Shaky, Breaky School Sleuth
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The moment Keely stepped out on stage, the lights blinded her. The audience clapped for Romy and his little brother and the roar of the noise felt like nothing compared to the pounding in her heart as she walked over to the microphone. It looked dangerous to her.
As Romy and his little brother were about to exit the stage to give Keely a turn, she called out, “Wait!” Her voice actually came out in a boom.
Romy and his little brother looked at Keely as if she had lost her mind. She supposed she had. Maybe the run and all of her detective work had done something to calm down her nerves too.
“Thank you all for coming to the play tonight,” Keely said. If she didn’t stop to think about it and looked right at her parents, it was easier to talk. “This is a special night for all of us and it is an extra special night for some.” She didn’t have to say much more because Mr. Ramirez, Romy’s dad, made his way onto the stage, hugging his sons.
“Welcome home!” Keely said to Romy’s dad. Romy and his brother jumped into their dad’s arms. The audience gave a standing ovation. Keely noticed Mrs. Holmes dabbing tears from her eyes.
As Mrs. Tune thanked the audience again for their patience, Queeneka leaned into Keely. “You were amazing. Maybe you should try out for the school play next year.”
“I plan to sign up for set crew again,” Keely said.
The play began without any issues and the students did an amazing job. Javier’s performance was even better than his audition. Klaude remembered his lines and Queeneka didn’t add too many extra ones. The cast and crew of Candy Dreams got a standing ovation at the end, too.
The custodian felt so bad about Javier getting locked in the closet that he found a pretty cup from the basement to put the roses in after he cleaned up the mess. Keely thought Mrs. Tune was going to cry again when the cast handed her the messy bouquet at the end of the play.
“I hope you all feel proud of yourselves,” Mrs. Tune said to the cast.
Keely had never been more proud!
How to Solve a Mystery, By Keely
I had no idea a play would have so many mysteries to solve! The first mystery of course was who would be cast for each part. But the biggest mystery was when Javier disappeared. To solve that one, I first had to figure out if he made himself disappear.
Because Javier was shy, everyone seemed to think that Javier ran off. To check for myself, I had Mr. Sleuth call Javier’s home, but that didn’t give me any leads. I trusted in my gut that he didn’t run away.
Next I thought about who would have a motive to keep Javier from performing in the play. Klaude and Queeneka were suspects because they wanted Javier’s part. To get some answers, I had to interview them both. To decide if a suspect is telling the truth, a detective checks their alibis, or the people they were with when the suspicious activity took place.
When they checked out, I thought through other possibilities. There was one clue—the broken vase. A good detective puts everything she knows together to reconstruct the scene. Thinking about the clue along with the type of person Javier is led me to the answer!
Red Herrings
Red herrings are false clues that writers sprinkle throughout mystery stories. Red herrings are fun to include as a writer because they can lead readers to suspect the wrong characters or get the wrong idea about the mystery. These false clues make the mystery more challenging to figure out and can make the story more interesting. Writers can then slip in the real clues without making them obvious to the readers.
When writing red herrings, it is important to make sure that they make sense in the story. For example, Romy’s dad was a red herring—he seemed suspicious hanging out in the hallway. His behavior made sense because he wanted to surprise Romy, and Romy had shared how much he was hoping his father could be there earlier in the story.
Discussion Questions
1.What part in the play would you have wanted and why?
2.Have you ever not been picked for a role or a position on a team you wanted? How did you respond to the disappointment?
3.Who did you identify with in the story the most and why?
4.Which character did you suspect was guilty and for what reasons?
5.Do any of the characters remind you of people you know? How so?
Vocabulary
Play a game of charades! Take turns acting out each of these vocabulary words with a friend.
apologize: say sorry
audition: tryout
doubted: felt uncertain
frazzled: worn out
lurking: creep around
ovation: long applause
overjoyed: really happy
participate: take part
performance: act, show
sabotage: damage on purpose
shattered: broken
suspicious: untrustworthy
tutu: skirt worn as a costume
volunteered: offered, help
Writing Prompt
1.Rewrite this mystery and have Queeneka, Klaude, or Mrs. Tune hide Javier on purpose.
2.Write a story based on the play scene— what if one of the other characters go missing or some other mystery occurs as the play unfolds in front of the school audience? Try to include drama, suspense, and humor.
3.Write a mystery based on the school play, Candy Dreams. How does the Candy Princess or Prince get taken and how do the candy characters find the crystal cave to save the princess or prince?
Websites to Visit
Play some detective games:
www.fbi.gov/fun-games/kids/kids-games
Learn how to overcome stage fright:
www.speaking-tips.com/Stage-Fright
Practice your acting skills with drama games:
www.bbbpress.com/dramagames
About the Author
J. L. Anderson solves a mystery of her own almost every day like figuring out why her daughter is suddenly so quiet (what did she get into this time?), which of her two dogs stole the bag of treats, where her husband is taking her for a surprise dinner, or what happened to her keys this time.
You can learn more about J.L. Anderson at www.jessicaleeanderson.com.
About the Illustrator
I have always loved drawing from a very young age. While I was at school, most of my time was spent drawing comics and copying my favorite characters. With a portfolio under my arm, I started drawing comics for newspapers and fanzines. After I finished my studies I decided to try to make a living as a freelance illustrator… and here I am!