The Hershey’s Trap

            “We have a rat here,” Marvin announced, as he entered the
apartment. His roommate Naveen walked in after him. They were Master’s students
at University of Pennsylvania. Their rented apartment was a spacious
two-bedroom place in West Philadelphia.

            “Yeah, I know.” Naveen said.

            “There is a rat living inside our apartment.” Marvin said, with greater emphasis.

            “Yeah, I’ve seen it a few times. So, what’s your point?”

            “What do you mean what’s my point? You are not bothered
by this rat? What’s wrong with you?” Marvin demanded.

            Naveen shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to his room.
Marvin followed him there as Naveen began unloading his backpack.

            “We have to do something about it.” Marvin said.

            Naveen shrugged again. “It’s not giving me much of a
problem. I’m hardly ever at home. I’m mostly at the lab till late at night.”

            “But, the rat keeps showing up,” Marvin said. “Every time
I have dinner, I see it scurrying across the floor to gather crumbs. I hear it
at night also.”

            “Didn’t you get a rat trap from the landlord?” Naveen
asked. He ambled back to the living room, with Marvin behind him. Naveen
gestured towards a black rectangular plate lying in a corner. It had a
sticky-looking substance on its surface, and an upper plate tilted at an
angled, ready to spring shut on the prey.

            “Oh that glue trap.” Marvin threw his hands up in a
dismissive gesture. “It’s useless. Two of those things have been lying around
for a week, but the rat hasn’t gone near them.”

            “And I also spoke to that exterminator dude who comes
sometimes on Sunday mornings” Marvin went on. “He just sprinkled blue powder
all over the edges of the floor and wall. He claimed it was poison or something.”

            “But, this fucking rat is still here.” Marvin made a fist
in the air.

            Naveen went over to the kitchen cupboard and grabbed cookies
to munch on. He noticed a small hole in the side of the Chips Ahoy packet.  “I think this rat likes cookies.”

            “Cookies? Yes,” Marvin nodded. “It is also eating our
fruits, man.”

            Naveen smiled. “It’s helping itself to our groceries.
It’s enjoying our heated apartment. The rat actually spends more time here than
I do. Maybe we should ask it to write a cheque for one-third of the rent.”

            Both the roommates laughed.

            “Yeah,” Marvin said, with a wry smile. “We should.”

            “You know it even ate some of the chocolates my
girlfriend sent me?” Marvin said, shaking his head. He frowned for a moment.

            “I have an idea.” Marvin said suddenly. “My girlfriend
sent me Hershey’s chocolates for my birthday. I’ll leave them on the floor
inside a plastic bag. When the rat goes for the chocolates at night, I’ll be
able to hear the rustle of the plastic. Then, I’ve to just pick up the bag and the
little bastard will be trapped inside it.”

            Naveen looked at his roommate. “Ok, let me understand
this. You are planning to use your girlfriend’s Hershey’s as bait and a plastic
bag as the trap?” Naveen’s smile grew broader as he spoke. “I like it. Sounds
like a good plan.”

            Marvin stood with a hand on his chin. Naveen kept
grinning.

            “So, are you going to tell…” Naveen began.

            “No, I’m not going to tell my girlfriend that I used her
chocolates as bait for a rat.” Marvin cut him off.

            Naveen nodded, unable to stop grinning.

            “Shut up, it will work, I’m telling you.” Marvin said.

            From the next night onwards, Marvin put his plan into
effect. Before he went to sleep, he strategically placed a couple of chocolates
inside a plastic bag on the floor, not too far from his bed. He tried to be
alert for any sounds during the night.

            It was during the third night that Marvin heard a
rustling sound. It was soft, but distinctive. In a flash, he was off the bed
and on his feet. As silently as he could, he tiptoed towards the packet. He
could sense some movement there. In one swift motion, Marvin lifted the packet
off the ground. There was a little squeal, and Marvin saw the brown-haired
creatures inside the bag.

            “I’ve got you now, you rat.” Marvin said aloud. “See, I
knew this would work.”

            He held the bag in his hand and looked around. He hadn’t thought
about what he would do with the rat once he trapped it. The rat jumped inside the
bag. Marvin could see it starting to pierce the bag slightly.

Realizing
he had less time, Marvin put on his slippers and rushed out of the apartment.
He raced down the flight of stairs, and out of the building entrance. Then,
with a jubilant smile, he put the packet down to the floor. The rat crawled out.
Marvin stared at the creature, relieved to have it out of the apartment.

He
turned and faced the building front door. Then, it dawned upon him. He hadn’t
brought the house keys. He twisted the door knob, but he knew that it was
locked.

“Shit,”
Marvin shouted. “Shit.”

He
shivered in the cold and wrapped his hands around himself. He didn’t even have
his cell phone to call Naveen. He looked around for help. But, there wasn’t a
soul in sight. Except for the rat, who had stuck around to nibble the chocolates
that Marvin had put as bait.

“Naveen
is going to die laughing when he hears about this.” Marvin muttered.

He
lowered himself on the ground, next to the rat. Here he was, stranded on the
street in the middle of the night, dressed in his pajamas, in the sub-zero
temperatures of a Philadelphia winter, while his nemesis the rat, enjoyed the
Hershey’s chocolates that had been Marvin’s birthday gift.

“You
screwed me again, you little bastard.” Marvin said, with feeling.

It
was going to be one long night.