EJ left the office and quickly returned to her bench. Madame Ombre was still yelling at the poor girl. It was then that EJ saw her saucepan. She had left it on the stove and the water had boiled over and into the chocolate and cream mixture. EJ was dismayed as she looked at the watery slop that was supposed to be her creamy chocolate. It was ruined. She looked back at Madame Ombre who was now almost exploding with rage.
‘No, you butter fingers, this will not do. You cannot break things in my kitchen. You will have to leave the Choc Chef competition. Now. Someone will show you out. Au revoir. And the rest of you, you are warned, no mistakes!’
The other contestants watched in shocked silence as the now teary girl was escorted out of the competition. EJ looked back at her own mistake in the saucepan. She needed to hide it before Madame Ombre saw it and threw her out of the competition as well. Madame Ombre was now storming back towards the front of the kitchen, towards EJ and her chocolate water. EJ held her breath.
The phone was ringing again. Madame Ombre let out an exasperated ‘Ou la la la!’ as she stomped back into her office. ‘The things I must put up with!’
EJ let out a sigh of relief. She was saved again, but she couldn’t keep counting on phones ringing to save her. She would have to do better. She quickly opened up the store cupboard under the workbench and took out a new bowl, stuffing the bowl with the ruined mixture in the cupboard, right up the back.
EJ needed to start her mixture again but she also needed to listen in to Madame Ombre’s phone call. She took out the choc charm listening blocks and, as she put a new batch of chocolate into the new bowl, she held the choc charm close to her ear. She could hear Madame Ombre talking.
‘Non, it cannot be sent out today ... Non, it is not possible, it is not safe. The cakes are not finished. I have children everywhere and the TV cameras will be here later. We cannot change the cake delivery day.’
Cake delivery? thought EJ. The S6 cakes?
Madame Ombre was talking again. ‘Oui, oui, but I do not like these little shadow people changing things; if I must send out today, you must give me more flakes. If they are not in my office in one hour I will not send out today.’
EJ smiled to herself. Shadow people, flakes. Are these the same flakes as in the coded message? Was Madame Ombre talking about sending out S6? she thought.
‘Oui,’ continued Madame Ombre. ‘What do I care? You get me my flakes, I send you your cakes. Au revoir.’ Madame Ombre hung up the phone and hurried out of the office and into the kitchen, calling out to the contestants as she did.
‘You have used up half your time. If your cupcakes are not soon in the oven, I think you will be going home. I shall return shortly. No chitty chatty!’
I bet I know where she is going, thought EJ. The storeroom. That’s where I need to be, but I have to cook these cakes.
Now, more than a little flustered, EJ put the choc charm in her pocket and turned the stove back on to melt the second batch of cream and chocolate. She looked around at the other contestants. They were already lining their baking trays. While EJ had discovered important information, she was now running behind in the competition.
All around her was the clanging of saucepans and oven trays as the contestants were preparing their cupcakes for baking. EJ, however, was preparing to worry: she was way behind. She may have finally gotten the chocolate and cream ready, but that was only part of the mixture. She thought now was a reasonable time to panic.
Then the girl cooking on the bench next to EJ smiled at her. It was the same girl who had smiled at her in the sculpting room. EJ smiled back.
‘That was really mean, what Madame Ombre did,’ whispered the girl.
‘I know,’ said EJ. ‘Scary.’
‘I’m Chloe,’ said the girl, still smiling as she rather expertly cracked an egg with one hand.
Chloe, thought EJ. Might this be CC12?
Chloe cracked another egg as she whispered again. ‘I really like chocolate, don’t you?’
It was CC12! EJ was excited and she rushed to the next line of the exchange.
‘Oh yes, especially white chocolate—have you tried it with grated carrot?’
‘With what?’ exclaimed Chloe. ‘That’s funny.’ She giggled as she turned back to her cupcakes.
‘Oh well, it’s kind of nice,’ muttered EJ, not sounding very convincing but feeling very embarrassed. Chloe was obviously not CC12. Then EJ realised that Chloe had not given the password exactly—she hadn’t said, ‘I like chocolate very much, do you?’ EJ felt bad. She might have blown her cover. At the moment she was being both a bad chef and a bad special agent. Now was a really good time to panic.
EJ quickly broke her eggs into a bowl, added the sugar and plugged in the electric beater. As the beater whirred away, mixing the eggs and sugar, EJ began to worry about the next stage, the real mixing stage, the potentially lumpy stage.
Trying not to stress, EJ started to measure out the dry ingredients, first the flour, then the baking powder, sugar and cocoa powder. Her cakes needed to be light and fluffy but EJ was feeling anything but light. Her heart was thumping and her tummy was tightening. EJ was starting to worry that she was going to mess everything up. Pull yourself together, she told herself, lighten up. ‘Lighten up’, that made EJ think of Isi. Maybe she could help EJ calm down? Checking that no one was looking, EJ took out her phone. Under the bench, she switched it to vibrate and sent Isi a text message.
Within seconds, Isi, being on mission alert, had sent a text back.
This was not the kind of mission assist EJ was expecting, but then she knew to expect the unexpected with Isi. She smiled and already felt herself growing calmer. Having a nutty friend could be useful. She sent a text back.
EJ started to laugh and, as she did, she noticed there was flour sprinkled all over her workbench. EJ looked closer. There seemed to be something written in the flour.
CC? Is it Agent CC12? wondered EJ. She had already been wrong once. But no, it had to be her and this time EJ would be more careful with the password. She put her phone back in her pocket and looked around the kitchen. Madame Ombre still hadn’t returned.
Excellent! thought EJ as she left her workstation and went over to the cool room, a room like a giant fridge. EJ opened the door and looked around. She could see lots of ingredients—cream, milk, butter, boxes of fruit—but that was all. If Agent CC12 was hiding, she wouldn’t give away her location unless she was sure it was another SHINE agent who had entered the cool room. There was only one way EJ could let her know.
She cleared her throat and facing the fruit announced, ‘I like chocolate very much, do you?’
Then EJ heard a voice from behind the bananas.
‘Oh yes, especially white chocolate—have you tried it with grated carrot?’
EJ stood in the cool room and said the next part of the secret password to a box of bananas.
‘No, I have only had it with tomato. I hope to try carrot soon.’
‘Yes,’ came the voice behind the bananas, ‘you must.’
The sequence had been completed exactly.
‘Agent CC12?’ whispered EJ. ‘Is that you?’
‘Affirmative, Agent EJ12.’
EJ moved a box of bananas to one side and there, sitting cross-legged in amongst the fruit, was a girl. She seemed shorter than EJ but apart from that looked about the same age. She had reddish-blonde hair tied back in plaits, pale skin and friendly looking blue eyes.
‘You took your time; I was getting cold in here!’
‘Sorry,’ replied EJ. ‘I’ve been a bit busy and I only just got your message in the flour. How did you manage to hide in here?’
‘I came in with the fruit delivery this morning.’
‘Cool,’ smiled EJ, for a moment wishing she could be in the surveillance division. ‘CC12, what have you learned?’
‘Madame Ombre is working for SHADOW,’ said CC, ‘and she has been baking lots more cupcakes than usual.’
‘Interesting that it
’s cupcakes she has been baking,’ said EJ, and she filled in CC on the message she had decoded that morning.
‘Sneaky,’ said CC, ‘a message on a cupcake.’
‘Yes,’ continued EJ. ‘The message said the S6 cakes would be ready after the Junior Choc Chef finals but I’ve just overheard Madame Ombre on the phone. I’m pretty sure that there is a change of plan and now they’re going to be delivered today.’
‘That’s bad,’ said CC, ‘we don’t know enough yet.’
‘There’s another thing,’ said EJ. ‘Have you seen or heard anything about flakes?’
‘Flakes?’ asked CC.
‘Yes, flakes, Madame Ombre seems to be working with SHADOW for flakes and I am pretty sure she is not talking about cornflakes.’
CC screwed up her nose. ‘I don’t know what they are but I do know that Madame Ombre has been planning what she hopes will be her best cake ever and that she is waiting on a delivery to start it. She could be waiting on the flakes.’
‘I think you’re right,’ said EJ. She had a feeling that the pieces were starting to come together. ‘And I am pretty sure something is going on in that storeroom near the kitchen. Madame Ombre is the only person allowed in there.’
‘Yes,’ confirmed CC, ‘and she has been taking trays and trays of cupcakes in there over the last five days. I haven’t seen them come out again.’
‘We need to get in there,’ said EJ.
‘There will be a break after this first baking round. Use your skeleton key charm to get in and meet me in the storeroom.’
‘Okay, but first I need to make sure I get to the next round, otherwise I won’t be going anywhere except home.’
‘You don’t have a charm?’ asked CC.
EJ remembered her whisk charm. ‘You’re right, thanks. I’d better get out there and use it.’
‘I can hear someone coming!’ whispered CC. ‘Move the banana box back and I will see you in the storeroom. Quick, now!’
EJ moved the box back and as she did, Madame Ombre opened the door of the cool room.
‘What are you doing in here?’ she asked, glaring at EJ.
‘ I’m just getting some more cream,’ replied EJ a little nervously. ‘Ah, here it is, thank you.’ EJ walked past Madame Ombre, who was still glaring, and back to her workstation. Does Madame Ombre suspect something? wondered EJ. As she opened the cream, she saw that most of the other contestants were already putting their cakes into the oven.
This charm better be good, thought EJ. She took out the whisk charm and twisted. As she did, it expanded to nearly ten times its original size and EJ noticed a little green button on the handle. She tipped the cream and chocolate into the eggs and sugar mixture and then pushed the button on the whisk and put it into the bowl. If you listened carefully, you could hear a whirring noise coming from the whisk-o-matic and every now and then, EJ could hear a little ‘puff’ as the whisk added something to the mixture. Whatever it was, it was working, and EJ watched with relief as her mixture became silky smooth without a lump to be seen.
Next EJ tipped the dry ingredients into the bowl. Her face fell when she saw her beautiful mixture turn all lumpy but, with the whisk-o-matic whirring and puffing away, the mixture was soon back to its silk-like texture.
EJ carefully poured the mixture into the cake tins and put the tray into the oven. They looked good, but would they come out okay?
With the cakes in the oven, EJ twisted the top of the whisk-o-matic and it returned, slightly stickier, to its charm form. She began to clean up and waited nervously as the cakes cooked. Finally, there was a ping as EJ’s oven timer went off. She opened the door and peered nervously into the oven. To her surprise and delight, there was a tray of perfectly smooth and round cupcakes.
Madame Ombre rang a bell. ‘I am ready to judge. Choc Chefs, present your cupcakes!’
EJ looked at her cakes now cooling on the oven rack. They looked perfect—but how would they taste? Would they be good enough? She was about to find out.
‘Ugh, that is not a cupcake, that is a disgrace. Au revoir!’ declared Madame Ombre as she tried one of the contestants’ cakes. The girl began to blush. EJ felt sorry for her.
‘That one is okay,’ said Madame Ombre to the next contestant. ‘That is very nice, that is too heavy,’ she said. Madame Ombre worked her way down the kitchen, making comments, some good, some bad, some quite rude. She came, at last, to EJ.
‘Well, what about you? What did you do with your extra cream I wonder?’ said Madame Ombre.
EJ held her breath as Madame Ombre took a cupcake and sliced it in half before putting one half into her mouth. She looked surprised, looked at EJ and then looked at the remaining half cupcake before putting that into her mouth as well. ‘That—’ she said loudly.
EJ’s heart sank. She was going home, she knew it. What would she say to A1?
‘—That is the best cupcake of the contest. I am surprised—and impressed. Welcome to the final four!’
EJ breathed out. She—and her whisk-o-matic—had made it into the finals. Now, more importantly, she had to make it into that secret room.
The six unlucky contestants had left the kitchen and Madame Ombre now addressed the final four.
‘The cakes must be completely cool before they can be decorated,’ said Madame Ombre. ‘While you wait you will be lucky enough to see a special feature film, “Chocolat et Moi; The Story of Madame Ombre and Her Remarkable Chocolate Cakes.” This will be a treat, I am sure you agree. We will go now to my theatrette, where you will stay and watch until I come to collect you.’
EJ smiled. This would be her opportunity to sneak to the storeroom. She went with the others to the theatrette and took a seat at the very back, close to the door. The lights dimmed and Madame Ombre left as the movie began to play. EJ waited a few moments before she too left the room. Poking her head around the door, she checked that Madame Ombre had gone, then went out into the main corridor and made her way to the storeroom. EJ took her key charm and twisted it. Once the key was fully extended, she pushed it into the keyhole and turned. The door was unlocked and, with a quick look up and down the corridor, EJ went inside. It was dark but she dared not turn on the light.
‘EJ12, over here!’ A torch flashed on the other side of the room. It was CC12.
‘CC12, we have about an hour before the movie finishes and the finals commence. I’m not sure where Madame Ombre is.’
‘She is in the chocolate room, for now anyway. Look EJ,’ said CC flashing her torch. ‘I think we’ve found something.’
CC shone her torch into the centre of the room and over an enormous table stacked high with cupcakes in plastic packing trays. In each tray there were spaces for six cakes but there were only five cupcakes packed. Every tray was the same, five cupcakes and an empty space.
‘There’s one cupcake missing in every pack, that’s strange,’ said EJ.
‘Too much of a coincidence for it to be accidental,’ agreed CC.
‘And,’ said EJ, ‘we’re looking for a delivery of S6 cakes and here are delivery packs for six cakes. That can’t be a coincidence either, can it?’
‘I can see why you are in the code division,’ said CC.
‘Thanks,’ replied EJ. ‘Let’s have a closer look at these cupcakes.’
They each took a cupcake and looked at it, closely, upside down, right way up. They looked normal enough. And delicious.
‘There has to be something about these cakes,’ said EJ, ‘but what?’
‘Maybe ... shush! What was that?’ CC whispered.
EJ couldn’t hear anything. ‘What did you hear?’ EJ whispered back.
‘That,’ said CC.
Now EJ could hear it. There was a noise coming from the corner of the room, a rustling, shuffling kind of noise.
CC shone her torch into the corner. ‘Boxes, piles of boxes,’ she said.
‘But boxes don’t rustle,’ said EJ. ‘There has to be something else there.’
The two girls walked
up to the boxes with CC shining her torch on them. The rustling seemed louder. EJ reached up and lifted one of the surprisingly light boxes and put it on the floor. CC took the next one and both girls gasped when they saw what was behind the boxes.
‘Rabbits,’ said CC.
Along the back wall was a cage holding six rabbits. The lovely brown rabbits EJ had seen in the sculpting room.
‘Madame Ombre’s chocolate models,’ said EJ. ‘How cruel to keep them locked up in here in the dark behind all these boxes.’
It was when EJ looked down at the boxes that she noticed a label.
‘What a strange combination of contents,’ said EJ. ‘Too strange, I think.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked CC.
‘I think it’s a code,’ replied EJ. ‘But what sort of code is it? Let me see, there is always a clue to the code somewhere. Maybe here: “Bottom Up First”. Maybe it’s something about the first letter.’ EJ took out her phone and pressed the notes app. She keyed in the first letter of each line:
‘Maybe not,’ said EJ a little glumly.
‘But 6S, is that something?’ asked CC.
‘Yes!’ cried EJ, as she remembered back to the first cupcake code where she got 6S wrong. ‘It is S6 and I didn’t use the whole clue: “Bottom Up First”. We need to take the first letters from the bottom. Look.’ EJ keyed in another set of letters.
‘The contents of this box are the final part of S6. Maybe that’s why the last cake isn’t in the tray? I wonder. Let’s open the box.’
The girls took down a box and opened it. Inside were lots of little plastic bags, each with what looked like a single chocolate chip in them.
Choc Shock Page 4