Bill scanned the colorful flyer clutched in his hand with a grin spreading across his face. "Based on this blueprint, we're gonna hit the big time, literally wonderland." Molly, always more skeptical, folded her arms. "Can't say I know much about planning a heist at a 'wonderland' filled with tiny kiddos and a foolhardy magician." "Look, the magician's assistant locked in the storeroom. No one'll suspect a thing." Bill wiggled his eyebrows in conspiratorial delight. "We just need the right timing and a monkey’s sense of humor." "And if the little ones decide to grow giant?" Molly’s laugh echoed from afar. “True story once. A lad twirled around... convulsions ensued.” "Right, okay," Bill conceded. "But here's what we do. You wiggle business so the parents think it's bananas, and I'll handle the ones who eyeball us." Molly tilted her head, eyebrow raised in playful challenge. "And how's that prepared you for the real action, Bill?" "Nada, hon. You see, I'll set up a distraction. Let's say I'll be merrymaking in the backstage closet," Bill winked. "Be my apprentice, see the magic and the presents. Or all the lady will pin it on me…” Molly clapped her hands together. “Fantastic! And I'll be the diplomat, convincing the little princess pirates we're part of the story." "Nothing against pirates," Bill smiled, sliding a card through the envelope. "—Disclaimer: We're charity saviors—wanna save us some ants?” "They'll swarm at the sight of tormented stick insects,” she laughed, tucking the envelope into her purse. "And our credentials, they're impeccable, almost as solid as their math tests." Crackling with fresh resolve, they ironed last minute kinks in their plot, one that screamed, "This ain't no heist. This is the hilarity of a holiday heatstorm!" As the heroes of their world-forged tale, they left the rendezvous with nothing but laughter and an overwhelming sense of the approaching parade of potential chaos. The present, unbeknownst to all but their soaked consciousness, would soon be an amusing canvas of daring and delightful misdeeds.