By: Luna Zepeda (7th) and Kaiya Adgie (6th)
It was a dark and rainy Monday, and three detectives were back to see if they needed to solve another case. Evie, Ellie, and Chloe were detectives who loved to solve missing cases.
When they got to school, they took a different route to class and found something unusual.
“A hidden room!” Evie gasped in disbelief.
There was a small door on the ground poking out of a bit of carpeting they had never seen before. Evie pulled the carpet off. There stood a door made of aging wood. It was clear it had been there a while.
Ellie and Chloe darted behind Evie. She was the bravest. Ellie poked her head out from behind Chloe.
“Look!” she said shyly. She was pointing to a keyhole. “The door needs a key. We can’t just go through.”
Evie stared at the door angrily. After a while, she said, “Fine. We’ll find the key. Then we go through. Right now, we have to get to class. We're really late. We can do detective work at lunch.”
They put the carpet back over the door and ran out.
When the girls got to their classes, Ellie’s teacher sternly said, “Why are you late, Ellie?”
Ellie didn’t know what to say.
“Me and my other friends found something odd, so we tried to do something. But we couldn’t,” she said in a whisper.
The teacher looked at her with a knowing glance. Did she know?
“I’ll let it pass just one time. But if you're late again, you will get a consequence.”
“Okay,” stammered Ellie. “I'm sorry.”
Chloe and Evie were also having the same conversation with their own teachers. No two girls gave the same answer.
The three of them couldn't focus on schoolwork all day. They sat there wondering what could be behind the door and where the keys might be. Ellie was waiting desperately for lunch so they could solve the missing case.
Before they knew it, it was already lunchtime! They met up at their table in the cafeteria. It was tucked into the corner and sort of hidden from the rest of the kids. It was perfect.
Ellie arrived first, trying her best not to be noticed. Then Chloe came in, walking along and scanning the room for clues. Then Evie walked in, stomping. She was clearly mad. She pounded her fists down on the table. It made the other girls jump.
“I had math first today!” she said. “And my teacher did NOT appreciate me being a HALF HOUR LATE! She asked me why I was late. I’m guessing you had the same conversation as well. What did YOU tell them?”
“That we found something strange,” whispered Ellie.
“That we got lost,” said Chloe.
Evie sighed. “I gave her a fake late note.”
“And she BELIEVED you?” Chloe asked.
“Of course not. Would you?” Evie answered.
“So, did you get in trouble?” Ellie stammered.
“No. Let’s get back to the case. What clues do we have? Ellie?”
Ellie got her notebook out from her lunchbox and opened it to the middle.
“Well, Mrs. Williams was acting strange today. When I told her we found something strange, she looked at me like she knew something, but I don’t know. I could have been imagining it.”
Evie smiled at her. “Of course you weren't! She’s always been suspicious. She knows something. I can feel it.”
“Oh, come on, Evie.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “You think everybody is suspicious. You can’t walk to your next class without yelling at someone.”
Evie stared at her angrily. “Don’t make this about me. What else, Ellie?”
Ellie scanned her page.
“Well… um…” she stammered, “Nothing.”
Evie frowned. “Okay,” she said, “Ellie, you're on clues.”
Ellie smiled.
“Chloe, you gotta pretend to be our parents to call the school and say we’ll be late.”
Chloe frowned.
“And since I walk home, I’m gonna stay here late to investigate the door.”
The bell rang, and they dashed out.
Ellie was trying her best to look for clues, but this school wasn't very good at giving them away. Mrs. Williams told Ellie to meet her after class. Ellie figured that it must be because she wasn't paying attention, but when she went to the front of the classroom to talk with her, Mrs. Williams gave her a note.
“If you found what I think you found, you’re going to need this.”
Ellie was confused. “Can’t you just tell me what’s in it?”
Mrs. Williams smiled. “Nope. Too many cameras.”
That got Ellie’s attention.
“But wh—”
“Shhhhh,” Mrs. Williams said, and shooed her out.
Suddenly, Ellie got excited. Wait until I tell the others!
Chloe had just gotten home and was calling the school. The phone rang.
“Hello?” a voice on the other end called out.
“Um… Hello,” Chloe said in the deepest voice possible. “I’m, um, Mr. Smith. I’m here to tell you my daughter Evie will be a bit late tomorrow—”
“Chloe? Is that you?” the voice asked.
Panic! What was she supposed to do?
“I’m Mr. Smith!” Chloe said in a worried tone.
“Chloe, you are in great danger. You don’t know where that door leads!”
Wait... Mrs. Williams?
“And you do?” Chloe answered in a normal voice.
No answer. She had ended the call.
Suddenly, Chloe got excited. Wait until I tell the others!
They met at the playground the next day. Chloe and Ellie were bursting with excitement, so Evie finally asked them,
“Okay, WHAT is going on? Why are you two so… happy?”
Ellie smiled. “I found a clue!”
“WHAT!?” Evie responded, surprised.
“So did I!” said Chloe.
Evie sat down. “So tell me.”
Evie and Chloe explained their experiences with Mrs. Williams while Evie listened, amazed.
“So Ellie was right. Mrs. Williams WAS suspicious.” She shook her head. “So, what’s the plan?”
Ellie got the note out of her pocket. It read:
Ellie, I can help you. That door goes somewhere you couldn't possibly imagine. Come to the park at 6 o'clock tomorrow. I can help you find the key. Do not tell anyone about this except Chloe and Evie. Not even your parents. See you there, Mrs. Williams.
And off they were. None of them knew what Mrs. Williams knew about the key, so they walked slowly, silent with worry.
Ellie broke the silence. “Wh-What do you think she’ll tell us?”
Ellie was known for being shy and timid all the time, so she was really scared.
Evie tried to settle her down. “Oh, calm down, Ells. I'm POSITIVE it will be fine.”
But even her voice quivered a bit when she said that.
When they reached the park, Mrs. Williams was already waiting for them.
TO BE CONTINUED…