Run: 2026-02-20-01KHYA41Q7CJSAYR9BRBPEY4RT

Molly picks at a cherry lollipop pilfered from a corner convenience store, squinting at the pastel bounce house bobbing behind the neighbor’s white picket fence. Bill adjusts his ill-fitting neon clown wig, the elastic digging into his forehead, his fake red nose askew. The party’s cackling shrieks prick their ears; a harried parent carries a stack of glossily gift-wrapped boxes to a wooden picnic table. Molly tucks her tiny lockpicks into her scuffed boot sock, her sneakers scuffing the dusty dirt below the park bench as she quietly watches the parent tape a “Presents Here” sign to the table’s edge. “You sure the clown getup’s not too obvious?” Molly says. “Kids love clowns—they’ll beg me to help carry presents inside when I offer to rearrange them,” Bill replies. “What if the parent counts them before we strike?” she asks. “I’ll distract them with a balloon animal disaster—pop three at once, chaos erupts fully,” he grins. “What about the little yappy dog by the gate?” she presses. “I’ll toss it a small stolen peanut butter cookie I stashed earlier,” he says. “Timing’s key—we quickly strike at cake cutting,” she says. “Agreed—cake brain makes everyone oblivious to missing boxes entirely,” he replies.