The Adventures Of Marcel And Mimi Mime
Chapter 1:
Criminal Mimes
Chapter 1:
Criminal Mimes
They spent Christmas Eve in a makeshift cardboard hut under the viaduct down by the river. It was very cold and dark down there. Off in the distance they could hear the sounds of carolers. They were joyously singing Christmas carols and carried sleigh bells, jingling, while they trod through the fresh, deep snow. They were laughing as they approached the next house in a nearby neighborhood. Marcel and Mimi drifted off to sleep holding each other tightly, trying to just stay warm. Even though they were both starving, they still managed to sleep. Mimi dreamed how magical Christmas used to be when she was a young child. All of the pretty decorations and lights, with all of the familiar songs playing on the radio. Marcel, well he just snored.
The next morning, they both woke to ferocious appetites. Still groggy, it took a moment for Marcel to even remember that it was Christmas day. It was sunny and quiet. Very quiet! Nobody could be seen anywhere. The silence was broken by a loud growling sound. Mimi had a very embarrassed expression on her face. Marcel knew right away it was Mimi’s tummy making that familiar noise. They had to get something to eat!
As they emerged from their cardboard viaduct home, they could see the town square some ways off in the distance. It was pretty obvious that no stores were open. In fact, even the diner was closed. Not surprising, thought Mimi. It is after all Christmas Day. This presented a real problem. There was no food anywhere. It didn’t really matter though, because they had no money either. They decided to head toward downtown anyway. Maybe the food pantry would be open and they could get a meal there.
It soon became obvious that nothing was open, not even the food pantry. The church was even closed. It was open the night before for mass, but today, everyone was at home spending time with their families, where Marcel mused to himself, that they should also be. The trouble was, they didn’t have any family, or for that matter, home. This was rapidly becoming really bad. Were they going to get anything to eat at all, today?
They found a bench in the park and spent the majority of the day on that bench. Planning what they could do about their predicament. It soon became obvious to Marcel that if they were going to eat, he would have to steal some food from somewhere. He knew that it was wrong and really didn’t feel comfortable with the thought.
Every so often, he would catch himself staring at Mimi, who was looking rather thin and lifeless these days. He loved her so much and could not bear to see her this way. Neither one of them had been eating well for some time now, but they had always managed to get at least something from someone. That does it, thought Marcel! As soon as it gets dark, I’m going to break into a convenience store and get us some food and whatever else I can find.
The remainder of the day continued to be quiet. People all preferred to stay inside with their families and not venture out on the town on Christmas. Marcel and Mimi spent the remainder of the daylight hours planning their heist.
As soon as it got dark the plan was set into motion. On the way down the back alley toward the convenience store, Marcel and Mimi stopped at a dumpster behind a department store, and rummaged through it, finding some old sweatshirts and a couple caps to wear as a disguise. It was probably pointless to disguise themselves since nobody was around, but that’s the way that they had always seen it done in the movies, so they figured they’d better stick with the “tried and true” methods.
As they approached the convenience store, they ran into a stroke of luck. There, back in the employee parking lot lying by the curb, was a tire-iron. That would come in very handy when it came to breaking in. At the back door, Marcel took the tire-iron and pried the door open, breaking the doorframe next to the handle. It made a very loud and obnoxious cracking sound. They both stopped and looked around. They didn’t see anyone. A minute later they were in. Immediately, they headed for the food isles. With tummies growling in perfect harmony, they started filling bags with food. Working quickly, they soon had more than they could easily carry. As much as they were starving, it just didn’t feel right. Both Marcel and Mimi hated doing this, as they clearly were not criminals. But it was necessary, if they were going to survive.
After gathering enough food for the next week, they hurried to the back of the store to make their escape. All at once, Marcel found himself staring point-blank into a very bright flashlight. And Mimi was right behind him.
Busted!
A patrolman making his nightly drive down the alley had noticed the door ajar and stopped to check it out. Right as he entered, Marcel and Mimi were trying to leave. Bad timing.
For a split second everyone in the room were motionless and petrified. Then there was mayhem. Yelling and scuffling and general chaos. When the dust settled, Marcel had fallen to the ground. No, he’d been pushed to the ground and there was a knee in the center of his back. And if that didn’t hurt enough, his wrists were aching as the handcuffs were being pulled tight around them.
Several other officers had arrived. Marcel and Mimi, with hands cuffed behind their backs, were escorted to separate police cars. Under the streetlight, Marcel could see tears in Mimi’s eyes.
While walking toward the police car, Marcel was quickly looking in every direction, trying to find a way to escape. The handcuffs were so tight that he was concerned that even if he were able to make a run for it, he wouldn’t be able to get them off of his wrists by himself. And, what would he do about Mimi? How could he help her to escape too? There was nowhere to run.
Within an hour of that first ill-fated moment when he was blinded by the flashlight, he found himself alone in a jail cell. He had a sink, a toilet and a cot. That was it. What’s worse is that he didn’t have any idea where Mimi was.
Still hungry and now completely exhausted, Marcel laid himself down in the cot. He figured that he would try to sleep. He lay there wondering, what would happen to he and Mimi? What was to come?
The night slowly passed by. Through the tiny, steel reinforced window up near the ceiling of his cell, he could see the first light of dawn. A shadow was forming as the Sun rose.
The next morning, they both woke to ferocious appetites. Still groggy, it took a moment for Marcel to even remember that it was Christmas day. It was sunny and quiet. Very quiet! Nobody could be seen anywhere. The silence was broken by a loud growling sound. Mimi had a very embarrassed expression on her face. Marcel knew right away it was Mimi’s tummy making that familiar noise. They had to get something to eat!
As they emerged from their cardboard viaduct home, they could see the town square some ways off in the distance. It was pretty obvious that no stores were open. In fact, even the diner was closed. Not surprising, thought Mimi. It is after all Christmas Day. This presented a real problem. There was no food anywhere. It didn’t really matter though, because they had no money either. They decided to head toward downtown anyway. Maybe the food pantry would be open and they could get a meal there.
It soon became obvious that nothing was open, not even the food pantry. The church was even closed. It was open the night before for mass, but today, everyone was at home spending time with their families, where Marcel mused to himself, that they should also be. The trouble was, they didn’t have any family, or for that matter, home. This was rapidly becoming really bad. Were they going to get anything to eat at all, today?
They found a bench in the park and spent the majority of the day on that bench. Planning what they could do about their predicament. It soon became obvious to Marcel that if they were going to eat, he would have to steal some food from somewhere. He knew that it was wrong and really didn’t feel comfortable with the thought.
Every so often, he would catch himself staring at Mimi, who was looking rather thin and lifeless these days. He loved her so much and could not bear to see her this way. Neither one of them had been eating well for some time now, but they had always managed to get at least something from someone. That does it, thought Marcel! As soon as it gets dark, I’m going to break into a convenience store and get us some food and whatever else I can find.
The remainder of the day continued to be quiet. People all preferred to stay inside with their families and not venture out on the town on Christmas. Marcel and Mimi spent the remainder of the daylight hours planning their heist.
As soon as it got dark the plan was set into motion. On the way down the back alley toward the convenience store, Marcel and Mimi stopped at a dumpster behind a department store, and rummaged through it, finding some old sweatshirts and a couple caps to wear as a disguise. It was probably pointless to disguise themselves since nobody was around, but that’s the way that they had always seen it done in the movies, so they figured they’d better stick with the “tried and true” methods.
As they approached the convenience store, they ran into a stroke of luck. There, back in the employee parking lot lying by the curb, was a tire-iron. That would come in very handy when it came to breaking in. At the back door, Marcel took the tire-iron and pried the door open, breaking the doorframe next to the handle. It made a very loud and obnoxious cracking sound. They both stopped and looked around. They didn’t see anyone. A minute later they were in. Immediately, they headed for the food isles. With tummies growling in perfect harmony, they started filling bags with food. Working quickly, they soon had more than they could easily carry. As much as they were starving, it just didn’t feel right. Both Marcel and Mimi hated doing this, as they clearly were not criminals. But it was necessary, if they were going to survive.
After gathering enough food for the next week, they hurried to the back of the store to make their escape. All at once, Marcel found himself staring point-blank into a very bright flashlight. And Mimi was right behind him.
Busted!
A patrolman making his nightly drive down the alley had noticed the door ajar and stopped to check it out. Right as he entered, Marcel and Mimi were trying to leave. Bad timing.
For a split second everyone in the room were motionless and petrified. Then there was mayhem. Yelling and scuffling and general chaos. When the dust settled, Marcel had fallen to the ground. No, he’d been pushed to the ground and there was a knee in the center of his back. And if that didn’t hurt enough, his wrists were aching as the handcuffs were being pulled tight around them.
Several other officers had arrived. Marcel and Mimi, with hands cuffed behind their backs, were escorted to separate police cars. Under the streetlight, Marcel could see tears in Mimi’s eyes.
While walking toward the police car, Marcel was quickly looking in every direction, trying to find a way to escape. The handcuffs were so tight that he was concerned that even if he were able to make a run for it, he wouldn’t be able to get them off of his wrists by himself. And, what would he do about Mimi? How could he help her to escape too? There was nowhere to run.
Within an hour of that first ill-fated moment when he was blinded by the flashlight, he found himself alone in a jail cell. He had a sink, a toilet and a cot. That was it. What’s worse is that he didn’t have any idea where Mimi was.
Still hungry and now completely exhausted, Marcel laid himself down in the cot. He figured that he would try to sleep. He lay there wondering, what would happen to he and Mimi? What was to come?
The night slowly passed by. Through the tiny, steel reinforced window up near the ceiling of his cell, he could see the first light of dawn. A shadow was forming as the Sun rose.
