“I hope Katie hasn’t had a chance to cancel her attempt yet!” Nancy said as she held the door open for the others to jostle inside.
They all went straight to the Dance-A-Thon game, where they could see Katie standing amid a small circle of people, including the judge and the mayor of River Heights.
Katie was gesturing, and from the expression on her face, it was clear she was telling the judge she couldn’t dance that afternoon.
“Wait!” called Bess, George, and Nancy.
Their three voices combined to rise above the dings and whistles and music of the noisy arcade. Katie peered over the judge’s shoulder at the members of the Clue Crew. Nancy held the BeDazzled headband above her, and Katie’s eyes widened. Her hand went to her mouth.
The girls stopped right in front of her, and Nancy offered Katie the headband. Michael and Caroline pushed in behind them.
“Is that my headband?” Katie cried. “Who—where did you—” She paused and took a breath. “How did you find it?”
Bess linked arms with Nancy and George. “A little good old-fashioned detective work,” she said with a giant grin.
Katie grinned too. “I’m so happy I had you guys in my corner today.”
The girls shrugged modestly, then explained to the dancer what had happened.
Katie glanced down at the headband in her hand and examined it closely. “Wow! This is a work of art now. Who did you say did this?”
Michael gently pushed his sister to the front. “She did.”
Caroline kept her eyes on the ground, avoiding Katie’s, as she said, “I’m really sorry. I was only trying to surprise you and give you something to help cheer you on.”
Katie waited for Caroline to sneak a peek up at her, and then she smiled. “I truly love it. I’ll feel extra sparkly as I fly across the dance floor.”
Caroline swallowed. “You’re—you’re not mad?”
Katie shook her head. “I wish you’d told someone about your special plan, but I understand why you wanted to keep it a surprise. If there’s one thing I learned early on—when I was trying to master Dance-A-Thon—it’s that everyone messes up. That’s why it’s great that games come with a reset button. I think life should too.”
Caroline’s answering smile was as sparkly as Katie’s glitter-ific new headband, especially after Katie hugged her.
The judge, who’d been standing just behind Katie as the whole scene went down, cleared her throat. “Well, I, for one, certainly hope you don’t need that reset button today, Katie. I’ll be cheering hard for your perfect score. But we should get started or I won’t have time to see your triumphant finish before my train leaves to go back to the city.”
Katie squared her shoulders and grinned. “Okay. Let’s do this thing!”
She smoothed back her bangs and slipped the lucky headband into place while the arcade made an announcement on their loudspeaker. A crowd quickly formed around the Dance-A-Thon game.
Katie stood in the center of the electronic pad. The rhinestones on her headband flashed under the pulsing lights. She took a deep breath and gave a thumbs-up to her mom, who released a token into the game. It dropped and the screen lit up. Katie winked at the audience as the music kicked in.
“Go, Katie! Go, Katie!” the crowd chanted, no one more enthusiastically than Nancy, Bess, and George.
Well, it’s possible Caroline was just a smidge louder.
The score climbed higher and Katie’s feet looked like they weren’t even attached to her body as they twirled left, right, back, and left again. She spun and shimmied her hips in time to the music, never taking her eyes off the screen’s instructions.
After several songs, she finally missed a step and the screen flashed GAME OVER.
The whole arcade hushed and turned to the judge. Smiling at the crowd, then at Katie, she said, “I’m proud to proclaim we have a new world record holder: Ms. Katie McCabe. Congratulations!”
Nancy, George, and Bess joined right in the celebration with everyone else. Michael slipped away to speak to the judge as she put her clipboard into her shoulder bag. Nancy noticed the judge peek at her watch and then nod. Michael’s face lit up with a grin. It looked like he’d get to attempt his record as well!
Nancy turned to face her friends. “It’s too bad there isn’t a world record for solving mysteries.”
“It wouldn’t even be a contest,” added Bess.
George nodded. “Hardly even fair for anyone else attempting it.”
The girls smiled at one another. “We don’t need a certificate to tell us what we already know,” said Nancy.
“The Clue Crew rules!” all three girls shouted together.