The special puzzle box plan
The best laid plans of mice and men… the poem is an old one. It was written with intention. Furthermore, its message still applies all these years later. At least, that’s what his teacher Mr. Roberts says. Trevis steers his bike away from the road and hops it over the curb. He liked Mr. Roberts and he always learned something from his classes.
Now the path goes into the woods and Trevis expertly pilots the bike through the thickening trees. This is his best route home. It’s a full ten minutes faster going through these woods. He wouldn’t need the extra time, but he overstayed at school. He knows his dad will be looking for him by now. Therefore, he throws extra effort into the pedals of the bike. He is determined to make up for lost time.
Trevis doesn’t like the thought of disappointing his dad. In fact, he wouldn’t be late at all except that Mr. Roberts asked him to stay after class. It turns out he was getting the chance to do extra credit work. Trevis couldn’t be more excited. Furthermore, he couldn’t wait to share the news with his dad. They talked about everything. The trail through the woods is slowly fading as the day gives way to the night. It would be dark soon.
The Special Puzzle Box
Davis is waiting for his son to return home. It is taking him longer today. However, Davis understands. Mr. Roberts contacted him earlier in the day to let him know he was keeping Trevis after class. In fact, Davis had a pleasant conversation with Mr. Roberts. Furthermore, he knew Trevis got along very well with Mr. Roberts style of teaching.
With this in mind, Davis wanted to encourage his son’s interest in his studies. Especially after everything that happened this past year. Things haven’t been the same since they left St. Louis. All their friends were there. Likewise they knew no one here in this small town by the sea. They only moved here so Davis could be closer to his work.
His work would have been manageable from St. Louis, but after what happened, Davis felt like a change would do them both some good. He watches the clock on the wall. It softly ticks the seconds away. No sound, or fan fare, just the steady ticking of the second hand, as it makes its way around again.
The Gate Crasher
It isn’t much further now. Trevis can see light at the edge of the woods in front of him. Lights from the road up ahead. It’s fully dark now, and he can no longer see the trail ahead of him. He’s moving very fast now, because he wants to get out of the woods. He wasn’t expecting the darkness to fall so quickly. The edge of the woods is getting nearer and he sets his sights on the light ahead.
That’s when he hits the gate. In fact, his bike hits the gate. Trevis, not knowing there was anything like a closed gate, kept right on going. He went right over the gate and sailed past several trees, before colliding with the ground, in a rolling tumble. The good news is he is wearing his helmet. Therefore his landing is not as bad as it could have been.
Late Arrival
The bad news is he will be even later getting home. Travis rolls over and shakily gets back on his feet. Everything seems to be okay as he, limp, walks back to his bike. Trevis and his dad believe in being prepared, so he reaches in his backpack for his flashlight. He clicks it on to see if his bike is trashed. The sudden light in the darkness causes his eyes a moment of adjustment. Once he can see more clearly, the small steel puzzle box laying on the ground in front of his bike, leaps into his vision. He is suddenly sure he will be even later now.
The puzzle box plan
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