It was wintertime in the Big Apple, and for the third year in a row, Ashlynn and Catra De Vloire were stuck with cleaning duty at St. Anne's orphanage. They began scrubbing the dining hall floors, staring longingly at the laughing children playing in the snow. "We could do it, you know." Catra says, still watching the kids play. "We could leave this dump forever".

" You know what happened last time." Ashlynn groans. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of scrubbing floors and washing dishes" Just then, the meanest person in the world, Ms. Erica walked in. The girl scrambled to pick up the garbage and scrub the dust off the floor. " WHY AREN'T YOU WORKING? WHAT DID I SAY? GET UP AND GET TO WORK RIGHT NOW! THIS PLACE BETTER BE CLEAN BY THE TIME I GET BACK!". And with that, she struck each girl hard on the face and left.

"OW!" Ashlyn and Catra yelled at the same time, holding their cheeks to lessen the burning sensation the slap had left.

"Forget about what I said earlier. We HAVE to get outta here!" Ashlynn says, still holding her cheek in pain."Agreed?". Catra smiles."I knew you would come around. Agreed." she says , shaking Ashlynn's hand happily.

The next day, Ashlynn and Catra begin packing food, water, clothes, and sentimental items into their pillowcases. During cleaning time, Catra sneaks into the office and grabs a thick stack of money and two flashlights from a drawer , while Ashlynn grabs their towels, some books, and bookbags from the storage room. By noon Ashlynn and Catra run to freedom.

A few hours later, they came across a well hidden cave near the forest. "I think this should do until we find someplace better" Catra says in between breaths.

"Yeah. I don't think anyone can find us here" Ashlynn says happily . They step in, flashlights on, to find a humongous space with a crystal clear pond in the middle and old mud drawings of animals on the walls.

"What is this place?" Catra wonders aloud.

"This cave must've been home to cavemen or something. It's so cool! It's kinda dusty, though." Ashlynn exclaims, beaming at their new humble abode.

Within half an hour, they start cleaning with their newly made tree limb brooms and moss mops. Once cleaned, Catra went out to the store and bought new pillows, sleeping bags,

a tablecloth, some cutlery, plates, bowls, cups, and a whole lot more food.

Soon they had settled in. Just as they were about to sleep, a dove flew in, threw an envelope into the cave, and flew out. "What was that?" Catra exclaimed, already getting up to look. Ashlynn got up. "Was that a dove, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

"Wow." Catra picked up the envelope, wonder struck."It has our names on it. who do you think sent it?".

Ashlynn shrugged. "Just open it already!"

Slowly and cautiously, Catra peeled open the envelope. Inside, there were 2 tickets to the statue of liberty and a had written letter, signed "Sparrow A. Spier". "Who's Sparrow?" Ashlynn asked. "Do you know her?"

Catra shook her head."Well, we're about to find out, Ash"She sighed."We're about to find out".

N.Y.S.A

Dear Ashlynn and Catra,

I've only ever known about you since yesterday, and I've got to say, I'm impressed! When your escape story showed up on the news, I knew that you two were exactly what this academy needed. We're a special academy that trains the best to be spies. The academy has been doing well, but we are always looking for more future spies, should disaster strike. Your arrival is awaited and very carefully planned. If you are to join, please pack up and catch the ferry to liberty island.

If you are to join the academy, you must leave as soon as possible, bringing your belongings with you , as we have dorms readily available. We hope to see you tomorrow morning. More details will be given at the academy. If you do not want to attend the academy, please discard this letter. Are YOU going to join?

Sincerely,

Sparrow A. Spier.

Head of the I.S.A.

P.S. : To access the entrance, ask the guards how they clean the top.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then came the happy squeals. "We absolutely have to join!" they both exclaimed. They quickly packed their bags and went to sleep, still thinking about the events of the day.

The next morning, they rolled their sleeping bags, wore hats and scarves to cover their faces, and set off to stand in line for the ferry. Once it arrived, they gave their tickets and hopped on. Soon they arrived at liberty island, staring in awe as they got off.

"I never thought we would ever see the statue of liberty in person!" Ashlynn exclaimed.

"Me neither" Catra said. "Just last week, we were stuck being maids at the orphanage, and now we're about to be spies!".

They quickly went over to the first guard they saw and asked her how they cleaned the top. She raised her brows and smiled."Follow me! Sparrow has been waiting for you two!" She led them into a secret door at the back of the statue and through a body scanner.

A light above the next set of doors turned green. "Access granted" said a pleasant female robotic voice. "Woah! This is so cool!" both girls exclaimed, getting more amazed by the minute. The guard smiled and led them through a hall and soon they saw a big desk. The guard talked to the man at the desk for a few minutes, and he then allowed them to continue into the next hall, and into an amazing futuristic elevator with glass walls, a sloped opening, and metal handrails.

When they got off, they saw a few doors, each marked with a letter, except for the door in the middle, which was marked 'Office'. The guard walked to it and knocked. Someone inside told them to get in. When they walked in, they saw two people: the first had a one had a gray and black uniform on and was humming as she dusted the medals and trophies hanging on the wall. The other had on a lilac suit with a white shirt and a gray tie. She was sitting at a very large desk, putting a wax seal on an envelope.