Plan C

"Hey!" I yelled, turning around so quickly that my scarf whipped me in the face. "Watch where you're throwing those," I snapped. The kid who had accidentally hit me with his snowball (he couldn't have been older than 8 or 9) rolled his eyes at me and turned back around to play with his friends.

I wasn't entirely satisfied with my response either. I had just struggled through a very stressful meeting at work, where it was officially recognized that the company I worked for would be laying off about a third of their employees. Knowing that I had never felt very happy with my job (I'm not very good at it), I was almost one hundred percent positive that I would not be making the cut. It was finally time to execute Plan B.

All throughout my life, I had always focused on Plan A. Living in New York City, getting a job there, living with my best friend, and, most importantly, proving to my parents that I did not have to go to college to be able to provide for myself. I've been struggling with that last part for the past year if I'm being honest.

The best friend part also didn't go exactly how I thought it would. In Plan A, I stated that I wanted to be living with my best friend. Turns out, now I'm living with my boyfriend.

Anyway, Plan B is what I'd always figured I would resort to if Plan A didn't work out. And, believe me, I really did not want to have to resort to this...

Moving back to South Carolina with my parents. I have far too much pride to ask them for help after all these years of trying to prove them wrong.

But, if I'm going to be losing my job, it really is my only option.

I continued to walk the overwhelming streets of New York City, angrily shoving through crowds of loitering people in my way. Just as I rounded the corner onto 26th Street, I stopped dead in my tracks, causing a few annoyed men behind me to curse as they pushed me out of their way.

I dizzily walked toward the nearest building and clumsily leaned against it. If that building hadn't been holding me upright, I would probably would have fallen right over. I absolutely could not believe it. I thought he was dead, but there he was, right in front of me on the street, smiling at me.

"Oscar?!" I gasped, staring at him in awe. I would have recognized that haircut anywhere. I threw my arms around him, nearly fainting. "I thought you were gone- dead! Where have you been? Oh, it's no use in me asking right now. Let's get you up to my apartment. You must be freezing!" I exclaimed, pulling off my second jacket and wrapping it around him.

As the two of us ran home, the gears in my brain began to turn. Oscar was the solution to my problem. I was not going to have to move back in with my parents after all!

We arrived at my apartment. I quickly explained the situation to my boyfriend, Alex- everything going on with work, and how I was going to fix it. He seemed a bit skeptical as I finished telling him my idea.

"It's a bit risky, Cassie," he told me. "Are you sure that you can pull this off?"

"Don't you remember how it all was when he was still alive? Well, before we thought that he died. Everything was perfect! We didn't have any trouble at all. It was just after those horrible people beat him up and we thought that he was dead when everything started going downhill. Think about how much money we could make! It could solve the problem with my job! Gosh, I just can't believe that he's alive!"

"Alright. I guess we could give it a shot. But, remember, if this doesn't work, we have to resort to asking your parents for help, okay?"

"Okay," I promised. I knew this was going to work. I had no intention of asking my parents for anything.

The next morning, I headed out to work, as usual. I couldn't pay attention at all in the meeting that my boss called me into. All that I could think of was Oscar. I decided to call this Plan C.

When I got home later that day, Alex and I got to work immediately. Oscar understood Plan C and seemed to be totally on board with helping us execute it.

The three of us went around the city putting up the posters that we had made in all of the busiest areas. I began working with Oscar to make sure that he was ready to go when the people showed up. I was amazed to see how well his injuries had healed.

The next day when I woke up, I had a great feeling that this was going to go really well. It was finally the day that we would execute Plan C.

Alex, Oscar, and I all had a big breakfast and made our way down to the sidewalk in front of our apartment building. There were fewer people than I had been expecting, but a small turnout was better than no turn out at all.

The performance began. Almost immediately, we began to attract a crowd. The first person to donate was an older gentleman who dropped a five-dollar bill into the case that Alex was holding. After that, more people started coming up to donate. Oscar and I continued our performance. By the end of the day, we had made about two hundred dollars.

"I told you! I told you it was going to work!" I cheered as Alex finished counting and announced the grand total.

"Plan C was your best plan yet," he said, hugging me. Oscar smiled at both of us.

"You were amazing," I said, hugging him.

And the rest was history.

"Three years later, and here I am, still performing with Oscar and Alex. We made it all the way from performing on a sidewalk in New York City to having our world-known traveling show sell out in minutes!"

The audience cheers loudly and Alex and I each take a small bow, taking it all in.

"And now, I would like to introduce, the star of the show... Oscar!!!"

The crowd goes wild as he runs onto the stage at the sound of his name.

"Welcome, everyone, to the greatest dog show on the planet! Prepare to be amazed at what this incredible little guy can do!"

Oscar wags his tail happily. He still has such a unique haircut with the way that he has a design shaved into his tail. It's how I recognized him when I saw him on the street three years ago.

Alex does a gesture with his hands and Oscar slowly lifts his two back paws off of the ground and walks over to him in a handstand.

I smile at everyone who came to see us perform, amazed at how this crazy dream I had became a reality. I look down at the two people sitting right in the center of the front row. They've been there for almost every show. My parents beam back up at me.

"Let the show begin!" I shout.

Thank goodness for Plan C.