Our Not So Devious Plan

              After days and days of planning, Linda and I had finally completed our devious plan. We arrived at the scene extra early to make sure that everything was in place. Ding, dong! The doorbell rang and Linda looked at me. We both nodded and put on straight faces as to not give away our secret. Chloe walked into the house without a sign of suspicion; we had succeeded with the first part of the plan. She skipped merrily into Charlotte's room and I shot Linda a look. We both made our way to the room where, we could see, Chloe already picking the box up to examine it.
"It's your Christmas present," I tell her.
"Yay," she exclaimed.
              I could already see the glimmer in her eyes as she pondered what could possibly be inside. I decided I couldn't wait any longer and told her to go ahead and open it. Linda got her camera out, and our plan began. Chloe ripped off the wrapping paper and threw it over her left shoulder. Giggling like a little girl, she voraciously tore through the box to get to her treasure. Shreds of paper littered the bedroom floor while Chloe tried to find her present. There were three paper balls and Chloe slashed through them, only to find that they were decoys. She continued to rummage through the box, going through every decoy that we had placed inside. There were scrolls of newspapers that unrolled to reveal nothing but big savings. There were smaller boxes that were filled with packaging popcorn and bubble wrap. Linda and I could see Chloe start to deflate as she went through each decoy, and saw that the prospects of her getting any present at all was dim. She looked more confused every time she teared open the box. It took all the energy we had not to burst out laughing. Eventually, Chloe had gone through the entire box, only to find an envelope at the very bottom. The shine returned to Chloe's eyes as she realized what this meant. The smile was back on her face and she tried to contain her excitement.
          "You shouldn't have," she said.
          Opening the envelope slowly, it revealed three green bills. She pulled them out and at that moment, her face was priceless. Linda and I couldn't hold it in anymore and we rolled on the ground laughing and crying. The bills were simply Monopoly money, not the real american dollars that Chloe thought they would be. She shot us an annoyed face but it quickly turned into a smile. She started to laugh and we laughed alongside her.

Who knew peeps could cause so much trouble?

A week ago, while I was shopping with my friend, we stumbled across a rather peculiar scenario. Linda ran to the Easter aisle screaming, “Peeps!”

I ran over to join her as we marveled over the rows and rows of the marsh mellow treats. Linda grabbed four boxes with a variety of colors and threw them into the cart. They made four thuds. I laughed and took them out, reminding her that we could only get one box. With a pouty face, she put them back. Linda picked the box of pink peep chicks with a hopeful face but all I could see were the blue raspberry bunny peeps. I would have rushed over and grabbed them but there was an elderly woman and another person, whom I assumed to be her daughter, in my way. I waited patiently for them to move but they seemed to linger. The elderly woman lifted a box of the blue peeps I desired off the shelf and proceeded to place them in her basket when the young lady took it out of her hands and placed it back. The young lady had a concerned look on her face and when I came a little closer, I could catch tidbits of their conversation.  It went a little like this:

Daughter: “Mom, the doctor said no sugar.”

(Puts peeps back)

Mom: “But they are just peeps.”

(Takes peeps off the shelf)

Daughter: “They have too much sugar.”

(Puts peeps back)

Mom: “But it’s sugar free.”

(Takes peep)

Daughter: “They’re just saying that.”

(Puts peeps back)

This went on for a while until a girl around the age of thirteen went between the two bickering ladies to grab her own box of peeps. I watched helplessly as she grabbed three boxes from the shelf. I wished that I could have done the same but I didn't want to be rude and get between the two quarreling people.

Mom: “See? She can get one.”

(Gestures to the girl)

Daughter: “Well, their daughter isn't diabetic!”

Eventually, the daughter pulled her mom away from the peeps by the arm. I was finally able to pick my chosen box of peeps and put it in the cart. Linda took them out and set it back on the shelf while putting her peeps in. I sighed; there was no arguing with Linda when she knew what she wanted. I just regretted that I waited for nothing.