By Shalini Nannapaneni, 10B

The Sun’s yellow light tickled Cedar’s olive tinted skin, as he strode into the large lobby of the candy floss factory. Cedar’s nose crinkled at the strong smell of strawberry floss and a look of distaste crept over his face.

A stout lady sat at a heavy Maplewood desk in the middle of the room. He walked up to her and pulled out the fake identity card from under his coat. The woman looked up at him and frowned, “Another inspector? You can stay on the fifth floor of the residential building, and make your work fast; we don’t want our sugar fest to be further delayed,” she said.

Cedar flashed her a smile and took the access card from her hand. A small smile spread across his face. He had successfully finished the first step. All that was left now was finding the secret recipe.

                                                           *****

The loud ring of the doorbell woke him. Cedar sat up and ran a hand through his coarse black hair. A woman stood in the doorway. “Room service,” she said walking past him into the room. Cedar watched her vacuum the carpet.

Suddenly an idea came to his mind. “Hey, my name is Peter, how long have you been working here,” Cedar asked casually. The girl turned around, irritated.

“Five years, why?”

“Well, I think I might be able to make you an offer. If you promise me that you can get me the secret recipe of the floss, I promise you I will pay you any amount you ask me for,” Cedar said.

The girl scowled and turned back to her work. Cedar sighed. “I’ll pay you beforehand,” he said.

“How much?” the girl asked, her back still facing him.

“Five thousand bucks,” he said.

The girl turned around smiling. “Fine, I’ll do it. Meet me outside the office, that’s where the recipe is, I’ll get it for you,” she said.

                                                              *****

Cedar sat on the couch in the lobby, cleaning his black frames with the edge of his shirt. He looked at himself in the reflection. His green eyes were gleaming with excitement. He glanced at his watch, just five more minutes and the recipe would be his. He knew how important this was. That recipe was what he needed to get the promotion he had wanted for his entire life.

                                                              *****

The air conditioner outside the office made goosebumps creep up Cedar’s skin. He stood there looking at his watch. Where was the girl? He had been more than sure that she would have done the job. He had paid her a fortune, and that amount of money for a person like her should have made her do the job. His heart began to beat faster. What if she didn’t turn up? All his dreams of getting to the next level at the spy organization would be crushed.

Suddenly, the door swung open with a swoosh. The girl stood there with a tiny card in her hand. Cedar sighed in relief. “Thank god, you’re here, I was starting to get worried,” he smiled.

“I beg your pardon sir, what do you mean?” she asked frowning.

“The recipe remember, I paid you to get it for me,” Cedar said starting to panic.

“Are you a thief?” she asked a look of disbelief, flooding her face as she covered her mouth. Then, she let out a scream that seemed to echo against the walls.

The security rushed to the location. The girl put the tiny card in her pocket and began to cry.

“I was cleaning the office when this man came in and started going through the files. When I tried to stop him, he threatened to kill me,” she sobbed.

The security grabbed Cedar by the arms and dragged him out of the factory.

                                                              *****

The girl wiped her tears as a small smile began to slip onto her face. She pulled the secret recipe out of her pocket. She dialed a number into her phone.

“Hello sir, the job is done. I have the recipe and even better, I have eliminated a rival spy. Thank you sir,” she said putting her phone down.