The man walked swiftly into my living room.

The sunlight that entered through the windows reflected on the tiny pieces of broken crystal that covered his black clothes. He had probably broken the kitchen window to get in. I couldn’t see his face since he was wearing a mask. All I could see were two big, brown eyes, staring directly at me.

We were both equally surprised for each other’s presence, up to the point where we didn’t know what to do. I had imagined myself in that situation a few times before, and in my mind, I would always run, scream and hide. Instead, I turned the TV volume down, and asked, in an extremely calm voice, “Who are you?”

It was clear that the man was taken aback by my reaction. He stood in silence, and after a few seconds,  started walking towards me. I thought about standing up and running away, but I really didn’t see the point. The man was three times taller than me, and as he walked closer, I realized he had a gun hanging from his belt.

He stood in front of me, took the gun out, and pointed it at my head. “I’m not going to tell you anything, you dumb-ass stupid girl,” His voice was softer than what I expected, he also sounded younger, “Now shut up, and let me carry on with my business.”

“This is your first time, isn’t it?”  I asked him.

His eyes hardened, “What makes you think that?”

“Well, you were easily fooled to think there was no one home just because there are no cars in the driveway. Plus, the front door wasn’t locked. There was no need to break a window.” He lowered his stretched arm, which was a relief since the gun was no longer pointing at me.

He took two steps back and let out a huge sight, “I suck, don’t I?”

“You will probably get better at it, don’t worry.”

“Do you really think so?” He asked, after scratching the top of his head.

“Well, yes. Maybe.” I decided to turn the TV off and give him my full attention, “And if you don’t, do be comforted by the fact that there are about a thousand other legal careers you can pursuit.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” He sat down on the couch in front of me, “But I suck at everything. I wouldn’t be trying this if I had anything better to do.”

He looked completely desolated. I felt terribly bad for him. “What’s your name?”

“Josh” His eyes widened, “Oh my gosh I just told you my name.” He covered his face with both hands and stood up. “You know what? I’m leaving. Forget this ever happened.”

Josh took out his wallet and handed me a few dollars, “I don’t have much, but I hope this will help you fix the window.” He looked nervously around the room “Please don’t tell anyone, okay? I won’t do it again, this was a stupid idea.”

“Quite stupid” I turned the TV back on and he walked towards the kitchen, “Josh!” I shouted.

He turned back to look at me, “What?”

“You don’t have to get out through the window. Just use the front door”

“Right”

Later that day, after having to tell my mom some kids broke the window with a football, she walked into my bedroom.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

She sat down on my bed next to me and asked, “Who’s Josh Simmons?”

“Umm a friend from school … He came today to finish a chemistry project.”

She took out Josh’s wallet and handed it to me, “Oh, it was in the living room. It probably fell off from his pocket.”

As soon as she left, I opened the wallet and took out a Record Store employee ID from where he probably worked. I looked at his picture and immediately recognized him. He was a year older than me and had graduated from high school a few months back. I also found a small piece of paper, where “If found please call 732-577-2179” was written in sloppy handwriting.

He answered almost immediately.

“Josh?”
“Yeah, this is him. Who’s calling?”
“Umm, it’s me, from the house you broke in today.”
“Oh my gosh, how did you find me? You called the police didn’t you?” His voice trembled.
“You left your wallet here.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I pick it up tomorrow?”
“Sure”
“Same time?”
“Yes. Just be sure to knock the door this time”
“I will, thanks.”
“Bye”
“See you tomorrow.”