ET12_5_Sample of Mystery Story
Cupcake Caper "So, Steve," I began and I started pacing the floor. “Where were you the entire time
by Elizabeth Marie
It was my eleventh birthday today and I was treating my class with a box of
cupcakes I was bringing into school. Everyone was enjoying them as we ate them
before we went out to recess. Five students in my class were absent so I had extras
that I was going to take home at the end of the day. I was fine with taking them home
but to everyone's surprise the five extra cupcakes that were sitting on my teachers
desk had gone missing when we had arrived back in the classroom, box and all.
I had gotten to my seat when I had noticed that the box was not on the teacher’s desk
where I had left it. Once everyone was quiet, I raised my hand and asked where they
had gone. I was mostly expecting her to say that she had moved them over to the
window sill where there was room. Although she looked around the room with her
fingers pointed, as if she was expecting to see them somewhere around the room, and
found not a single trace as to where my cupcakes had gone.
"Well," Mrs. Stuarts began, "I'm not sure, dear. Has anybody seen the cupcakes that
Anya brought in today?" She continued as she still eyed that classroom. "Well then,
this is perfect. We can solve our own mystery and have our own court room just like
the story we are reading this week in our literature books." The classroom looked
around excitedly at each other. Although I was still rather upset that my homemade
cupcakes had gone missing.
"Alright. We need a jury." Mrs. Stuarts began as if this was a joke. Sure they were
just cupcakes but they were mine. And I wanted them back. This couldn’t be
believed!
Multiple students waved their hands in the air and were all picked to be part of the
jury. Anybody could be questioned and we had no witnesses that we knew of to call
in. As far as I was concerned we weren't doing too well right now. Mrs. Stuart was
the judge and I was the starting questioner because they were my cupcakes that had
gone missing. Now I had to pick my first person to question.
I figured that I would go down the first row but then I noticed that this may be rude
because all the students looked so excited and they might not all be picked if I went
this way.
So I chose to pick randomly throughout the class. Steve Jackson was one of the few
school bullies and I figured I should start with a believable suspect. "I would like to
call Steve to the stand," I said in a rather proper way.
Steve grunted and stood then stomped over to the desk that Mrs. Stuart wanted to use
as the questioning podium.
we were all at recess?"
"Playin' football," he replied. Although by the look on a small boy named Ben, I
knew Steve was lying. Ben's face was stained with tears and he looked as if he were
completely terrified.
"Mrs. Stuarts. How will we know if they're telling the truth? We need proof to say
that they never left recess." I said.
Summer, the head of student council, raised her hand. "Mrs. Stuarts? I still have the
sign out sheet you put me in charge of."
"Thank you, Summer. Could you please hand that to Anya please?" Mrs. Stuarts said
so that she was now completely unbelievable as a judge. Our teacher was way too
nice.
"Okay." I began. "Could Michael, Grace, and Georgie come to the front seats please?
Grace had a look of terror on her face and the others looked calm and as if this was
the dumbest thing they had ever done.
"Grace, you first please," I said. "So. Where did you go exactly when you came
inside?" I questioned.
"I c-came inside to get an extra jacket." She said as her eyes darted around the room
and her cheeks went pink.
"Any proof?" I continued on.
But then out of nowhere Grace burst out crying and at first I thought I had found the
culprit. But then she started attempting to get words out. "I - promise - it - w-wasn't -
me!" she screamed into her hands taking in deeper breaths each time. Mrs. Stuart
excused her to the bathroom immediately.
"Okay," I continued nervously still questioning what had just happened. "Georgie,
you next please."
Georgie was a big girl and somewhat of a thug. I'm sure some suspected her because
I bet she and her gang of friends had wanted more cupcakes.
"Alright, let's get somethin' straight." Georgie started talking before I could even ask
a single question. Or for that matter even say a single word. "I didn't take any of
them, stupid cupcakes. I thought they tasted horrible anyways!" She said.
All of her friends started smirking so that I had a horrible feeling that they did
something with their cupcakes that I will soon find out about in my locker.
"Now, Georgie, cooperate please," Mrs. Stuart said again in a non-judge kind of
way.
By the look of encouragement my teacher gave me after that, I think she agreed with
me that Georgie and her friends had taken the cupcakes to do something bad with
them. Although then Georgie continued without me having to say a single word.
"Besides, I got a witness!" She said folding her arms and leaning back in the desk.
"Mr. Riber saw me downstairs. He watched me while I walked into the bathroom and
back outside. He watched my every move." George finished with confidence. And
she didn't care that she and everyone else know why he was watching her. She didn't
care either that Mrs. Stuart, Summer, and a few other students were dying to fix her
horrible grammar that she took no time to fix.
"Oh, okay." I said with a hint of intimidation in my voice. "Then Michael, you're
last."
He stood and towered over the entire class. Although, even if everyone was standing,
he still would. Michael was one of the tallest people I knew. He was even taller than
Mrs. Stuart.
"I also have a witness to back me up." Michael said even before he sat down. I
started to get annoyed that only two suspects would let me do my job. "Mrs. Roberts
saw me walking to the drinking fountain and had asked me to drop papers off two
doors down. She watched from her room as I dropped off the papers. She thanked me
as I walked back outside." Michael completed his story with a confident nod and he,
too, folded his arms.
believable as a judge. "Now class I’m sure that was fun but we have to get back to
our lesson." Mrs. Stuarts had grabbed her book and was flipping through the pages
probably trying to find a boring verb lessons or something.
While she was looking, I could see that most of the jury looked rather disappointed
that they didn't get to do anything. The reason was because there was no opposing
side that I suspected. I was clueless.
"Okay class, let's-" She was about to assign a lesson but then there was a knock on
the door and a teacher came in.
"Hi everyone. Mrs. Stuart, I just wanted to make sure you got my papers. Oh, here
they are," The teacher removed a large book and handed her the stack of papers. "Oh,
and also while I was dropping them off, I saw it was somebody's birthday. Anya?"
He continued and I raised my hand and he congratulated me on turning eleven.
"Thanks." I said shyly.
"By the way, great cupcakes. Did you make them? All the fourth grade teachers
loved them."
The teacher said while rubbing his stomach.
The entire class and even Mrs. S started laughing and this teacher had no idea why.
He just started to quietly laugh as if he thought we were laughing at his stomach
rubbing motions.
Mrs. Stuart mouthed sorry to me and I nodded in return. She had never had suspected
a teacher to take them. But truthfully, neither had I.

"Well then." Mrs. Stuart said unsatisfactoryly as she hung up the phone. "It looks as
though our witnesses say that Michael and Georgie are telling the truth. And we're
out of students to question. Nobody else in here could have taken them, Anya."

But then an idea hit me so hard I shouted it out in excitement. "But, what if it wasn't
somebody that was outside at the time!" I said.

"Now Anya, I'm sure you want your cupcakes back and I’m sorry I don't know
where they got to, but I’m sure that nobody came to our classroom and just opened
the door and stole your treats." Mrs. Stuarts said with a look that she was sure she
was right and that my idea was completely crazy and incorrect.

"But-." I began but was interrupted.

"I'm sorry Anya." She said with a stern look and a stern voice that now made her