault he got away so easily. And to think I followed him all the way while you were seated here, happily shaking your leg,” she scoffed. “Corrections, I was busy washing my shoe,” I corrected. “Besides, if you had bothered to wait, you would have heard about my brilliant plan which didn’t involve the both of us running about like chickens.” Violet threw her hands up in despair and covered her ears, “No more of your brilliant plans! It always turns out to be something impractical and crazy and more than three-quarter of the time you get us into trouble because of them!”
“Calm down Violet, this one sounds pretty logical I have to admit,” Jian Ming supported. I did an inaudible cheer for myself, feeling grateful towards Jian Ming’s support. Violet looked at me with doubt written all over her face. Is it that hard to believe that sometimes my ideas can be pretty fantastic?
“I can’t…” Violet caught sight my grin and quickly broke off. “Forget about what I had just said. If your plan is so ‘great’, Jennison, why don’t you share it with me?” she said sarcastically. “No problem,” I started. “In case you haven’t noticed, our criminal here Mr. Fatty was wearing his school uniform and I’m absolutely positive he came from the school Yishun City Secondary.”
“How can you be so sure of it?” Violet queried. “Because the school’s name was printed in big and bold letters at the back of his uniform,” I replied casually. Violet rolled her eyes, “But there has to be at least a thousand students in the school and if I remembered correctly, he didn’t wear a nametag. How do you plan on locating him? It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.” To her surprise, I broke into fits of laughter, “He was smart enough to remove his nametag, but he was dim-witted enough to leave another important clue pinned on his shirt. If I recall correctly, he was wearing a student counsellor’s tie and that shortens our list of suspects by a few hundreds.” “And I still don’t know how you are going to locate him, there are like a hundred students more left,” Violet challenged. “Simple, we check up the school’s student counsellors’ board,” I said smugly as Violet muttered the words ‘show off’.
“Ok, so this plan sounds reasonable but how are we supposed to do so?” she enquired relunctantly. I cast a glance at the boys giving them the cue to reply. “I’ve discussed with Jian Ming and Andrew and we decided that the best way to carry out the plan is to…” “Break into the school,” both the boys finished off. Violet pursed her lips and was staring at me with stunned expression.
“The plan sounds fine but… Break into the school? Have you people lost your mind? That’s would be the worst thing we have ever done before! Beside your idea on the strike but still, A BREAK IN? We could be jailed!” Violet preached. “We don’t exactly have to break in, we could enter as visitors you know,” Andrew said. Violet fumed softly. I could tell that she had already given in to my plan. “Alright, we will do the break in but if we get into any trouble, we will hold you ultimately responsible for it,” she finally uttered after five long seconds reluctantly. I clasped my hands together in glee, beside me, I could hear Violet’s self-protests, “Oh why did I agree to that raving lunatic’s plan?” And at that very moment as if in reply to her question, two splats of white pungent drips came searing from the sky landing on Violet’s yellow tee. The chirping from the birds overhead made it nonetheless clear what the splats were. I stifled a laugh, it was time for Violet to have a taste of her own – in this case ‘aromatic’ medicine.