Augusta walked through Lolly’s Sweets Factory toward her first-ever job interview, reading the signs posted above each closed door: Sweets Creation. Sweets Enhancement. Taste Test Facility. Addictiveness Testing. Containment.
Augusta shuddered.
Just that morning, she had felt excited for her interview. According to her best friends, the factory was the place to work:
“It’s the best job. Super easy!” said Min. “And you get to taste test all the different sweets!”
“I had Cream Soda yesterday. It was delicious,” added Raven.
“Seriously Augusta, you have to apply,” concluded Xanthe.
But now that Augusta was here, she couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. Outside, the factory’s old smokestacks cheerfully pumped colourful vapour up into the clouds. But inside, the brick walls were bare and gray. The doors were locked. And the air smelled sweet, but also bitter.
Augusta had to take a closer look. And locked doors wouldn’t get in her way.
Using her x-ray vision, Augusta peered into the first room, Sweets Enhancement. Workers stood over basins brimming with sweets, injecting each piece with a murky gray substance. Every so often, one of the workers snuck a taste. But what were they putting in the sweets?
Perhaps she’d find an answer in the next room, Addictiveness Testing. A worker sat in a chair beside a tray of sweets while a woman in a lab coat hovered nearby, taking notes.
“Blueberry Burst needs more C10H14N2,” the worker murmured. Her voice was a whisper but Augusta recognized it immediately – it was Min! What had they done to her friend? And why were they injecting the sweets with C10H1… chemicals?
