You were at the bank when someone shouted, “Freeze!”
“Sue, let’s go now. The bank is sure to be crowded.” my mother yelled. “Coming!” I shouted as I counted the last stack of ten-dollar notes. We were going to the bank to deposit money which I had received from relatives during Chinese New Year. I was very happy as I had collected almost a thousand dollars this year!
As we walked to the bank, I kept fingering the slight bulge in my pocket. My thousand dollars! From afar, 1 noticed the bank was quite crowded. I ran into the bank and was greeted by a friendly staff who handed me a slip with a number on it. After some mental calculations, I sighed. There were at least twenty customers in front of me.
To kill time, I walked around the bank, taking brochures to read and observing the people in the bank. My mother found a seat and settled down. She was soon could hear her laughing away. I continued moving around. All of a sudden, I heard someone shout, “Freeze! I spun around and saw three masked men, one of which was armed with a gun and two of them holding big black bags. Everyone screamed and as instructed, they squatted down. I did the same too and I tried to see where my mother was. I felt for my precious thousand dollars and prayed hard that the robbers would not come to me.
The two robbers went to the counters and demanded that the bank tellers fill their bags with cash. The staff did as they were told. The third masked robber watched over all of us like a hawk. When the bags were filled, the two men whistled to the third man and together, they walked out of the bank and into their getaway car.
At that instance, we heard loud wailing of sirens. It was the police! Two police patrol cars sped up and one stopped in front of the getaway car while another patrol car stopped behind it. The robbers were trapped! I felt a sense of triumph as I watched the three robbers and the driver get out of the car with their hands above their heads. Effortlessly, the police officers handcuffed them and led them to an awaiting car. Two police officers arrived in another car shortly and came into the bank. They questioned the staff and the security guard. Some customers were asked to give their statements too.
Everyone in the bank cheered when the two police cars outside sped off. I heard one of the staff telling a customer that the alert security guard had activated the button which would send a signal to the police in the event of a bank robbery and that was why the police were able to react so quickly
It was indeed a frightening experience for me. While I continued waiting for my turn to deposit the money, I wondered why these men were so bold to carry out such a crime
