Being Quick Thinking

Written by Keveane Tan Le Xuan, Primary 6

Beep. Boop. Beep. The hushed sound of my mobile phone echoed through the house. I laid on the sofa, wrapped snugly in my blanket as I tried to get to the next level of my game. All the lights were off and no one else was home. Both my parents were working late yet again and I was tasked with safeguarding the house till their return.

Right when I was about to finish a stage, my phone’s battery died. “Oh, come on!” I cried out in agony as I threw my hands up in the air in anguish. I scrunched up my face and dragged myself off the couch to find a charger for my phone.

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a shadowy figure moving swiftly past the living room’s window like a ninja on a stealth mission. Must be an animal. I thought to myself. I lived in a bungalow and more often than not, stray cats roam into our garden for a quick respite. I went up to the window and peered into the dark, gloomy night. There was nothing in sight except for the glow from the street lamps and my neighbours’ houses sitting silently along the road. “Huh,” I muttered to myself. “Must have been my imagination.” I continued on my quest for a charger.

Click. Click. Click. Soft noises of metal hitting against metal could be heard from outside my main door. I raised an eyebrow. That was certainly not a cat. Suddenly, realisation hit me like a ton of bricks. Could it be? I tiptoed towards the window and sneaked a peek. My eyes widened at the sight before me. My blood ran cold and I broke out in cold sweat. A slightly hunched figure was standing right outside my main door, picking at the lock.

“Stay calm and don’t panic,” I commanded myself. I moved slowly away from the window, trembling with every single step I took. All the while, my heart felt like it was about to explode from my chest. I crouched down and crept towards the back door. Slowly, I opened the back door, wincing each time it creaked, and silently closed it back. My head was spinning. I forced myself to run to my neighbour’s house despite my legs going against my will. Move legs, move! I finally reached the door of my neighbour’s house and knocked urgently on it as if my life depended on it.

“Hello?” Mrs Sim asked as she opened the door. She was dressed in a nightgown but still looked lively. “Janelle, what are you doing here at such an ungodly hour?” She queried with a hint of apprehension. “Where are your parents?”

“They are working late tonight,” I answered brusquely. I quickly gave her a brief explanation of the situation and Mrs Sim immediately called the police.

For what felt like an eternity, I could soon hear the sirens wailing, breaking the awful silence in the dead of the night. A couple of policemen stepped out from the police car and went through the front door. After a while, the policemen walked out of the house with a handcuffed man who, in the light, looked like he had not showered in days. I was told later by the police that the burglar had been watching my house for a while and knew that my parents always worked very late into the night. However, he did not know that I even existed.

When my parents finally came home from work, they praised me for my quick thinking after knowing the drama that had unfolded in their absence. That was a certainly one night that I would never forget!