Molly adjusted her black beanie, its fabric practically glowing in the dim light of the basement. “Okay, Bill, we’ve got a solid plan here. We sneak in during the magic show while everyone’s distracted.” Bill scratched his chin, glancing at the crumpled blueprint of the party layout stuck to the wall. “Right, but have you seen that clown? It’s like he’s on some sort of sugar-fueled mission.” Molly rolled her eyes. “Troy the Terrifying? Seriously, Bill, the worst he can do is balloon animals. We just need to time our heist perfectly—straight to the gift table, and out before anyone realizes.” “Yeah, ‘cause riding a bike with no hands is easy, right?” Bill quipped, folding his arms. “What if they start singing ‘Happy Birthday’? You know how kids can get… they could be like a pack of rabid squirrels!” “Calm down, we’ll be in and out before they even hit the cake,” she said confidently, tapping her finger on the blueprint. “Look, we slip in the back, avoid the seven-foot clown, and boom! Pile of presents.” “Unless the clown decides to moonlight as a bodyguard,” Bill deadpanned, his eyes narrowing. “What then? I’m not ready to duel a guy with a face like that.” Molly snorted. “Duel? Bill, we’re not in a fantasy novel. We just have to be smarter than a room full of kids. Shouldn’t be that hard.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “What about the parents? They’re not just gonna sit there eating potato chips while we waltz off with the goodies.” Molly waved her hand dismissively. “Fair point, but they’ll be too busy trying to find a way to stop the clown from twisting their balloons into dogs. Plus, I brought the decoy.” “The what?” Bill furrowed his brow. “The decoy!” she exclaimed, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a clown costume. “I’m going to distract the parents. While they’re dealing with that, you grab the presents!” “What? No way! I’m not putting that on,” Bill protested, recoiling as if she’d brandished a weapon. “I draw the line at clowns, Molly.” “Oh, come on. You’ll be a hit! Children love clowns!” she laughed. “Yeah, children love clowns until they discover they’re basically just oversized nightmares!” His voice rose a notch, the comic melodrama perfectly timed. She smirked, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Remember last Christmas? You dressed as Santa and still got a cookie thrown at you. This will be no different. Plus, think of the presents!” “Right… presents.” He pouted, squeezing the bridge of his nose as if pondering the mysteries of the universe. “What about when I take off the costume? There’s no way they won’t figure it out.” Molly leaned in, conspiratorial. “We have an exit strategy. Just pop the costume off, grab ‘n go! If you run fast enough, they won’t even know it was you!” Bill sighed exaggeratedly. “Okay, but I want a sample of the cake after this. No cake, no clown suit. Deal?” “Deal! Now, let’s practice that ridiculous wiggle you’re going to do to distract the kids!” She laughed, pulling him toward the makeshift stage in her basement, plotting their ridiculous future. “Practice? I don’t think I’m ready for my big clown debut!” he joked, feigning horror. “Molly, you’re going to get me killed by six-year-olds!”