Drama Queen by Susannah McFarlane

she had seen Sydney take the bottles from she hit a problem. The cupboard was locked but it wasn’t a key lock so her universal key wouldn’t work. It looked like some kind of card-swipe lock but Sydney hadn’t used a card—or had she? In her mind, EJ replayed what she had watched Sydney do and then remembered that she had stroked her cat under the chin beforeand after opening the cupboard. EJ looked at the little pendant on the cat’s collar, the one that was so heavy.
    â€˜I wonder,’ she said as she felt around the edge of the pendant. ‘Hold on, little one, I won’t hurt you. I just want to look at your pretty pendant.’ There was a small clip on the side that EJ pushed up. The back of the pendant flipped out and a small metal card fell out. As EJ took the card and slid the back of the pendant into place again, she noticed the cat’s name inscribed on the back.

    That’s a funny name, thought EJ. Does it mean something important? She pressed her word app on her pad and quickly keyed in the name. Shesmiled when she saw what appeared on the screen.

    â€˜Not you too,’ she said to the cat. But Skygge just rolled over and went back to sleep.
    EJ took the card and swiped it. The lock released and she opened the cupboard door. She took out the three bottles and carefully took a little ball from each, placed them in her test flask and pushed the button. While she was waiting for the results to come back from the SHINE lab, EJ checked the star-tracker. It had started to flash.
    â€˜Uh-oh,’ she said to Skygge. ‘It seems that your owner is on the move.’
    And, from the way the little star was flashing on the tracker, Sydney Radisson was moving quickly. Quickly back in the direction of the trailer—and EJ12.
    EJ quickly put the bottles back in the cupboard and locked it. She then gently put the card back in Skygge’s pendant, stroking the little cat under her chin, just like Sydney had. Skygge began to purr.
    â€˜You’re not a very good agent,’ she said to the cat.
    EJ checked the tracker again but she didn’t need to; she could hear footsteps coming closer. It was Sydney. There was no time for EJ to leave the trailer.
    â€˜Think fast, EJ,’ EJ said to herself as she heard the trailer door opening. ‘Think really fast.’



‘You again! How did you get in here? What are you doing in my trailer? And what on earth are you doing with my orchids?’
    EJ was standing next to the coffee table holding the enormous bunch of orchids in her arms, unfortunately most of them upside down. Water was dripping onto the white carpet.
    â€˜I’m, um, ah, I am here to fix your flowers, Ms Radisson,’ she said.
    â€˜By holding them upside down?’
    â€˜Um, yes, well, it is good for the circulation ofnutrients,’ spluttered EJ. ‘It is the latest thing in floral care,’ she continued. ‘Everyone’s doing it in L.A.’
    â€˜Oh, are they?’ asked Sydney, sounding a little more interested. ‘But there was nothing wrong with my flowers.’
    â€˜Oh but there was, Ms Radisson,’ began EJ. ‘You need to regularly rotate flowers. You see.’ And with that, EJ began spinning the flowers around. As she did, water sprayed all over Sydney.
    â€˜Stop! You’re drenching me!’ said Sydney.
    EJ stopped spinning the flowers. It had not been her best idea.
    â€˜Well finish up and scram,’ said Sydney as she roughly scratched under Skygge’s neck then opened the cupboard. She grabbed the orange bottle and shut the cupboard again. Almost without EJ noticing, she put the card key back in Skygge’s collar.
    â€˜Make sure you are gone when I come back,’ Sydney snapped. ‘I have a helicopter to catch.’ And with that she swept out of the trailer.
    EJ, still with a few bedraggled dripping orchidsin her hands, walked to the door and watched in dismay as Sydney