Paying for College - The Novel Read online

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  Brothers, no way in hell, did I want to do another break in? But I needed the money to return home. I also became a junky to the adrenaline rush.

  The next night, I slipped my old jacket on and emptied the contents of my backpack onto my desk. Then I snuck out of the dorm room while Drew was singing in the shower. I hopped down the side stairwell at the end of the building that students rarely used.

  Brothers, I knew my alibi sucked, but I would play it as if I was still in the dormitory. Drew probably would think I went to watch tv in the community room or watch a movie in another dorm room.

  I walked to the edge of town to the junk yard and climbed up and over the fence.

  Old flattened cars were stacked everywhere. I searched for an old car where I could open the trunk.

  I walked and saw one car with the hood open, engine missing, and the driver’s door propped open. I walked to it and pulled the lever to open the trunk.

  I saw blackness, so I felt around in the trunk. Nope, just a bunch of junk and spare parts.

  I went to the next car and did the same. Then the next. And the next. Finally, I found it, an old jack and crowbar. I deposited the jack parts and crowbar into my backpack.

  I walked to the grocery store in the town’s center.

  I walked along the street in front of the store and looked at the front windows from a distance. I glanced at my watch – ten o’clock. I knew the store closed early on Wednesday night, and nobody should be around.

  I walked behind the building to the loading dock. I knew the sliding cargo door opened several inches, just enough to slip a jack under it.

  I slipped on my gloves and used them to wipe the jack and crow bar clean. Then I assembled the jack and slipped it under the sliding door. I pumped the jack, applying immense upward pressure on the door. The cargo door started to creak and moan.

  One more pump - more moaning and creaking.

  Another pump – snapped and something metallic crashed to the floor.

  I ran and hid behind the dumpster, crouching low and searching the area for witnesses. After fifteen minutes, no sign of life. I ran to the loading dock and pumped the jack several more times, and, brothers, I finally had enough space to slide under the door.

  I tiptoed through the storage room to the swinging metal door that led to the store. I swung the door open a little while blinding fluorescent light poured into the storage room.

  I covered my eyes with my free hand. Once my eyes adjusted, I slipped on a face mask and jogged to the manager’s office. Brothers, I would be sinking in a deep shit pit if anyone was standing in the parking lot and was looking in. They would easily spot me for those vulnerable seconds as I ran to the manager’s office.

  I made it to the office and hid behind the corner. I looked at the front store windows – no sign of life.

  “Awesome,” I mumbled. Then I pried the crowbar between the wooden door and frame and pushed hard. The wooden door and frame screamed under the crowbar’s force. Then the frame around the doorknob snapped and broke into pieces while the manager’s office door swung open.

  I went behind the manager’s desk and crouched there. I knew the safe was in the cabinet behind the desk that even a blind thief could spot a mile away. But, of course, brothers, I had a little inside info. I saw the safe when I entered the manager’s office five weeks ago to apply for a job. As I entered his office, he closed the safe and swiveled in his chair to greet me.

  That day, I took an application and thanked him but never returned to the store, or at least until now.

  I used the crowbar to pry the safe from the cabinet. Then I placed the safe on top the manager’s desk.

  The safe was a cheap electronic one that anyone could buy at a discount store. Of course, travelers could find this safe in any hotel room. Although heavy metal protects these safes, these budget safes all possess the same flaw.

  I lifted the safe a little from the front and bounce it on top of the desk while simultaneously turning the safe’s locking knob at the same time.

  I bounced it again and tried to open the door. Then again, and again. Finally, on the tenth or twentieth bounce, the bounce jiggled and opened the locking mechanism for a brief moment while I turned the locking knob at the same time. The safe’s door popped opened, and I removed all the money and checks and spread them on the table.

  I removed the money and slipped it into my pocket. I had plenty of time to count it once I got outta of town. Then I stacked the checks and folded them and slipped them into my other pocket.

  I removed the picture frame from the wall that held the commemorative two-dollar bill. I smashed the picture frame on the floor and broke the glass. Then I grabbed the two-dollar bill and slipped it with the checks.

  I opened all the desk drawers and spilled the contents onto the ground. I looked at my mess making sure this break-n-take seemed truly random.

  I jogged to the manager’s door and peered out. No traffic. No people, but I heard a dog howled in the distance. I sprinted to the storage room and ran to the cargo door. Approaching the cargo door, I dropped to my side and slid under the loading dock door in one swoop. I quickly lowered the jack and dissembled it. I slipped the jack and crowbar into my backpack and got the hell out of there.

  I walked to the center of the blue suspension bridge. I waited until the light traffic became dead and the dropped the jack and crowbar one by one into the river.

  I caught the bus the next morning and headed home.