Choc Shock by Susannah McFarlane Page A

of the safe, a safe that could only be opened with a code. A code she didn’t know.
    â€˜And EJ?’ continued A1.
    â€˜Yes A1,’ said EJ. There can’t be more, can there? she thought.
    â€˜Good luck for the final. Good luck to both of you. SHINE out.’
    EJ carefully unsealed one of the packs of cupcakes and slid out the tray. She took the cherry from the cupcake-cam and placed it on a cupcake before re-sealing the pack. She then put a couple of other packs on top of the pack.
    â€˜No one will ever know it’s there,’ she said to CC. ‘ SHINE will be able to follow the delivery truck all the way to SHADOW.’
    â€˜Good job, now let’s go EJ,’ said CC grabbing the one complete pack of cupcakes. ‘We need to go to the toilet!’
    â€˜I don’t think I need to,’ replied EJ.
    â€˜No, not for that,’ said CC, giggling. ‘The escape route is in the toilet.’
    â€˜Right,’ said EJ, feeling a little embarrassed. ‘Let’s go then.’
    EJ should have known. One way or another, she always seemed to spend some mission time in thetoilets. The girls ran quickly down the corridor and into the toilets. While CC checked that no one else was there, EJ turned on the hand-dryers. CC went into the last cubicle on the left.
    â€˜Come on,’ she called to EJ. ‘In here!’ EJ followed CC in.
    â€˜Okay, this is the escape route. Look up, there’s a ventilation fan. I am going to remove the fan and climb up through the hole, then crawl through the ventilation shaft and up onto the roof. The SHINE helicopter will pick me up from the roof.’
    â€˜Cool, CC,’ replied EJ, ‘Hey, CC with cc!’
    â€˜Pardon?’ said CC.
    â€˜CC with cupcakes,’ replied EJ.
    â€˜You code girls think too much!’ laughed CC. ‘Hey, you do have a rope-climbing charm don’t you?’
    â€˜Only a glow-rope, I think,’ said EJ, quickly checking her bracelet.
    â€˜Okay, wait for me to climb up and then you can borrow mine. You’ll need to escape this way once you have the gold.’
    CC took a charm from her bracelet, twisted it,and was soon holding a rope with a hook on the end. She stood up on the toilet cistern and pushed the fan out with the toilet brush holder.
    â€˜It’s glamorous this spy business isn’t it?’ said CC as she threw her rope up through the fan hole. She heard the hook catch, gave the rope a tug to make sure it was firmly in place, and then began to climb up the cubicle wall. Once up through the hole, she stuck her head back down and held out the rope charm to EJ. ‘Here’s the charm. Good luck, EJ12.’
    â€˜You too, CC12. See you soon,’ replied EJ.
    CC put the fan back over the hole and was gone. EJ flushed the toilet, just in case anyone was coming in, opened the cubicle door and walked out of the toilets. She checked the time on her phone. She had been gone for nearly an hour. The film would soon finish. EJ needed to hurry.

    EJ sneaked back into the theatrette, sitting down just as the film was ending. Madame Ombre appearedat the door. That was close, EJ thought.
    â€˜And so,’ Madame Ombre cried, ‘let the finals begin. To the Choc Chef kitchen!’
    She led EJ and the three other finalists back into the kitchen where their cakes were laid out ready for the final. At the back of the kitchen a TV crew was setting up their equipment.
    â€˜And so,’ said Madame Ombre, ‘you have just thirty minutes to decorate your cakes and arrange them on the display. I will then decide who will be the Junior Choc Chef, live on TV.’
    The girls looked at each other, smiling.
    â€˜Your time starts now!’
    Madame Ombre went into her office and came out holding a package. She then left the kitchen.
    That could be the gold, thought EJ. She’s taking it to add to the box in the safe. I need to deco rate these cakes and get back there too.