AG's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

AG slammed his locker shut and checked the school hallway one more time. Someone had stolen his grandfather's watch last month, and he wasn't giving up until he found the thief. His jaw tightened as students pushed past him toward the exit. He pulled out a crumpled list from his pocket with three names on it. One of them had to be guilty. After school, AG walked three blocks to the building he'd been watching all week. The Security Monitoring Hub stood at the corner, its glass walls reflecting the afternoon sun. Inside, rows of high-tech monitors covered every wall, showing camera feeds from all over Sunny Ridge. AG pressed his face against the window and studied the screens. His older brother worked here part-time, and AG had convinced him to let him review footage from the school parking lot. If he could spot one of those three suspects near his locker on the day the watch went missing, he'd have his answer. AG checked his phone for the time. His brother's shift started in ten minutes. Soon, he'd know the truth. The door clicked open and AG rushed inside. His brother pointed to a monitor in the corner without saying a word. AG sat down and grabbed the mouse, rewinding through hours of grainy footage. Students walked backward across the screen. He paused when he saw his locker. A figure in a black hoodie appeared, looked around, then reached inside. AG's heart pounded. He zoomed in, but the face stayed hidden. The person shoved something into their pocket and walked away. AG rewound it three more times. The walk looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the screen. This was his first real clue. Walking home, AG stopped at a lightpost on Main Street. Colorful fliers covered the metal pole, advertising lost pets and yard sales. He pulled out a marker and a blank paper from his backpack. In bold letters, he wrote: INFORMATION WANTED ABOUT THEFT. He added the date and his phone number at the bottom. AG taped it to the lightpost above the other notices. Someone in Sunny Ridge had to know who wore that black hoodie. Someone had to have seen something. He stepped back and studied his flier. Getting the watch back wouldn't be easy, but he wasn't stopping now. The thief had made a mistake leaving evidence on camera, and AG would use every tool he had to track them down. Two blocks further, AG spotted a vendor cart loaded with watermelons. An older man stood behind it, wiping down the green rinds with a cloth. AG approached and cleared his throat. The vendor looked up and smiled. AG showed him the photo on his phone of the hooded figure. The man squinted at the screen and shook his head. AG asked if he'd seen anyone selling a silver watch around town. The vendor paused and scratched his chin. He said a kid tried to trade him something shiny for a watermelon yesterday, but he'd turned them away. AG's pulse jumped. He asked what the kid looked like, but the vendor just shrugged and said he couldn't remember. AG thanked him and turned away. The watch was still out there somewhere in Sunny Ridge, and now he knew the thief was trying to get rid of it. He had to move faster.