Almost a Garden Gnome

Chapter 6

***As told by Perrie***

Okay, Alllmost there aaaannnd...

Finally!

He's asleep!

I skip, hop and jump through the flowerbeds, whacking my way through the intertwined jungle of stems and leaves. No sweat! I've done it a bazillion times.

Let me knock on the window, just to be sure...

Knock! Knock!

...

Yyyyep! Good to go!

With all my might, I hoist up the window the smallest bit, and slip in through the crack. Having climbed plenty of plants, garbage cans, brick walls, you name it, I'm more than capable of scaling the walls of Man's bedroom. I've got my two little suction cups on me at all times—they're among the only things I brought with me from home, way-back-when.

Operation: Handsome is a-go!

It doesn't take long until I'm waltzing through the kitchen. Hopping in here first would've been a breeze, no doubt, but my impulses kicked in when the big guy finally fell asleep. I leisurely browse around for a piece of paper and a pen, scaling some cabinets, rearranging some stuff; no big deal.

Ah!

Okay, time to hoist this up... grip... and just... tilt... I think, finally having found a working pen. Jeez, Man has a lot of empty pens. Someone oughta' get him a new pack of pens. In my zoning out, I seem to have made a spelling error, but I just cross it out like nothing happened. I'm sure he'll understand; after all, I'm putting in the effort to write really, really big.

I stand back and admire my work. The note reads:

Do you like me?

C̶h̶e̶k̶ Check yes or no.

I clap my hands together triumphantly. Perfect! I think aloud. What a productive day. I decide to push the ol' reliable drinking glass on top of it, just in case it should blow away. But just as I begin my journey back to the treehole, I hear...

Steps?

Dammit! I though he was asleep!

Having no time to think, I scramble behind the glass. Agh, it's transparent! But I have nowhere else to hide! I make myself as small as possible behind it, just about laying down.

Maaaybe I should've anticipated the glass being picked up. I mean, it is a drinking glass. A shadow casts over me, and even from my low vantage point, I can see Man rub his eyes. He sighs tiredly... phew, so far, he doesn't seem to notice me! It'd be so embarrassing to get caught writing something like this. Oh—and to get caught creeping around, I guess.

I scooch my way off the table when he takes a hearty sip and looks down—I panic and slide under the note penguin-style. I can't tell if he doesn't notice the note, or if he's too exhausted to pay attention to it, but either way, he puts the glass back down and trudges back to his room.

I lift the corner of the paper and peek out behind me.

Crisis: Averted.

To the treehole!