The Missing Poinsettia
Something was wrong. Drift knew it. Drift Fleming, teen super-spy, private eye, was looking around her family’s living room. The tree was up, the decorations were up, and the eggnog was almost ready. So what on earth could be wrong? Well, Drift always knew when something was wrong. It was kind of like a sixth sense. Then suddenly, Drift’s father said, ”Drift, go pick out a poinsettia, will you?” That was what was missing. But the mystery just didn’t seem solved.As Drift walked through town, she saw a big sign that caught her attention. It said, ’poinsettias GONE!’ (Poinsettias are a tradition in Bermuda) Drift then tripped over something. Usually it was her own feet. But this time it was a little can of … pepper spray. Go figure. “Well,” she thought, ”that’s one clue!” but then the baker ran up and said, “Excuse me, but that is mine. It fell out of my van.” Then he went back into his shop. ”So, ”she thought, ”did the baker accidentally drop pepper spray, which is used for blinding people sometimes?” It looked very suspicious to Drift. She wanted to follow the baker but it was late so she headed home, almost ready for a little midnight trip.It was midnight. Drift was on top of the baker’s rooftop, ready to investigate. She then tied a rope around her waist, walked over to the chimney and jumped down it. She then tumbled out of the fireplace of the baker’s house and threw her rope around the chandelier and climbed up to the top. The baker’s floor was red.” Wait a minute,” she thought, “those are poinsettias!” Drift then lost her grip on the rope and fell, tumbling into a mass of cassava pies. (Bermudians usually have cassava pie at Christmas.) She made a tremendous racket. As soon as she got her self sorted, the baker said,” Is there something you want? If not please leave.”“You’re the thief,” Drift said quietly. ”You used pepper spray to disguise yourself.”“Yes, because I always got horrible presents as a kid.”“Why did you take the poinsettias?”“It gives me great pleasure to take the Island’s poinsettia flowers. As a kid, I always wanted this toy but my parents never bought it for me.”“What was the toy?”“It was the teen super-spy glasses with a video camera.”“Stay here.”“I’d be glad to,” said the baker.Drift went to her boss, Mr Manchuria’s house. When she got there, she said, “The baker is the thief.”“Good job, teen super-spy.”“But he did it out of sadness,” Drift said.“What do you mean?”“He always wanted a toy but he never got it. I think we can help him with that.”“Well, what do we need to do?” said Mr Manchuria“For one thing, we need some spy glasses.”As Drift went back to the baker’s house, she held a small parcel in her hand. When she got to there she walked in and said, “I am prepared to make a deal with you.”“What kind of deal?” he asked.“In exchange for the Island’s poinsettias, you can have some teen super-spy glasses.”So then they shook hands. They then loaded up the baker’s van with all the flowers, and got ready for the next day.***The next day Drift climbed in to the baker’s van and took out her small transmitter radio and everyone heard it as she said, “Free poinsettias!”Drift then gave everyone a poinsettia who asked for one. At her house, she thought, ”Well, it was a great, big flowery Christmas this year!” Then she raised her cup of eggnog and made a toast. “ For Christmas!”