While crowded during lunchtime the cafeteria was a rather desolated place around the hours before noon, especially while class was in session. Only a handful of employees were standing at the counter, handing out sandwiches and drinks to the few students that rolled in for a late breakfast. Several doors behind the counter were leading to the kitchen of Crystal Prep Academy. Despite the size of the room the many sinks, ovens and countertops left only narrow corridors to move through. In the back of the kitchen stood a heavy steel door with a small rectangular window in it. The glass was fogged from the inside, a few tiny ice crystal lingering on the edges. A woman in the cafeteria uniform was heading towards that door, followed by a pair of students. One of them was holding a notepad and a pencil in her hands.
“Here it is” the lunch lady said as she arrived in front of the heavy door, turning to the girls. “This is the cold store of Crystal Prep Academy. Everything that needs to be cooled until serving is stored in here.”
Sunny looked a little incredulous at the tall, scrawny woman with the small narrow glasses. “Don’t you want us to give some sort of explanation why we want to search the cold store?” she asked.
The woman shrugged. “Not my problem” she replied. “Just be done before we start preparing lunch.”
Meanwhile Sour was looking around the kitchen, busily scribbling in her notepad. After a while she turned towards the woman, a huge smile plastered on her face. “Thank you so much for your cooperation!” she chirped, cheerful and chipper. ”But before we enter the scene of the crime, would you be so kind and tell us everything that happened during the time the pudding was delivered?”
The lunch lady scratched her chin. “Well, let’s see” she murmured, humming as she pondered. The corners of Sour’s mouth slowly dropped, the detective impatiently tapping on the floor as she waited for a response.
“Hurry up, we don’t have all day!” she eventually snapped at the woman.
The lunch lady scoffed, but then began to speak: “Well, I guess it was around an hour ago when the truck parked behind the school” she told them. “The back door to the cold store was jammed, so the poor fella had to carry the pudding through the entire school and bring it in here through the kitchen.”
Sour took some notes. “Did he carry all of it with his bare hands?” she asked.
Through her glasses the woman looked at her with wide eyes. “Gosh, no! That’s over a thousand puddings there, girl – not even the strongest man in the world could carry that!”
“Then how DID he carry the pudding?” Sour inquired further.
“With one of those wheel-things you can put stuff on and roll them around” she replied. “He actually had to come here first empty-handed to get one. Didn’t brighten his mood.”
“You mean this one?” Sunny asked, pointing behind the woman. Turning around she saw a small trolley standing right next to the steel door.
“That’s it, yeah” she confirmed. “Of course, not all the pudding fit on it at once, so he had to take a few rides.”
“Do you remember how much pudding he carried on each ride?” Sour asked. “Just to get a rough idea of how much pudding we are searching here.”
The woman scratched her chin. “I think he carried around four to six pallets every time he rolled in. Then he placed them in the store, and left again to get the next charge.” Her hand moved from her chin up to her hairnet as she began to thoughtfully rub her head. “He came and went six times, so I guess it were between twenty and thirty pallets of pudding in total.”
“And did he close the door to the kitchen whenever he left?” Sunny asked. Suddenly Sour’s face hovered in front of hers, the scornful look on it frightening Sunny slightly.
“Hey, I’m the one asking the questions here!” the self-proclaimed detective scolded her assistant. “Did he close the door whenever he left?” she then proceeded in a much friendlier tone at the lunch lady, causing Sunny to roll her eyes.
“Didn’t watch him the entire time, but I think he left it open” she replied. “He was already ticked the back door didn’t open and he had to go every time through the whole school, so he probably wanted to save the time of parking the pudding and unlocking the door every time. Was pretty much in a rush the whole while because he had been already late for his next delivery. Said he almost didn’t notice all the other pudding was gone when he put down the last load.”
While Sour made some more notes Sunny made a ponderous face. “Wait, if the pudding has been stolen before he arrived with the last batch - doesn’t this mean that one is still in there?” she deduced.
The woman shrugged. “I guess. Haven’t checked the cold store yet myself to be honest.”
Sour threw a gloomy glance at her assistant, before turning back to the woman. “Thank you very much! May we take a look inside the cold store now?” she asked her friendlily.
The lunch lady nodded. Turning around she pulled a key out of her pocket, and after unlocking the door she pushed it open. Cool air streamed into the kitchen, grazing the girls. Shivering slightly in their rather light school uniforms Sour and Sunny walked past the woman into the cold room half the size of the kitchen. Shelves loaded with all sorts of food were leaning against the walls, while crates stood around on the ground. Rubbing her shoulders Sour took a few steps forward, looking around for the pudding. Her foot then bumped against something, and as she lowered her gaze she saw a single pallet of pudding.
Sour’s brows furrowed. “Are you kidding me?!” she yelled. “Why did he take an extra ride for a single pallet?”
Rather prominently Sunny cleared her throat. “If I were to speculate” she said with a slightly snobbish ring in her voice “I’d say he was probably so much in a hurry he didn’t really pay attention how many pallets he loaded onto the trolley and how many were left in the truck. So at the penultimate ride, he didn’t notice only one was still inside, and though this is just an assumption, I think he was probably pretty angry when he returned and found out he had to take another ride through the whole school just for that one pallet despite being already late.”
Sour glared at Sunny, before forcing a smile on her face. “Thank you, Watson.”
“You’re very welcome, Sherlock” Sunny replied politely, but smug.
Behind them the lunch lady was standing in the door, leaning against the steel frame with her arms crossed. “When he saw the rest of pudding was gone he came to me” she told them, Sour resuming her notes as she spoke. “I reported it to the principal, and she made the announcement that caused all of you lot to go crazy.”
“Was there anybody in the kitchen or the cold room while he was gone?” Sour asked. At each word she blew out white trail of breath into the air.
The woman shook her head. “Most of the staff doesn’t arrive before noon. Only a handful are here in the morning.”
Tapped her chin with her pencil Sour pondered for a moment. “But if you were all behind the counter it’s impossible someone could have gotten past you into the kitchen and take all the pudding, right?”
Again the woman shook her head. “Only half the counter was occupied. Tis possible someone could have snuck in and out while no one was looking.”
Sour turned up her mouth. “So basically, anybody could have slipped past you into the kitchen and took the pudding from the open cold store while the deliverer was getting the last pallet?”
The woman shrugged. “I guess.”
A sugar-sweet smile formed on Sour’s face. “Crystal Prep Academy: The school with the highest standards and best reputation in everything - except for dessert security” she grumped.
Sunny rubbed her chin with a finger, moving her feet slightly to warm her legs. “You wouldn’t happen to-”
A rather angry cough interrupted her.
“Oh, beg my pardon” she apologized to Sour, who was looking with a deep frown at her. “Of course, as the number one detective at this school it is your sole privilege and right to question the witness, for I am just your unworthy assistant.” She made an exaggerated bow in front of her, waving her arms towards the lunch lady.
Oblivious to Sunny’s sarcasm Sour happily turned to the woman. Just as she opened her mouth however she froze, looking a little lost. “Um, n-not that I don’t know what to ask, but just out of a detective’s curiosity – what was your question?” she asked, casting a sheepish smile towards Sunny.
A smirk formed on Sunny’s lips. “I just wanted to know if she could remember some details about the students who were in the cafeteria during the time of the crime” she explained. “While she and the other employees didn’t notice anything unusual, maybe one of the students saw who sneaked behind the counter into the kitchen.”
“Oh yes!” Sour quickly said. “That’s what I wanted to ask too!”
Sunny snickered. “But of course, sweetheart.”
The woman rubbed her temple. “Well, there were only a handful of students in the morning” she stated. “I don’t any names, but I guess I could try to remember what they looked like.”
“Perfect!” Sour chirped, putting her pen on her notepad.
“I can’t guarantee there weren’t others” the woman said slowly “But I’m sure there was a girl with long purple hair and orange skin, a guy with blue hair and pink skin, a boy with blue skin and white hair, and two students with turquoise skin and dark grey hair, one girl and one boy. The boy wore sunglasses, I think.”
Sour wrote everything down, smiling contently. “Thanks! It will be no problem to find every student who fits your descriptions.”
Sunny giggled. “Imagine how much harder this would be if there were only, like three or four skin and hair colours” she joked.
“Is that all?” the woman asked, pointing with her thumb behind her. “Cause if I don’t get back to work, it won’t be just pudding that’s missing this lunch.
“One last question” Sour said. Putting pen and notepad down she folded her hands in her lap, slightly tilting her body while sweetly smiling at the cafeteria woman. “Do you have any need for that pudding?” she asked, fluttering her eye-lashes at her.
“Tis for the teachers” the woman replied, ignoring the crestfallen look Sour’s face took on as she turned around. “Alright, if there is anything else you need I’m in the kitchen.”
Sunny looked at all food around them. “Is it okay for you to leave us alone in here?” she asked.
The lunch lady shrugged. “If something’s missing, I know who to tell on Cinch.” And with that she walked through the door, leaving the two students alone.
Once she was gone Sunny let out a sigh. “Seriously, I don’t know if this woman is very cooperative or just plain incompetent” she mumbled. “What do you say, Sour? Sour?”
Turning to her fellow Shadowbolt Sunny saw her staring at the pallet of pudding on the ground, her eyes sparkling like stars. The pallet was square-shaped and made out of cardboard, containing 8x8 pots of pudding. The picture of a cherry bathing in wiped cream was printed on top of each pot. As the little red fruits were winking at her Sour could feel her mouth watering, forcing her to gulp so she wouldn’t start drooling. Suddenly a hand appeared in front of her face, snapping frantically.
“Earth to Detective Sweet!” Sunny said sternly. “Detective Sweet, please respond.”
Sour shook her head, blinking. “Um, what?”
With a frown, Sunny crossed her arms. “I thought you wanted to find the pudding thieves, not join them!”
The puzzled look on Sour’s face turned into one of superiority. “Don’t worry, Sunny” she assured her. “I already know who did it!”
Startled Sunny winced. “Really? Who?”
Stemming her hands against her hips Sour smiled. “Suri Polomare.”
Sunny lifted an eye-brow. “Suri? Why her?”
“CAUSE I HATE THAT BRAT!!” Sour suddenly shouted, clenching her fist.
Again Sunny winced, before skeptically glancing at Sour. “Okay, I really don’t want to talk down your detective instinct, but have you actually a single piece of evidence that proves she has done it?”
“Not yet” Sour admitted. “But that’s why we are here! Look out for anything we can use to frame that little brat… I-I mean prove that girl’s guilt, who will of course be deemed innocent unless the opposite is proven!” she quickly corrected herself as she noticed Sunny’s disapproving glare.
Sunny patted Sour on the head. “Good girl.”
“Can I have some pudding?” As she saw Sunny scowl Sour quickly dropped her happy smile. “Fine! Then let’s get this over with and take in that brat so we can have our pudding” she muttered, glancing down on the sweet dessert.
Shaking her head Sunny began to search the cold store alongside Sour. Occasionally the assistant had to glare towards the detective as she was eying the pudding more often than she should. Both girls bent down behind crates and staples of pallets, and looked up at the shelves on the walls. There were lots of cans and boxes containing frozen or perishable food, from pickles to meat and several vegetables. However, there were no signs that someone might have snuck in. It also didn’t seem like anything had been moved: Due to the low temperature a thin layer of frost was lying on the tiles of the floor. The two girls lifted and pushed a few crates, finding that below them the tiles were unfrozen and probably hadn’t been moved in a while. As they looked through the room the chilly air was biting on Sunny, especially her bare leg, but her vest also did little to shield her from the cold. While she wrapped her arms around her shivering body and jittered with her teeth Sunny felt the frustration building up inside her. After she knelt behind a box containing frozen livers and found nothing but a frozen spider anger was suddenly boiling up inside her.
“This doesn’t make any sense!” it burst out of her, standing up straight and furiously kicking the crate. “How can anybody leave with so much pudding? I mean the lunch ladies may have not noticed a handful of students sneaking in, but a group of students carrying over twenty pallets of puddings out of the kitchen couldn’t have gone unnoticed!” A snicker caused her to turn her eyes towards Sour, who was leaning against a shelf full of jars with a rather amused look on her face. “What are you laughing at?” Sunny snapped at her.
With a chuckle Sour pushed herself off the shelf. “Oh Sunny!” she said, talking to her like to a little girl. “The answer to that is so obvious!
Sunny looked curiously at her. “Is it?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Then do tell me how they managed to sneak out unnoticed with all the pudding, oh great detective.”
Proudly Sour held up her nose. “They ate it!”
Sunny raised an eye-brow. “Ate it?”
“Yes!” Sour nodded.
“The pudding?”
“Right!”
“All of it?”
“Yup!”
“You want to tell me they ate several hundred pots of pudding and then walked out through the door?”
“Exactly!”
Sunny massaged her forehead. “Okay, let’s say this is true” she said, slow and calm. “Wouldn’t that mean even if we found the culprits, the pudding is lost anyway?”
Sour’s smile faded, a look of horror crossing her face. “Er… p-perhaps they only ate a part of the pudding to reduce the load, and then escaped with the rest?” she suggested, trying to sound optimistic.
Sunny looked around the room. “And what did they do with the empty pallets and pots?” she kept asking.
A finger on her chin Sour turned her gaze to the ceiling, her second hand on her hip. “Maybe they burnt them?” she proposed.
The palm of Sunny hit her face. “Alright, that’s it” she declared. She turned on the spot, quickly heading for the door.
“Hey, where are you going?” Sour shouted.
“I’m going to the library to learn” Sunny snorted, stomping with every step. “Or to the school yard to hang around. Or maybe I’ll climb up the facade and jump from the roof – anything is better than spending my free time watching you play Sherlooooooooooooo-!”
Sunny’s voice suddenly turned into a screech as she lost her footing on the half-frozen floor. Wailing her arms through the air she tried to regain her balance, but every time her feet touched the ground they immediately slipped again. As she kicked her legs through the air like this she steadily slid backwards. Panicked Sour jumped forward, but as she reached out her arm Sunny was already falling. With a loud “Ouch!” the violet-haired girl hardly landed on her butt. Sitting on the ground Sunny scowled, still sliding over the cold tiles on her butt. Eventually her back hit the steel door at the end of the room, making her stop.
“Are you alright?” Sour asked concerned, immediately dashing to her and nearly slipping herself.
“I’m fine” Sunny mumbled. She pressed her hands against the door behind her, pulling herself up along it. “At least I didn’t land on my-” Suddenly her foot slipped off again, causing her to hit the steel door with the back of her head. Her face turned into a pained grimace, the expression remaining as she said with cringed teeth: “…head.”
While she did feel sorry for her friend Sour couldn’t help but grin, causing Sunny to glare at her. Both girls then stared in surprise when the steel door suddenly opened behind Sunny. Leaning against it she fell backwards again, smacking her head against the ground. Sour looked down on Sunny as she lay straight in the open door, a vein twitching on her blue forehead.
“WHAT DID I DO TO YOU, UNIVERSE!?” Sunny screamed, raising her arms into the air. She then froze. “Wait, didn’t the cafeteria lady say the delivery man had to take a detour because the door was jammed?”
“HAH!” Sour declared, seeming very sure of herself. “That means the deliverer lied! He drove the pudding through the school so everybody saw him with it, and then carried it out through the backdoor again so he could declare it as a theft and keep the pudding for himself! AND I BET SURI WAS HIS ACCOMPLICE!!”
Slowly Sunny sat up. “Or maybe the door is only blocked from the outside” she suggested.
“Pfft!” Sour blew a raspberry. “Yeah, sure. A door that is only broken from one side.”
Grabbing the doorframe Sunny pulled herself back up on her feet, careful not to slip again. “Well, how about we just try it?” she proposed, taking a step to the side from the open door.
Smirking smugly at her friend Sour walked past her out of the room, holding her head high as she closed the door behind her. Alone in the cold store Sunny leaned against a shelf, inspecting her fingernails. She kept looking at her polished nails as the door-handle was pushed down, once at first, then twice, then repeatedly in a rapid succession, accompanied by the sound of a shoulder pressing against the door. After listening to Sour hammering her fists against the steel for a moment Sunny casually flipped down the door-handle, and softly pushed the door open. From her nails she looked up at Sour as she walked back into the room, who was rubbing her shoulder with a rather grumpy look on her face. “What kind of door is so stupid only to be jammed from one side?!” she mumbled.
“It’s probably some sort of security mechanism” Sunny theorized, blowing over her fingers. “A special kind of lock so that even if the door is broken or blocked it can still be opened from the inside to make sure nobody locked in here will freeze to death.”
Inhaling deeply Sour turned towards Sunny, giving her a bright smile. “Thank you for that elaborate explanation” she said to her. Setting her gaze on her notepad she muttered more reserved “Even though I didn’t ask for it.”
As Sour skipped through her notes Sunny scowled at her. “Excuse me” she addressed the detective, and while she spoke the annoyed ring in her voice became steadily more apparent. “I know you are the one asking the questions, but right now I have one for you: Do you even want me to help you? Cause it really just sounds like you want to have me around so you have someone to boast to.”
Surprised Sour looked at Sunny, before showing her a very wide smile. “But of course I want your help! Just leave all the thinking and detective stuff to me.”
“And what am I supposed to do then?!” Sunny yelled at her. Sour looked a little helplessly around the room, before her gaze fell on the notepad in her hands.
“You can carry my notepad!” Quickly she shoved it into Sunny’s hands, who took it with a rather puzzled look on her face. “Okay, back to the case” Sour declared, turning her back to Sunny. As she stroke her chin she didn’t see how her assistant was tightly clenching the notepad in her fingers, her blue face taking on a deep red hue as she frowned in fury. “If the door could actually be opened from the inside, that means the thieves who stole the pudding could have just escaped through it and didn’t need to go back through the cafeteria. That way, they could have easily escaped unnoticed by anyone. Which means they brought the pudding behind the school, and this is where our investigation continues!”
Suddenly Sour heard the door to the kitchen being slammed shut. Turning around she saw she was alone in the cold room, her notepad lying on the frozen floor.
Grumbling she pulled out her smartphone from her pocket. “But first, I need a new Watson.”