by Ida Siegal
WE had to wait until after school was over to check for Sophia’s costume. Sophia, Javier, and I lined up in the front hallway with everyone else for the school bus. When no one was looking, we snuck into the back lunchroom door and headed straight for the lost and found bin.
“Look inside, Sophia,” I said.
“Okay, here I go …” she said as she opened the lid to the bin. Sophia sifted through the clothes. Then she started throwing clothes out of the bin and up into the air. A green winter hat landed perfectly on Javier’s head!
“Awesome. Thanks,” Javier joked. But Sophia wasn’t laughing.
“I can’t find it!” Sophia called from inside the bin. She was digging so deep, her feet were dangling off the floor. “It’s not here,” she said, standing up with a sigh.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yeah. I looked at everything in there. It’s not here.”
“I’m sorry, Sophia,” I said, and put my arm around her. But Javier wouldn’t give up that easily. He started looking in the bin, too.
“Javier’s right,” I said. “We can’t give up yet. Let’s think. We know Charlie the custodian put the costume in the bin … Who might have taken it out?”
“I don’t know. I’m tired. Let’s just go.” Sophia was getting sad again.
Then Javier started sneezing.
“Aaachoo!” he sneezed again.
“Okay, let’s go get on the bus,” I agreed. “Come on, Javier.”
We all left to get on the bus. Sophia looked really sad. And I felt sad for her. We plunked down into our regular seats and rode home. No one said a word to each other. The Halloween Festival was the next day, and Sophia didn’t have a costume.
“Well, Sophia, I’m not giving up yet, but maybe you can figure out another costume to wear to the festival, just in case we don’t find Aslan the Lion,” I suggested as the bus ran over a bumpy part of the street.
“My mom said I could wear my big sister’s costume from two Halloweens ago. She was dressed up as a chocolate chip cookie,” Sophia replied.
“That’s a great idea! You should wear that, Sophia.”
“It’s a funny costume, but it’s not from a book. And I didn’t make it. I won’t be able to enter the costume contest.”
“Oh. Right.”
“I’m sorry, Emma,” Sophia said as the bus pulled over to our stop. “We’re not going to win the contest and it’s all my fault.”
“Don’t say that,” I said. “It’s not your fault at all. And it’s not over yet.”
“I’ll see you at the festival tomorrow. Bye, Emma.”
Sophia hurried off the bus to meet her mom and walk home.
This was awful. Once I got home, I wrote down the last clue in my reporter pad.
#7: The costume was not in the lost and found bin.
I still had a news report to do. This was a tough case, but it wasn’t over yet. When you’re a famous reporter and detective, you can’t just give up. So I headed upstairs to my computer and recorded my last news report before the festival.
“Hello, everyone,” I began. “This is Emma and I’m on the air! As you know we’ve been trying to find Sophia’s missing Lion costume …”
I told them all about my interview with Adrian. About the secret anonymous note with pink ink. About the strip of orange felt. About the interview with Charlie the custodian. And finally I told them that the costume was not in the lost and found bin.
“So that’s it. We still can’t find the costume. Sophia is going to have wear her big sister’s old costume. And that means no contest. But it’s not over yet. ‘Emma Is On the Air’ … is still on the case! Stayed tuned.”
And with that I closed my laptop and wondered how I was going to find Sophia’s costume.
THE next day, we all got dressed up for the festival. My White Witch costume was amazing. My white dress was covered in white feathers and sparkly sequins. We cut up the bottom of the dress into shredded strips. Then I had my fur shaggy rug coat, my magic wand, and my tinfoil ice crown!
“¡La Bruja Blanca!” Papi said with a smile when I walked into the living room. “¡Fantástico!”
“Thanks, Papi! I think I do look pretty fantastic! And so do you!” Papi had on a Batman mask.
“Gracias, mi Bruja Blanca.”
Mom was wearing a Catwoman mask, and baby Mia was dressed as baby Supergirl. They were having a superhero Halloween.
Even my cat, Luna, got to go! Of course, she was my witch’s black cat. Except Luna’s fur is brown, not black. And the White Witch didn’t have a cat, according to my mom. But I thought the White Witch would probably really like a brown cat. Plus I was still looking for Sophia’s costume and I needed my reporter’s assistant by my side! Mom agreed, as long as Luna stayed on a leash and we brought her kitty bag in case she got scared.
We walked into the gymnasium at my school and it looked so spooky. There were Halloween decorations everywhere. Orange and black streamers and balloons hung from the ceiling. There was a haunted house bouncy castle. There was a table with gross food that felt like brains and eyeballs!! And there was music blasting over a dance floor where kids in spooky costumes were dancing.
Everyone was laughing and screaming and dancing. Everyone except Sophia. Sophia was sitting in the corner. She was the saddest chocolate chip cookie I’d ever seen. I walked right over to her.
“Hey, nice cookie! You look delicious!” I joked.
Sophia barely smiled. “Hi, Emma.”
“Aw, cheer up, Sophia. It’s still a really fun party. And look who I brought?” I showed her how I had Luna in her cat bag. Sophia instantly started to smile.
“Luna! Hi, kitty!” Sophia loves Luna. We took her out of the cat bag so Sophia could pet her. Then we heard a voice on the loudspeaker.
“Okay, boys and girls!” It was Principal Lee. She was speaking into the DJ’s microphone. “Welcome to the Washington Heights Halloween Festival!”
Everyone started cheering and clapping.
“We’re so happy to have you all here at our wonderful school today. You all look so spooky! I’m glad you came in such creative costumes. Our literary costume contest will begin in one hour. Come back to the dance floor at four p.m. if you think you can win! Enjoy.”
Everyone started clapping again. Sophia and I looked at each other and sighed. We knew we wouldn’t be winning that contest. Bye-bye, spy kit. We probably wouldn’t win the pizza party for Miss Thompson’s class, either. Without Sophia, our class would have a hard time winning the most categories.
I spotted Melissa G. across the dance floor. She looked so beautiful. She’d probably win the contest now, I thought. Then she headed right in our direction. She looked worried.
“Hi, Emma, hi, Sophia. Have you guys seen Molly anywhere?” asked Melissa G.
“Hi, Melissa. I haven’t seen her,” answered Sophia. “I’ve been here awhile. No sign of her.”
“I can’t find her. She was supposed to meet me here half an hour ago. We’re both supposed to be princesses together.” Melissa G. looked sad and worried.
“Maybe she’s in the bounce house? It’s hard to see inside,” I offered. I know I don’t like Melissa G., but I felt bad for her.
“Thanks, Emma.” Melissa G. walked off toward the spooky bounce house. As we watched her walk away, I spotted a piece of blue furniture in the corner. Just sitting there. Not moving an inch. I knew that piece of furniture right away! I grabbed Sophia and we headed right over. Sophia still had Luna in her arms.
“Hi!” I said with a giggle. The furniture said nothing at first. So I knocked on the two front doors.
“Who’s there?” a muffled voice asked.
“It’s me, Emma.”
“And Sophia!” She giggled.
Then a head popped up on top.
“Oh, hi, Emma! Hi, Sophia!” Javier said back with a smile. We all laughed.
“Javier, your wardrobe costume is so cool. I love it,” I told him.
“Thanks,” he said. Then Javier let out a big sneeze. Then another one.
“Achooo!” he roared.
“Bless you!” I said back.
“Who’s that?” Javier asked, pointing to Luna.
“Oh, this is my cat, Luna. She’s my brown witch’s cat and my reporter’s assistant. She’s part of my costume.”
Javier sneezed again.
“Hi, Luna—achoo!” he said as he covered his mouth with his hand.
“Javier, why are you sneezing so much?” I wondered.
“Oh … I’m allergic to cats,” he replied. And then he sneezed again.
“You’re allergic to cats?” I asked. Javier answered with another sneeze.
“You’re allergic to CATS!!” Sophia said with excitement.
“Yes. I just told you that. Achooo!”
“Emma, that’s it!” Sophia said. “I know exactly where my costume is! Come on, guys, we have to go! Hurry!”
“Ok. Achoo! Where are we going? Achoo!”
“We’re going to the lost and found bin!” Sophia answered. And she just started running. We had no choice but to run after her.
BUT, Sophia, we looked in the lost and found bin. The costume isn’t there,” I reminded her.
“I know. But we have to look again. Come on. Hurry!”
Then Sophia stopped and looked down at Luna.
“Here, Emma. Take Luna and give her back to your mom and dad. We don’t need to torture Javier any longer.”
“Okay,” I said. I ran over and handed Luna to Papi. I told them we had another clue and we’d be right back. Then I ran back to Sophia and Javier and we raced as fast as we could to the lost and found. Now that Luna was gone, Javier finally stopped sneezing.
“Sophia, I still don’t understand what we’re doing here,” I said.
“Yeah, we know it’s not here,” agreed Javier.
“Javier. Have you noticed that you stopped sneezing?” Sophia asked him.
“Um … yeah,” he replied. “Luna is with Emma’s papi. Now I’m fine.”
“Okay, now do me a favor. Look inside the lost and found bin,” Sophia instructed.
“But, Sophia … I already looked here.”
“I know you did. Just please look again.”
Javier agreed. He took off his wardrobe costume and dug inside. Then it happened.
“Achoo!” he sneezed.
“I knew it,” Sophia said with a smile.
“Knew what?” Javier asked as he lifted his head out of the bin.
“The costume has to be here. Emma and I glued some of Luna’s cat fur to the Lion costume. That’s why you sneezed in the lost and found bin yesterday. That’s why you sneezed just now. The costume has to be here!”
“Sophia! You’re so smart!! Of course!” I screamed.
Then I started digging through the bin with Javier and Sophia. We all dug and dug but still couldn’t find it.
“Wait—I have an idea.” Javier said. He lifted the lost and found bin up and pulled it out from the corner it was sitting in. And what do you know? There it was. Sophia’s Lion costume.
“Found it!” Javier proclaimed as he held the costume up over his head.
“Javier!!!” I screamed. “You did it!!”
“Yup! Achoo! Just had to look behind the bin.”
I pulled out my camera phone that I had hidden inside my costume. You know, just in case. I shot video of Javier holding the costume.
“I love looking behind things,” he continued. “Achoo! Here, Sophia, you take this.” Javier handed the costume over and took a deep breath.
“That’s better. Look what else was under the lost and found—a blue-striped glove. Nice. It’ll go perfect inside my wardrobe doors …”
Javier started searching for more things to add to his costume.
But Sophia and I ran.
“Sophia, you go to the bathroom and put on that Lion costume! I have to go to the computer lab and let everyone know we solved the case!”
“Okay,” she agreed. And we split up. There wasn’t much time before the contest began, so we had to hurry.
THE computer lab was empty when I got there. Which was perfect because I didn’t have time to talk. It was 3:45 and Sophia only had fifteen minutes to put on her costume, and enter the contest!
I sat at my usual computer and set it up to record my report. I was still in my White Witch costume instead of my professional reporter blazer. But there was no time to go home and change. This would have to do.
“Hello, everyone, and happy Halloween!” I said as I looked into the camera. Everything was ready to go. I didn’t have time to write a script down on paper, so I just wrote the script in my head and hoped I would remember it all.
“This is Emma and I’m on the air,” I continued. “We solved the case! It turns out Charlie the custodian was right. The Aslan the Lion costume was in the lost and found bin after all! Sophia, Javier, and I just found it there—it was stuck behind the bin!”
I showed everyone the video of Javier holding the costume. Then I explained about Luna and the sneezing and Javier’s cat allergy.
“I still haven’t figured out who took the costume from the floor after Adrian knocked it off the table. But it doesn’t matter. We found it! We’re about to enter the contest. And win for P.S. 387.”
Then I said, “Thanks for watching ‘Emma Is On the Air.’ See you next time.”
I ran back to the gymnasium to find Sophia and Javier.
“Two minutes!” Principal Lee said into the loudspeaker. “Anyone entering the costume contest should be behind the dance floor in two minutes.”
There was no time left. I found Javier by the snack table eating eyeball gum balls. I grabbed him by the door handle and pulled him to the edge of the dance floor. We waited there—but no sign of Sophia.
“Okay, everyone … the Washington Heights Halloween Festival costume contest is about to begin …”
Still nothing.
“Emma, where is Sophia?” Javier asked, clearly nervous.
“She’s getting ready,” I assured him. “She’ll be here any second.”
The contest began and the first people entered the dance floor in their costumes. I was getting nervous, too. And then I saw her.
“Look! Here she comes.” I pointed. “And she’s not alone. She’s with Molly.”
“Molly?” Javier asked, confused.
“Sophia, you look so great!” I told her as she and Molly walked over to us. The Lion’s mane was so colorful and bright. She looked just like Aslan.
“Thanks!” she answered.
“Hi, Molly!” I said. “Melissa’s been looking all over for you.” And then I noticed it. Molly was not dressed as a princess. She was Roo from Winnie-the-Pooh!! But before I could ask her about her costume, we heard our names called. Javier, Sophia, and I ran onto the dance floor.
“Okay, our next contestants have arrived,” said Principal Lee into the microphone. “This is a group costume. We have Aslan the Lion, the White Witch, and the wardrobe from the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.”
Everyone started cheering as we walked across the dance floor. It felt great. I just knew we were gonna win. We walked back into the crowd so the next contestants could have a turn.
“We did it!” I shouted.
“Really think we’re going to win?” Sophia asked.
“I hope so!” I answered.
Then it was Molly’s turn. She strutted down the dance floor—proud as can be in her Roo costume.
“Hey, Sophia,” I whispered. “What’s up with Molly’s costume? Why were you walking in with her? Looks like she stood up to Melissa after all.”
“Yeah, I guess she did,” Sophia replied. “I saw her walking in the front door when I was coming out of the bathroom. She said she saw your news report and rushed right over to make it into the costume contest. I wasn’t sure why—but there was no time to ask. We had to run to get here in time.”
“Hmm. That’s str
ange.”
When Molly was done showing her costume … Melissa G. ran over to her.
“Molly?? What are you doing? Where’s your princess costume? You’re supposed to be my little sister!”
“I decided not to wear it!” Molly said with a determined look on her face.
“But why? We were supposed to be beautiful princesses together—like always.” Melissa looked confused.
“You know what, Melissa? I’m sick of being a princess all the time! Can’t I just be something else for once?”
“I guess. If you want to,” said Melissa G. Then it was Melissa’s turn to show her costume, so she walked off, looking shocked. And maybe even sad. Molly just stood there. She looked happy! She walked right over to us.
“Wow, Molly—you look great!” I said. Sophia and Javier agreed.
“Thanks!” she said. “You were right. I decided I should be whatever I want to be. I made this costume when Melissa wasn’t looking. I was still too scared to wear it. And then I saw your report, Emma. I was so happy you guys found the Lion costume, I decided I should wear my costume, too. So I rushed to school to enter the contest.”
“Good for you,” said Sophia.
Then I noticed something. Molly’s costume looked a lot like Sophia’s—just a kangaroo version. It had the same oval-shaped piece of felt sewn to the front to make the belly. Molly also had an extra piece of felt to make a pocket for the pouch. But she also wore a leotard and tights … and a tail made out of jump rope.
And just like that, a thought popped in my head. I knew what happened.
HEY, Molly … how’d you get the idea to sew a felt oval patch on the front to make the belly?” I asked her.
“Oh … um. I just thought of it,” Molly said.
“Because it looks a lot like the oval patch on my Lion costume …” Sophia realized.
“Yeah, um, I got the idea from you, Sophia.”
“Charlie the custodian said he saw you holding Sophia’s Lion costume the other day,” Javier added. They figured out what I was thinking.