We decided right then that adding four Goofballs and one Goofdog might not be the way to solve this mystery.
“Guys, we need to do some division,” I said. “One of us teaches while the rest of us search for C-L-U-E-S.”
“Kelly?” said Mara. “Do you think you can try again?”
“I guess so,” she said. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
“You probably shouldn’t ask that,” said Brian.
Kelly swallowed hard and took her place in front of the room. I could see she was still upset by Julie getting sick on her notes.
But a Goofball never quits.
Kelly gave us a nod. When she began to teach, Brian, Mara, Sparky, and I crept slowly around the classroom like hunting dogs. We sniffed and nosed and pawed everything we saw, searching for clues to solve our mystery.
I stalked around the place where the goldfish tank used to be.
Brian went down the aisles, looking for clues to the missing puppet theater.
Mara searched the closets and under the tables for evidence of the missing art easel.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Meanwhile, Kelly wasn’t doing much better.
“What can anyone tell me about George Washington?” she asked the class.
“He invented laundry,” said the girl named Colleen. “He loved washing so much he did a ton of it. So they called him Washing … ton.”
Kelly frowned. “Hmm. Anyone else?”
Truman raised his hand. “He lived in Washington, DC, because it had the same name as him, so he always knew when to get off the train.”
“That might be a little wrong,” Kelly said.
“Of course it’s wrong,” said Henri. “We all know George Washington never took trains.”
“That’s right,” said Kelly. “And how do we know that?”
“Because Washington drove a car,” Henri said. “That’s what DC stands for. Drove a car!”
Kelly practically choked. “I’m … I’m … dumbfounded!”
“That’s a bad word,” Regina said. “I’m telling Miss Becker.”
Kelly started to wobble, so we carried her back to Miss Becker’s rocking chair.
“Teaching is hard,” she groaned.
It was about to get even harder.
“My turn,” I said, marching to the front of the class. “Kids, I’m going to read you my favorite story. It’s about a boy named Noodle and his best friend, Zeek. Gather at the reading tree while I get my book.…”
“We can’t even do that!” shouted Eric.
“Of course we can,” I said. “The tree is right over — akkkk! The reading tree is gone!”
“Now we’ll never learn to read!” the kids cried. And they started running in circles around where the tree used to be.
“Goof! Goof!” Sparky barked as he chased them around, trying to get them back into their seats.
I swung around to my fellow detectives. “Goofballs!” I cried. “What’s going on here? We’re losing stuff left and right.”
“And in the middle, too,” Brian added.
In my cluebook, I put an X next to each thing missing. It wasn’t looking good. There were way too many Xs!
“Hold on,” Kelly whispered. “I bet the tree vanished the moment you helped me to the rocking chair. These kids must be doing it!”
Suddenly, the bell rang.
“Lunchtime!” Regina cried out.
“Run and get your lunches, please,” said Mara, and the kids rushed to their cubbies in the back of the room.
“Keep your eyes on those kids,” I said. “Don’t let any of them out of your sight.…”
No sooner had the kids grabbed their lunch bags than they suddenly made a wall completely across the back of the room. “Lunchtime!” they sang. Then they hurried back to their tables and started munching.
“Maybe singing is a new kindergarten tradition,” I said, counting the kids one by one as they took their seats. “Eleven, twelve, thirteen … thirteen …”
I counted the students again. “Thirteen?”
Even though we had all the kids in plain sight the whole time, one of them had just vanished.
Vanished!
“Um,” I said, “where’s number fourteen?”
“Right between thirteen and fifteen!” said Kathy.
“Teachers should know their numbers,” Leonardo added.
“Teachers should also not lose their students,” said Kelly.