‘Are you listening to me?’ Said my partner with a frown on her face. I had known Maya since we were kids, her passion for talking had always made her hard to keep up with. For the past 15 minutes, I had been listening to her talk about her entire daily routine in significant detail, I was slowly zoning out. I knew I should have been listening but the heat made it so hard. We were both sitting cross-legged, on her front porch. Though I lived in a five-floor building, Maya stayed in a small bungalow. We had been asked to keep a lookout for a particular man, but it had not been easy to focus. Beads of sweat were slowly sliding down my temples and the sickly-sweet smell of my perfume was making me nauseous. We had performed such tasks so many times in the past; I never remember it being so hot.
I suddenly zapped out of my thoughts and came back to earth. The minute I saw the mischievous look in my friend’s eyes I realized what she was thinking. She quickly turned around and with a groan, I began plaiting her hair. Her obsession for braids had come only a year ago, and after that, I had become her personal hairstylist. We would spend hours braiding each other’s hair. During this, we would usually be watching spy movies on the side. It was actually these movies that led us to get the sort of job we were currently on.
Suddenly from the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red. I knew that this was our cue. With a quick whisper, I told Maya. While I mentally prepared myself for the task ahead, Maya began stretching. We both knew that she was the muscle of this operation and I was the brains. As we walked towards our man, I saw that he had the exact parcel we had been asked to collect. With a grim look, I handed the money. In one swift motion, Maya was given the parcel. The man gave us a slight nod and went off to take care of his other affairs.
We waited for him to be far out of earshot. Then with a huge grin, my friend yelled, ‘Pizza party!’ Operation 21 was complete.
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