The aroma and freshly baked cookies still filled the house; the twins were salivating, and their stomachs growled at intervals.
"I want more", Jeremy whispered to his brother, who was licking his hands of the last taste of cookie.
"I want more too," Jeffery replied, looking up to his brother's eyes lit with determination.
"Do you think mum's still in the kitchen?" Jeremy whispered again.
"Well, there's only one way to find out", Jeffery said and with that, he led the heist. Tiptoeing out of their room and down the hallway, they made their way to the kitchen. Their hearts racing with excitement and adventure.
Peeking through the space between the kitchen door and frame, they saw their Mum still in the kitchen. She had just put the last piece of baked cookie in a jar and placed it carefully on the top counter. Then she went on to wash off the dirty dishes.
"She's still in the kitchen" Jeremy whispered to his brother.
"Then we deploy phase one," Jeffrey muttered, walking over to their baby sister, Lilo who was crawling her way to them, blabbing and making baby noises.
"Phase one?" Jeremy asked without an idea what his brother meant. But immediately he saw him pick up their baby sister; he gasped in realisation, "Oh! Phase one! Sending in a decoy", raising a finger as a reminder.
Jeremy gently placed Lilo at the entrance of the kitchen. Lilo giggled and raised her hands in the air in a playful manner
"Okay sis, we need you now. Go on, distract her" Jeffery urged. Stepping back to avoid being seen by their mum.
And it was as if Lilo was on cue with her task, she giggled and crawled her way into the kitchen while her brothers peeked from the doorway.
Immediately their mum turned to see Lilo crawling into the kitchen. She dried her hands clean and picked her off the floor.
"Come here pretty. What are you doing in my kitchen? You should be with Daddy in the sitting room," she asked in a playful voice, bending down and scooping her into her arms while Lilo giggled.
"Come on, let's go find Daddy", she said, walking out of the kitchen.
“Now!” the twins both said, raising their hands to high-five each other for a perfect decoy.
They dashed into the kitchen and scrambled to the counter where they had seen their mum put the cookie jar. The prize they had planned a cookie heist for. Their mouths were watery with the imaginary taste of the cookie melting in their mouths.
They got to the counter, and Jeffery reached for the cookie, but none of them could reach it. Their mum had placed it off the edge of the counter.
"What do we do now?" Jeremy asked, looking at his brother.
And as the brain behind the heist, Jeffrey quickly bent down on his hands and knees. "Quick, get on my back and reach for it", he whispered.
"Genius" Jeremy concurred and got on his brother's back. This time he stretched for the jar. His hands could brush the lid, but he couldn't get a good grip on it.
"What are you doing?" Jeffrey strained from his bent position. He was losing breath from the weight of his brother on his back.
"Trying to reach for it"
"Try harder; I can't hold your weight any longer", Jeffery strained the most.
Just then they heard footsteps and their mum's voice making her way back to the kitchen. They froze in their respective spots. Getting caught means the game is over, and probably no cookies for the rest of the day for them.
Just at the kitchen door, Lilo's favourite song came up on TV and she cried to be taken back into the sitting room. It was as if she knew what her brothers were up to and helped play her part well in the mission.
"Oh no! Where's your dad at? I can't sit with you to watch your TV shows when I have a whole lot to do in the kitchen," their mum grunted, turning back, and she walked back into the sitting room.
"Please just reach and grab the cookie. You're killing me with your weight," Jeffery pleaded to his brother in pain. Signalling that their mission continues.
And on one last stretch, Jeremy stretched and grabbed the jar. He twisted it open, and the smell of fresh cookies hit his nostrils. The prize he had worked hard with his brother for. He quickly took out two cookies and returned the jar to its position. Then he got off his brother's back. Handing one to his brother and munching on his part of the loot.
"We did it!" He said with a mouth full of cookies.
"We did it", Jeffery replied, rubbing his back while enjoying the sweet taste of the chocolate cookie melting in his mouth.
Just then, they heard the familiar voice speak from the kitchen door. It was their father
"Bravo guys, bravo!" He said, clapping his hands with a smile on his face, "Sharing your loot at the scene of the crime. I wonder what your mum has to say about this"
"Say about what?" their mum asked, walking into the kitchen door with Lilo in her arms. To her husband 'You had just one job but couldn't deliver," she said, pushing Lilo into his arms.
"You're going to love this one", their father replied, picking Lilo up from his wife.
"Love what? Their mum asked, confused, staring from her boys to her husband.
"Why don't you ask your boys?" Their father replied with a smirk on his face.
"Boys?"
Immediately, Jeffrey spoke, trying so hard to sound innocent, "Trust us, Mum, we didn't do anything" he gave a nervous laugh, which ruined his lie.
"What's that crumb on your brother's lips?" their mum asked, moving closer to see clearly for herself.
"They stormed your castle today," their father chuckled, leaning on the wall with Lilo in his hands. He was enjoying the drama.
Jeremy, who has been calm all through the drama, realising they have been caught, blurted out,
"It was Jeffery's idea," he pointed to his brother.
"No, it's not!" Jeffrey defended himself.
Their father, apparently amused by what was going on chuckled again "Uh, the cat has been let out of the bag"
His wife turned and shot him an angry look. A sign he should shut up.
"I'll just go to the sitting room with Lilo now," their father said, walking out the kitchen door.
When it was just the boys and their mum left in the kitchen. She turned back to the boys, who now had tears on their faces.
She pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down
"So cookie thieves now huh?" She asked.
"We just wanted more," Jeremy replied in a teary voice.
"You could have just asked. But you decided to storm my kitchen like some spy from a movie" their mum replied.
They nodded still with tears on their faces.
"We're sorry" they chorused.
Their mum watched them in silence, and then she smiled.
"You guys can have one more each if you promise to ask next time," she said
The boys looked at each other, their tears gradually being replaced with a smile. "We promise," they chorused again.
Just then their father poked his head into the kitchen door from the door.
"Uhm, can I get a cookie too?" He asked.
Their mum laughed, shaking her head "There's cookie for everyone. You should be in the sitting room, by the way, darling"
“And miss out on the fun", he replied, stepping back into the kitchen. To the boys, he said, "You know you two are lucky, and you make just the team. But maybe next time try storming the dishes after dinner"
They all burst into laughter.