The Carmine Case

THE CARMINE CASE (THE UNFINISHED EDITON)

Malcolm Franokuski

Copyright Š 2014 Malcolm Franokuski. All rights reserved.

A few hours later, now in the early morning, cars are starting to pile up in the parking lot. They arrive early less than a few hours before the students, whether they’re walkers or in busses or cars, arrive. The first one arrive to the high school this early morning is the office secretary Ms. Sanchez, who’s walking toward the school’s entrance with her bag. She has the key to unlock the school entrance door, which is already opened. As she walked into the school sidewalk, another secretary arrives.

Her name is Mrs. Benson.

“Good morning,” Ms. Sanchez said to her as she stopped walking.

“Good Morning Ms. Sanchez,” Mrs. Benson said as she walked toward her. “You have a good night sleep?” she asked “Yep,” Ms. Sanchez starts walking with her while talk. “I was watching The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallen last night. Malcolm Lee guest star.”

“Oh Malcolm Lee guest star last night?”

“Yes. He was great.”

“Well I don’t watch late night television.”

“Why?” Mrs. Benson stopped walking and stand in front of Ms. Sanchez “Because really,” She said. “How many hours do Americans sleep…after watching about, I don’t know, one-anda-half hour to two hours of late night comedians entertaining them?”

“Um Mrs. Benson, Many Americans only watch the first late-night show. Then they either go to bed, watch the second show or recorded it.”

They turned around. They’re already in front of the school entrance door. Nobody check to see if it’s locked yet. Then another officer come by. This time, it’s man, a somewhat old man in a white button-up shirt tucked in into his gray leather pants walked by. His name is Mr. Trucker.

“Morning guys,” he said.

“Good morning,” Ms. Sanchez said.

“Hey Mr. Trucker,” Mrs. Benson said.

“You guys forget the key?” he walks into the school sidewalk and approached them.

“Nope,” Ms. Sanchez said as she holds the key in her hand.

“I got it. But first let’s see if it’s locked first.”

The office are always there to guard not just the entrance door but also the rest of the doors in the high school.

“Alright…,” Ms. Sanchez tried to see if the entrance door was locked but she the door was suddenly opened.

“Well, somebody unlocked it for us,” she said as she let Mrs. Benson and Mr. Trucker into the school, all of them unaware of a security breach.

“Oh thanks,” Mr. Trucker said.

“Thanks mam,” Mrs. Besnon said.

“Oh you’re welcome,” Ms. Sanchez said.

They’re heading for the office. However while the entrance door was open, when Ms. Sanchez tried to open the door, it was locked to the confusion of the three sectaries.

“Well that’s odd,” Ms. Sanchez said. “The front door was open but nobody was inside the office.”

They looked around.

Mrs. Benson stare at the long hallway in front of them.

“Does somebody break into this building?” she asked as she starting walking.

“I don’t know Mrs. Benson,” Ms. Sanchez said as she starts unlocking the main office door.

“I’ll find out,” Mr. Trucker said as he followed Mrs. Benson.

“Good Mr. Trucker,” Ms. Sanchez has entered the office.

“Call me back when you get updates and information.”

“Okay Ms. Sanchez.”

As soon as Mrs. Benson and Mr. Sanchez walked down that hallway, they suddenly stopped. They slowly opened their mouths. They started to see glass. Lots of glass. On the floor.

They slowly looking up and saw that the sports trophy closet, which is beside the gym (which has not been open yet since the gym teachers are not arrive yet), was heavily shattered. To make things worse, most of the trophies that are displayed are now disappeared.

“Holy moly,” Mr. Trucker said.

“So somebody did broke into this building,” Mrs. Benson said.

“Yeah somebody broke into…,” he paused his sentence and looked at her. “We gotta tell Ms. Sanchez and the school principal and the gym teachers,” he told her as he start walking back.

“Yeah I’m right with you,” Mrs. Benson said as she followed him.

As soon as they walked back towards the main office, another sectary arrive. This time, that person’s name is Mr. Browls.

“Hey Mr. Browls good morning,” Mr. Trucker said it fast.

“Hey guys,” Mr. Browls said in a questionable look on his face. “What’s going on?”

“There’s a break in.”

“What, a break in?”

“Yes Mr. Browls,” Mrs. Benson said. “A break-in.

Somebody broke into the gym’s closet…”

Before she finish her sentence, Ms. Sanchez, opens the main office door.

“You guys found anything?” Ms. Sanchez asked.

“Yeah,” Mr. Trucker said. “There’s a…”

“There’s a break-in,” Mrs. Benson said.

“There’s a break-in?” Ms. Sanchez said.

“Yes somebody broke into the gym trophies closet.”

Mr. Browls gave a glance stare for a few seconds and then walk down the hallway that they went.

Ms. Sanchez also gave a glance stare when she heard it.

“Really?” she said as she started following Mr. Browls.

“Yes some of the trophies are stolen,” Mrs. Benson said.

“What?” Ms. Sanchez looked back. “Really?” she then continued down the hallway.

Mr. Trucker and Mrs. Benson looked at each other and then started following them, walking down the same hallway they’d been before.

As Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Browls walked down the hallway, they suddenly stopped. They saw the gym trophy closet was shattered.

“Oh my…,” Ms. Sanchez said as she and Mr. Browls shake their heads.

Mrs. Benson and Mr. Trucker walked back to the same area that the other two office sectaries are now responding.

Ms. Sanchez turned around and looked at Mrs. Benson.

“Who did this?”

“I…don’t know,” Mrs. Benson struggled to talk and react at the same time.

“Somebody should bring a camera, take a picture of this and show it to the staff and the gym teachers because everybody should be careful walk around the glass,” Mr. Trucker told.

“But wait,” Mr. Browls said as he looked at him. “Should we call the police first?”

“Well students are going to be here any minute so…,” Ms. Sanchez, turning around at them shaking her head again. “Sure we can call the police,” she continued. “But if we call the police right now, especially before all of the students arrive, it will create massive chaos.”

“Well can we call the police after the students arrive?”

Mrs. Benson asked.

The women looked at each other. The men looked at each other. Then they all looked at each other. Suddenly another staff member, named Mrs. Beals, walking toward them.

“Good morning,” Mrs. Beals said.

Everybody looked at her approaching them.

“What’s going…,” Mrs. Beals stopped talking to see the situation that the office sectaries are reacting. She couldn’t believe her eyes. “Did somebody…broke the glass…and stole some trophies?” she asked in disbelief.

“Mrs. Beals I don’t know what’s going on,” Ms. Sanchez said. “Somebody did broke the glass and stole some trophies.”

“Maybe we should call the school principal and the police.”

“Yeah we should call the school principal now,” Mr. Trucker said as he gets out of the group and walked back towards the main office. Everybody else followed. “Once again we have to tell everybody about the dangers of walking around the glass,” he said.

They went into the main office and saw another office secretary, named Ms. Morals, who entered already not knowing what’s going on. She then stopped and looked puzzled as she saw group of five people, including her other secretaries, entering together.

“Oh good morning Ms. Morals,” Mr. Trucker said as he walked towards the telephone on Mrs. Benson’s desk.

“Good morning Mr. Trucker what’s going on?” she said without a pause.

“We have a situation,” he looked at her while picking up the telephone and dial the numbers.

“Yeah somebody broke into the building,” Ms. Sanchez said. “They broke into the gym closet, shattered the glass, and stole most of the trophies.”

“It’s unclear…,” Mrs. Benson struggles as she looked at the rest of them. “Which trophies have been stolen. Because we cannot walk through the glass.”

“She’s right,” Mr. Bowls said. “We gotta tell…”

But before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Trucker notified everyone that he’s on the phone. “Shh,” he said. “It’s the school principal.”

At the school principal’s house, the school principal, named Ms. Bacon, is in her and her husband’s room already getting dressed. Mr. Bacon, who’s already dressed in a suit and a tie, walked into the room.

“Hey do you need help?” Mr. Bacon asked.

“Um no honey,” Ms. Bacon said. “I got it.”

“Okay.” He then walked out.

As soon as she got in her suit and pants, a phone call rang.

She then walked to her smartphone that is on the bed.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Is this Ms. Bacon?” Mr. Trucker said.

“Yes good morning Mr. Trucker. What’s happening?”

“Well there’s a break-in near the gym.”

Ms. Bacon gave a sudden look as she put her left hand on her right elbow while holding her smartphone on her right ear.

“There’s a break-in?” she said.

“Yes.” “Near the gym?”

“Yeah somebody shattered the gym closet’s glass door and steel trophies.”

Her eyes were widen and her face is slowly turning red.

Rather than asking them information she then rushed out of

the room. “You know what call the police,” she told him. “Right now. I’m on my way,” she then hang up the smartphone.

Mr. Bacon is looking at the mirror when he suddenly saw his wife storm out of their room. “What’s going on?” he asked her.

“Somebody break into my school,” she said as she start quickly pack her stuff in her suitcase. “I gotta go honey,” she finished packing and locked her suitcase. She then walked toward her husband and kiss him on the check. “Good luck,” she added as she heads for the exit.

“Okay mam,” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t get mad too much now when you get there.”

She stopped in front of the front door as she about to exit and looked at him. “Oh I’ll try,” she said. “As soon as I gather everything I need.” She then exits out of the house. “Have a nice day honey,” she yelled before she locked the door, just in case an intruder will walk into the house. She then get into her red Madza car and turn on the ignition. She then slowly unpark and start driving right.

Meanwhile back at high school, Ms. Sanchez, Mrs. Benson, Ms. Morals, Mrs. Beals, and Mr. Bowls watch as Mr. Trucker is dialing on the telephone again. They all looked at each other.

“Um are you calling the…,” Ms. Sanchez begins to say.

“Yes I’m calling the police,” Mr. Trucker said as he looked at them while nodding his head and raising his eyebrows slowly. “Ms. Bacon told me that.”

The gang looked at each other again. Mrs. Benson gave a susgestion.

“When the police arrive at school we could have a road plan to the highway for both students who walk to class and students who walk to gym,” Mrs. Benson whispered.

“We should cooperate this situation with the police,” Mrs. Beals said. “Students should never walk through the glass.”

“Maybe we should get the janitor to sweep the glass off the way so that the police will do an investigation,” Mr. Bowls said.

Mr. Trucker hangs up the phone and looked at them.

Everybody turned around to hear what he’s gonna say.

“Alright,” he said. “Ms. Bacon is on her way. The police are on their way. I think we gonna need backup because this is going to be chaos this morning.”

On the road, Ms. Bacon is on the hands-free phone (which is installed on the radio system) talking to her assistant principal, Mr. Cooper.

“So somebody broke into high school,” Mr. Cooper said.

“Yes,” Ms. Bacon said. “Mr. Trucker called me this morning and I’m on my way to find out what the situation is.”

“Wasn’t a intruder, a theif, a…”

“I don’t know Mr. Cooper. But when somebody is gonna suffer the consequences. I’m not guessing names.”

“Maybe some gang member did this.”

“Listen we’ll get to the bottom of this, are you coming?”

“Yes I’m coming,” Mr. Cooper said. “Just gather a few things before I’m on the road.”

“Okay I’ll see you there.”

“Bye.” “Bye.”

Ms. Bacon is already on the school road almost there to the school. She was ahead of the police as she enter the school zone. After she parked in her principal parking spot, she get out of the car and walked mad towards the school entrance. It was less than a half-hour before the students arrive. Seveval staff members, who had just stepped out of their parked cars, watched her stone mad as she walked fast than usual.

“You had a bad morning Ms. Bacon?” Mr. Roberts asked.

“No Mr. Roberts,” Ms. Bacon said without looking. “It’s something else. Somebody brake into our school.”

The group (of four people) looked at each other and followed them. Ms. Bacon enters the school building without holding the door for the group and entered the main office. Ms. Sanchez, Mrs. Benson, Mr. Bowls, Mr. Trucker, and Ms. Morals looked at her when she enter the office.

“Good morning everybody,” Ms. Bacon said in an unhappy mode as she stopped in front of them.

“Morning,” the staff said.

Just that, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Mac, Ms. Jackson, and Ms. Howard enter the main office.

“Good morning everyone,” Ms. Bacon said at them. “You guys made just in time for this…kind of a conversation.” She then looks at everyone back and forth a she talk. “There’s a break-in this overnight right?”

“Yeah,” Mr. Trucker said.

“And that break-in was the gym.”

“The gym closet,” Mrs. Benson said.

Ms. Bacon nodded her head. “And the trophies are stolen?”

“Most of them,” Mr. Bowls said.

She paused for a moment and gave a glance stare at everyone. “The police will arrive shortly,” she continued. She start telling everybody what to do. “Ms. Sanchez, Mrs. Benson and Ms. Morals you guys coordinate on the teachers. Mr. Roberts, Mr. Mac and Ms. Jackson you guys coordinate with the police. But everybody else come with me.” She starts walking to the right side.

Everybody else including Mr. Trucker, Mr. Bowls and Ms. Howard followed her. She then take them to the security room where a security officer is montoring the cameras. His name is Mr. Williams. He turns around when they walked to the room.

“Good morning Mr. Williams,” Ms. Bacon said.

“Good Morning Ms. Bacon,” he said. “I’m just about to tell you that there’s a robbery that occurred last night.”

“Oh we know that already. These guys first witness it, Mr. Trucker notified me when I was getting ready to go. Do you have the video tape?”

“Yes mam,” Mr. Williams swings back in his chair as he push the rewind button to find the robbery situation that was recorded. She walked closer beside him to watch the video closely. Then he gets to the picture where the gym closet was stayed the same as the previous days before it has become the target of the robbery. The time on that recorded scene was 12:00:45am. Midnight.

“So there’s the gym closet,” Mr. Willams said.

“Hm mm,” Ms. Bacon said with a nod.

“The glass is good. All of the trophies are there safe and sound. The floor is neat.” He then slowly fast forward to find

any suspect. And he found one. He paused. The time was 1:37:19am. That suspect smash the glass. Ms. Bacon moves her face closer to the screen. The suspect was wearing a black suit and black mask.

“Hit play,” she told him.

And after he did, the video resumed. There, after the suspect smash the glass, a second suspect came through to her surprise.

“Wow two people,” she said.

“As of this recorded time, yes.”

While Ms. Bacon, Mr. Williams, Mr. Trucker, Mr. Bowls and Ms. Howard watching the security videos, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Mac, and Ms. Jackson are outside and starting to see the gym teachers, Mr. Michaels and Mr. Jacks coming out of the gym and first saw this.

“Oh my gosh,” Mr. Jacks said shaking his head in disbelief.

“What the hell just happened,” Mr. Michaels said.

“Oh somebody just break into the gym trophies closet overnight,” Mr. Roberts said as he walks toward them.

Mr. Michaels and Mr. Jacks looked at the shattered closet again.

“They stole most of the trophies,” Mr. Roberts continued.

“Be careful you guys don’t wana walk on the glass.”

There, a janitor comes by with broom and a trash sweeper.

“Alright I’m here,” he said. “Good Morning,” he said as he starts sweeping the glass off the floor.

“So many trophies have been stolen?” Mr. Jacks asked Mr. Robbert.

“Yep,” Mr. Robert said as Mr. Mac and Ms. Jackson started followed him.

“I see that the janitor is cleaning up the floor,” Ms. Jackson noticed.

“Yep I’m cleaning up glass off the floor,” the janitor said.

“Well okay which trophies are stolen?” Mr. Michaels asked as he looked at the damaged gym trophies closet.

“Why did they stole so much trophies?” Mr. Jacks asked.

“It’s like getting a trophy you want so bad that you actually didn’t earn it.”

“You can say that again Mr. Jacks.”

After the janitor finish sweeping the room, the gym teachers take a look on the trophies they still have left. It seems that the trophies where made by girls sports team, so it is believed to be that the boys’ trophies had been stolen.

“It looks those thiefs want to clam their trophies,” Mr. Michaels said.

“I wonder if those thiefs were from rival high schools,” Mr. Jacks said.

“Yeah I wonder that too.”

Just then, this group of staff hear a siring. They turned around and looked at the entrance window. The police has just arrived a mere fourteen minutes before the students arrive.

Back at the security room, Ms. Bacon, Mr. Williams, Ms. Howard, Mr. Trucker, and Mr. Bowls are still watching the videotape recorded from a security camera overnight. There they watch the two suspects started stealing the trophies.

“Do we have sound on this?” Ms. Bacon asked Mr. Williams.

“Yes mam,” he said as he press the sound button.

(PLEASE NOTE THE DALAGUE SHOULD COME FROM AN EAILER SCENE) “So wait those thieves…,” Mr. Trucker paused with a wondering look. “Are high school students?”

“They look young and sound young,” Ms. Howard said. “So it must be them.”

“It must be, Ms. Howard,” Ms. Bacon said to her before looking back at the videocam.

While they watch two thieves putting trophies on the floor, a third suspect came by to everyone’s surprise.

“Okay,” Ms. Bacon said it slowly with her eyebows raised.

“That’s a shock. Looks like these guys gonna be suspended or expelled. Matter of fact, they going to be expelled if they’re high school boys.”

The third suspect has a bag. A some sort of a garbage bag.

They begins to put the trophies inside the bag.

“Okay so they put them in a bag,” Ms. Howard said.

“Some kind of a bag,” Mr. Trucker said.

Ms. Bacon finally heard enough and turns around to look at her group of staff members. “I think I know them,” she said.

“Maybe.” She gets her hands off the system. “Alright Mr. Williams you can stop the video,” she told.

“Okay Ms. Bacon,” he said as he press the stop button.

“Thank you sir,” she said as she walked out of the security room. As she then walk back down the main office, she saw two policemen and a female police chief entering the office. The female police chief’s name is Chief Laura. The other two men were named John and Jack.

“Good morning mam,” Officer Laura said. “Do you have an incident happened at this school building?”

“Ah yes,” Ms. Bacon said. “It happened overnight. And My name is Ms. Bacon by the way,” she shake hands with her.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Bacon, I’m Officer Laura and this is Officer John and Officer Jack.”

Ms. Bacon then shake hands with the men. “Nice too meet you John,” she said.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Bacon.”

“And nice to meet you too Officer Jack.”

“Nice to meet you too Ms. Bacon.”

Ms. Bacon then clapped her hands once. “Okay let me show you the incident.” She then start walking past them and opens the door for the police offices to exit. They starting to walk out.

“Ah thank you,” Officer Laura said.

“Thanks mam,” Officer John said.

“Thank you,” Officer Jack said.

“You’re welcome,” Ms. Bacon said as she close the door.

Mr. Trucker, Mr. Bowls, and Ms. Howard are staying in here with Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Morals and Mrs. Benson.

“So you guys came out of the security room?” Ms. Morals asked.

“Yeah,” Mr. Trucker said shaking his head in disbelief.

“There’s a videotape showing the robbery that happened overnight.”

“Is it reordered?” Ms. Sanchez asked.

“Yes it is recorded all the way through as always,” Mr. Bowls said.

“Mr. Williams will save or copy it to show the police officers later,” Ms. Howard said. “Right now they’re looking into the incident in person.”

“I have a question,” Mrs. Benson said as she push her spinning chair slight off of her computer desk and looks at everyone back and forth. “How we gonna handle this when students arrive?”

After she asked that, everybody looked at each other with no clue. Then Mr. Trucker had a thought.

“I go talk with them,” he said as he walks out of the main office.

Back near the gym, Ms. Bacon was showing them the already-damaged gym trophies closet with the police officers Laura, John, and Jack. Mr. Michaels is there with them Mr. Jacks start preparing for the students to arrive. The students are going to be arrive in any minute. Mr. Roberts, Mr. Mac and Ms. Jackson were outside waiting for the busses and the walkers.

Mr. Trucker went outside to them.

“Hey guys do you have a plan?” Mr. Trucker asked. “The gym trophies closet is already damaged. The police officers are already at the scene, there’s police cars far from the bus lane and we need to tell the students about this situation and how will they walk past the police scene.”

“We already got a plan,” Ms. Jackson said.

“Yeah I think this plan will work without any chaos,” Mr. Roberts said.

“Are the police officers still there?” Mr. Mac asked.

“Yes they are,” Mr. Trucker said. “I don’t want the students to clash with them.”

“Okay like we said,” Ms. Jackson said. “We got a plan. We have to coordinate our students and tell them exactly where to go.”

“Alright sounds good. Let me tell those people inside,” Mr. Trucker went back into the building and walked toward the police officers, Ms. Bacon, and Mr. Michaels. “Excuse me,” he said before everybody looked at him. “Sorry to interrupt. The students are coming right now in less than a few minutes. The guard staff are gonna coordinate the students, we gonna file those students in a single file line here,” he was showing them one block of a line. “They are not supposed to come very near to that damaged area at all,” he was shaking his head. “They gonna come in a single file line,” he said it. “Got that?”

“Yeah,” Ms. Bacon and the police officers said.

“I go back to my car,” Officer John said as he starts walking out of the scene.

“Are you gonna oversee the line Mr. Trucker?” Ms. Bacon asked.

“Yes I am,” Mr. Trucker said with a nod.

“Alright is they anything else you like to show me,” Officer Laura asked Ms. Bacon.

“Come with me we have the security tape to prove it,” she then takes the female officer to the main office.

As officer John walks out outside, a bus is approaching the school lane.

“Alright the first bus is coming,” Ms. Jackson yelled. “The first bus is coming.”

She, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. Mac saw the bus coming towards them in a cautious pace while Office John walks

towards his police car, turns around, and stands behind it.

When the first school bus reached at the school entrance, Ms. Jackson was in front of the school bus door, holding her clipboard. The bus driver tells the students to stay seated because of this. The school bus opened.

“Good morning Mr bus driver,” Ms. Jackson said.

“Good morning mam,” Mr. Bus Driver responded.

“Can I come?”

“Sure.”

She step into the school bus and started talking in front of the passengers. “Okay everybody listen up there’s an incident happened last night,” she tells everybody. “Somebody break into the school building.” Most of the students begin to gasp.

“Hold on, hold on,” she shouted. “Now Mr. Trucker is gonna coordinate you guys into a single file line. Single file line.

Understand.” The students stay slient. “Now,” she gets down off the school bus. “Thank you sir,” she said to the bus driver.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

The students then get off their seats and start getting off their school bus. As the students from the first bus walk into the school entrance, another school bus approaches.

“Mr. Roberts, Mr. Mac,” Ms. Jackson called their names.

“You give those students directions while I coordinate this first section.”

“Okay,” Mr. Mac said with a nod.

“We’ll do that,” Mr. Roberts added.

“Good,” Ms. Jackson walk inside the building.

As Officer John watches the situation, he gets a call from his walkie-talke.

“Officer John where are you?” Female officer operater asked.

He then grabs his walkie-talke. “I’m in high school,” he said. “There’s an incident happened in high school. A break-in.

Somebody break into the school last night.”

“Okay any procedures did the school is doing?”

“I’m not sure,” he moves his head right to see what the school staff are up to before the first school bus starts a u-turn and left the school. “I think they making a single file line.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Bacon takes Officer Laura and Officer Josh to the security room. The police officers already turn down their walkie-talkies. Mr. Williams turns around again.

“Good morning,” He said.

“Good Morning,” Officer Laura said. “I’m Laura, I’m the police officer,” she shake hands with him “Nice to meet you.”

“And this is John,” she said as he shake hands with Mr. Williams.

“Nice to meet you,” Officer John said.

“Nice to meet you John.”

“We heard that you guys have the tape of proof,” Officer Laura said.

“Yes mam,” Mr. Williams said as he turns back his chair around and press the play button on the master control. The picture on the main big screen turns to the scene where the first suspect starts smashing the gym trophies closet.

“There’s the first suspect,” Ms. Bacon said to them. “It not just one suspect. It’s not one, not two, but three.”

“Or maybe four or more. I’m guessing because I may be thinking that they’re some sort of a network,” Mr. Williams added.

“Or there we go a second suspect,” Ms. Bacon shouted as shows them the proof. “Another suspect is coming up next.”

Officer Laura is watching it closely.

“Question,” Officer John said. “Are those thieves high school students?”

“Good question,” Ms Bacon said. “Mr. Williams can we show the audio?”

“Yes mam,” As soon as Mr. Williams press the audio button, right after a third suspect is on the scene, they can hear that it sound it like high school teenagers.

“So it sounds like they’re teenagers,” Officer Laura said.

“Yeah Laura,” Officer John agreed.

“Teenagers are going to be arrested.”

“Yeah,” Mr. Williams said as he presses the pause button turns back his chair around. “They had done much damage right now.”

Then Ms. Bacon suddenly realizes that she hear a familiar sound when viewing the tapes. She wonder if any of those thieves was a student she had know. That student she know so much through the school year has good grades, made honor rolls, but sometimes caught into trouble. He almost went into trouble when he was in a gang. He was almost gonna steal a chocolate from a convenience store. He put back there, but then he was caught. The gang was arrested but him. Then in another incident, he got into a fight with some sort of a friend.

He and his ‘friend’ were sent to detention.

His name is Alex Huggerman. He’s a ninth grader. He’s an intelligent student but more of a rebel.

“I have to find evidence of this,” Officer Laura said.

“Wait,” Ms. Bacon stoped her.

“What you think you know who one of those thives are?”

Ms. Bacon didn’t answer immediately. She thinks for a moment before she could say who one of the suspects was.

“Oh you just thinking something else?” Officer Laura keep asking.

“Sorry I was thinking about a student that I know,” Ms. Bacon said.

“You know the person?”

“Yes, but….” Ms. Bacon is shaking her head struggling to spit out the student’s name. The audio of the video belives that Alex was one of the suspects. She wants to talk to him immediately. But at the same time she doesn’t believe he will do it. She wants to know right now.

“Is there something wrong?” Officer Laura asked.

“You thinking that someone else other than those teenagers did this?” Officer John asked Ms. Bacon.

“It was a student that I know of and I want to talk to him right now,” Ms. Bacon spit it out. “But at the same time I don’t believe he did this.”

“Well what’s his name?” Officer Laura asked.

She still spill out the student’s name. “Play the tape again Mr. Williams,” she told.

He did as she told. She walked back closer to the screen and started to hear the audio again. As soon as she hear the

familiar voice she has been wondered, she founds that it was the student, Alex Huggerman. She turns back around.

“I think it’s him.”

“Who?” Officer Laura asked.

“Alex Huggerman. I bet he’s in line getting breakfast or already eating breakfast in the cafeteria. You know what let me get him,” she begins to walk out of the security room.

“Wait,” Officer John stopped her. “You think that Alex Huggerman did this?”

“I don’t know,” she said in exaggeration. “All I know is that this security tape proves it.”

The police officers watch as she begins to exit out of the main office.

“Excuse me,” she stopped to look at Ms. Sanchez, Mrs. Benson, and Ms. Morals. “Can anyone of you tell Alex Huggerman to come to the main office?”

“What’s going on with Alex?” Ms. Sanchez asked.

Ms. Bacon shakes her head again. “I don’t know.

Something from the security tape tells me that he’s the suspect.” She then exits out of the main office.

The office secretaries looked at each other.

Before the police officers walked out of the security room, they want to thank Mr. Williams.

“Thanks Mr. Williams,” Officer Laura said.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

“Thank you,” Officer John said. “It’s been a pleasure.”

Officers Laura and John walked out of the room as Ms. Morals starts talking at the intercom. It’s been a few minutes away before school starts and most of the students are either

eating breakfast or hanging out on the halls. Incoming students are still file in a single line in order to avoid the crime scene.

“Pardon the interruption,” Ms. Morals said in the intercom. “Alex Huggerman, could you please come to the main office. Alex Huggerman, please come to the main office. Thank you,” she turns off the intercom.

Officers Laura and John are beginning to exit.

“Alright,” Officer John said to the office sectaries with a nod.

“Thanks a lot,” Officer Laura added. “We gotta go.”

“Okay,” Ms. Sanchez.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Benson said.

“I wonder if Alex Huggerman would stay out of a trouble,” Ms. Morals said to them while leaning her left hand on Mrs. Benson’s desk.

Ms. Sanchez and Mrs. Benson looked at her when she talks.

“If Alex Huggerman was not one of those suspects…or any other high school student, wouldn’t that make a difference?”

“What did you mean?” Mrs. Benson asked.

“I mean Alex is one of the good students…in the education side. But on the outside, he’s a pretty a bad student. He got in trouble for a few incidents. The most publicized one is the fight.”

The women nodded.

“That fight,” Ms. Morals continued. “It’s everywhere online.”

“Yeah we suspended him and the other guy,” Mrs. Benson said.

“Yep,” Ms. Sanchez added.

“I just wish Alex should get his behavior together,” Ms. Morals comes back to her desk and sat back down.

Meanwhile at the gym, Mr. Jacks and Mr. Michaels are setting up the gym, still shocked that someone would break in to their gym trophies closet.

“Can’t believed that someone steal…most of our trophies,” Mr. Jacks said while he setting up the benches with a remote control.

“You can say that again,” Mr. Michaels said as he walked toward a small office table he already set up for them and the other gym teacher, Ms. Robins, who arrived a few minutes before gym (and school) starts. She arrived hearing a little about the incident.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Morning,” Mr. Michaels said. “We had a break-in.”

She stopped.

“Yeah somebody stole our trophies,” Mr. Jacks added.

“Most of them.”

Ms. Robins looked back and forth. She was stunned. “So you guys telling me that…,” Before she could finish saying the question, a male student walked into the gym. The left door was opened.

“No sir,” Mr. Jacks shouted.

“Huh huh,” Ms. Robins shaking her head.

“Gym starts when you come to the locker room and get changed,” Mr. Michaels said. “But not until the bell rings.”

But the male student didn’t listen. He was still walking slowly. He was gonna ask them a question. “I was gonna ask you…,” “Ask us later,” Mr. Jacks said. “Right now school bell didn’t ring yet. The situation gets complicated and it gets worse if you and your classmates don’t follow instructions. So right now stay behind the locker room until the bell rings.”

The male student turns around and exits out of the gym and did what Mr. Jacks told.

After he left, the gym teachers looked at each other.

Mr. Michaels shook his head slightly as he looked left.

“You know what we have to be cautious of what’s going on today,” he said. “Because this class and the rest of the class through the day is going to be chaos as ever.”

“Yeah people want to talk about the mystery of the stolen trophies,” Ms. Robins said.

At the cafeteria, Ms. Bacon walked in front of the opened door. She gazed around to find Alex Huggerman, the student who believed to be one of the suspects behind the overnight incident. She take a few steps looking around. She looks around the tables. When she didn’t find him, she turned at the lines.

No sign of him anywhere. She then walked toward Mr. Franklin, who is a security officer who was in between two servers of lines.

“Excuse me have you seen Alex Huggerman,” she asked.

“Alex Huggerman?” Mr. Franklin said. “Um…usually he was around here but for the past week I haven’t seen him.”

“You haven’t seen him?”

“Nope,” he shakes his head.

She glance around the cafeteria one more time before she began to walk out. “Okay,” she said to him.

“Alright,” he said.

Outside while the buses unload students, Police officers were at the school parking lot.

“So how was it coming?” Officer Jack said.

“Well we got one suspect’s name,” Officer John said. “It’s not confirm,” he looked at Officer Laura.

“Yes the school principal believed it was Alex Huggerman,” she said.

“Who?” Officer Jack asked.

“Alex Huggerman. Actually the school principal doesn’t believe it was him. She just want to talk to him because the video believes it was the student.”

“Actually the audio of the video,” Officer John corrected her.

“Thank you.”

“Besides the video do you also believe it was him?” Officer Jack asked.

“Well no we haven’t met him yet,” Officer John said. He looked back at the school entrance which is usually blocked by the school buses approaching to unload the students before school starts. “I think the school principal got him already let’s go check and see,” he said.

Officer Jack had a thought for a moment as the wave of school buses began a u-turn and exited out of the school zone.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “Because I’m thinking he might be late.

He may be in the building, but like this last incident…” He was trying to get them remember an incident that happened at the

McDonalds restaurant this late-February. Alex Huggerman was buying breakfast when he gets into an argument with the restaurant clerk. Alex doesn’t have money to buy a breakfast meal while the clerk doesn’t want to give him the meal for free.

Then when the argument unfolds, the clerk (and the manager) wants him to get out. As he turns around he takes an oriange juice out of a customer and then splah into the customer’s face and then left. He was arrested but wasn’t charged with attempted murder.

Officer Laura and John starts to remember that incident once Officer Jack said that.

“Oh yeah,” Officer Laura said.

“We remember that,” Officer John said. “We just hope that boy won’t do that again.”

“Or skip school,” Officer Jack added. “Well let’s go back in to find out whether that student is in the building or not,” he then walks past them and walking toward the school’s entrance. Officers Laura and John started following him.

Back inside the school, Ms. Bacon walked back into the main office. She looked at Ms. Sanchez, Mrs. Bacon, and Ms. Morals and not one person sat on the bench that was beside the entrance door.

“Is Alex there yet?” Ms. Bacon asked.

“Nope,” Ms. Morals said.

“Haven’t seen him yet,” Mrs. Benson said.

“Nope I haven’t seen him walked through the office yet,” Ms. Sanchez added.

Ms. Bacon looked straight at herself. She shakes her head again before walking down the hall again for the third time.

This time she’s going to the principal’s officer on her right.

After she went, the police officers came back again at the office. The office secretaries looked at them.

“Hello again do you forget something?” Ms. Sanchez asked.

“Ah no,” Officer Laura said. “We just came back to see if Alex Huggerman came yet.”

“Nope. Ms. Bacon came back here for the same one and went into her office.”

The police officers looked around before they looked at each other again.

“Okay you guys stay outside and find Alex,” Officer Laura told. “I’m gonna go to the principal’s office.”

“Okay,” Officer Jack said as he exit the main office again.

“We sure can do Laura,” Office John added as he too exit the main office.

Officer Laura then walked down the office hallway and went into Ms. Bacon’s office where she is on the telephone calling Alex’s parents. Ms. Bacon looked up.

“Hi again,” Ms. Bacon said.

“Hello,” Officer Laura said as she sits down on a black chair in front of her and her desk. “Who are you calling?”

“Alex’s parents.”

“Oh,” Officer Laura slightly nodded. “I can see that because Alex hasn’t showed up yet.”

“Tell me about it,” Ms. Bacon hang up the phone after no one in the household answered. “I can’t get through his

parents,” she was looking down at her desk shaking her head slightly again.

“Why, no connection?”

Ms. Bacon then looked at her. “Can I make a logical guess, Officer Laura?”

“Sure.”

Ms. Bacon took a deep breath before she begins talking. “I guess Alex’s parents don’t want to talk to him on the phone anymore because of his constant phone calls he made.”

Officer Laura wondered a moment. “So you’re saying,” she said. “That Alex relies on his parents too much that he was so annoyed.”

“Well that’s a correct translation,” Ms. Bacon piles her papers and put them behind the brick that is below the glass window. “Well until that student shows up I’m gonna go do the morning announcements,” she gets up from her chair walked to her left and exited out of her office. She let Officer Laura to come through and she closed the door.

As they walked back down the main office, Officers Jack and John, as well as Mr. Trucker, enter the main office again.

This time, they got Alex Huggerman, who just came from the bus late.

“We got him,” Mr. Trucker said.

“What’s going on,” Alex asked in frustration.

“What’s going on,” Ms. Bacon said as he walked toward him. “What’s going on is that a pair of thieves damaged the gym trophies closet and stole most of the trophies.”

“Why does it have to do with me?”

“Because Alex we believe you’re one of the suspects,” Officer Laura said.

“Well…we didn’t believe it,” Ms. Bacon said in frustration.

“Then why….,” “The video tape sounds like it’s you,” She interrupted Alex’s question.

“What videotape?”

Ms. Bacon grabbed his hand “I’ll show you,” she said as she starts walking down the office hall. Everybody else followed them. They walked into the security room once more. Mr. Williams turns back around.

“Whoa wait a minute,” he said. “Is he the suspect?” he asked referring to Alex.

“Yes Alex is one of the suspects in the videotape,” Ms. Bacon said but then she started to feel unsure. She said the videotape was sure that Alex was one of them. But not herself, even though she thinks that, she doesn’t believe it.

“Mr. Williams, can we play the tape again?” Mr. Trucker asked.

“Sure can,” he said as he turns back around and press the play button again.

“And the audio too.”

“Oh yeah,” he press the audio button.

Alex is starting to watch and hear the videotape for the first time as the situation recorded unfold. When he hear that particular voice, he begin to believe that it was similar to his voice but at the same time he wasn’t sound like that. He doesn’t believe he would do this. He’s shaking his head and turns around.

“Look it wasn’t me,” he said.

“Yes it was you,” Ms. Bacon said before she looked unsure again. “Maybe.”

Everybody looked at each other.

At the conference room, 15-year-old Alex Huggerman was the center of attention. Ms. Bacon was sitting directly in front of him while Officers Laura and John sat beside Ms. Bacon on her right while Officer Jack and Mr. Tucker sat on her left. It was ten minutes after school started and Ms. Bacon thinks he shouldn’t be in class right now because of the situation.

“We want to know that,” Ms. Bacon talks to Alex. She paused while she stares out of space before looking back at him. “Stealing….is against the law. It’s against the school law.

And it’s against the county law.”

“We’d seen dozens of high schools around the country getting stuff stolen, computers stolen, money stolen and classic pictures stolen,” Officer Jack said.

“We also seen high schools getting vandalized and we had to arrest most of them,” Officer John said.

“Those arrests were high school students and young adults,” Officer Laura added.

“Your behind is on the line Alex,” Mr. Trucker began to speak. “You might be a good student. An intelligent young student. But you have been into too much trouble and the scene that we just showed you is gonna get you in jail.”

Then there was a moment of silence. Ms. Bacon, Mr. Trucker and the police officers wanted Alex to speak for an answer. Alex was terrified and disbelief.

“We’re waiting for you Alex,” Ms. Bacon said straight to his face. “Speak up.”

Alex looked down the desk and put his fist on the table. He looked up.

“Listen,” he said. “I know what’re you guys been thinking. I know what’re you guys been believing. And you all…think and believe…it was me,” he paused. Nobody talk or interrupt immediately after that. They’re still quiet and wanted to continue his statement. “I’m a great student in school. I worked hard in all of my classes. It’s just that I didn’t work hard in decisions I make. Yes, I was a bad person. Yes, I was a stupid person. Yes, I was an idiot person. Sometimes, I make the carless mistakes that almost put me arrested. One mistake did put me into that situation. I would never make that mistake or any other mistakes again. I learned my lessons. I learned through my mistakes. I should’ve thought about it. I should’ve known better. I wanted to tell you guys that I’m a better person. I am. And I’m doing that for that for the past month.

I’m getting good grades. I’m getting A’s. I’m getting honor rolls.

All for the past months. Right now, I’m a better person. In school and outside.”

Another round of silence. Clearly, everybody looked at each other from left to right and right to left, agreeing with what Alex is saying. Ms. Bacon starting to feel unsure again for a minute. She wasn’t feeling like he was one of the suspects.

Officers Laura, John and Jack hear his understanding.

“But,” Alex continued. “I’m not a suspect in this situation made overnight. I didn’t even commit that kind of a crime. I never steal. Not once. Not at all. Yes, the videotape sounds like

me. Telling people what to do. Telling them instructions. It sounds like I’m the thief. It’s sounds like I’m a suspect. Matter of fact, this security tape sounds like I’m the suspect.”

Another round of silence once again.

“But please let me be clear,” he continued. “Of all of this.

I’m not a suspect. I’m not the suspect. I never steal at all. I never commit a crime. I’m not part of the gang. I’m not even part of a gang. One time I was, but then I left. Really I never directed a gang before. Never in my life.”

Another round of silence for the fourth time. They seem to agree with him even more that they started to trust him.

“Really,” he begins to finish his sentence. “I’m a better person who…wrongfully committed a crime.”

Once again, Ms. Bacon, Mr. Trucker, and police officers Laura, John and Jack all looked at each other left to right and right to left. Then they looked back at Alex once again.

Ms. Bacon takes a deep breath before begins talking.

“Okay,” she said. “We heard your statement. We heard that you defended yourself. And we starting to believe you. We starting to trust you. But when the police finds out that you’re giving us false information....then we’ll expelled you.

Understand.”

Alex stays in silence for a few seconds before he answer.

“Yes,” he said. “I understand.”

“Good,” she begins to stand up from her seat. “Well I think we made a good intervention. Alex follow me, I’ll get you a pass.” She then exits out of the conference room. Alex followed her too. Then everybody else. She then went into her office

takes her sticky pad and her pen out of her desk. “Which class are you in right now?” she asked Alex.

“Biology,” he said.

She writes the pass, peal it off and give it to him. “Here you go,” she said. “And don’t be late.”

“Okay.”

She, Mr. Trucker, and the police officers Laura, Jack and John watch Alex as he walked out of the principal’s office and then exits the main office.

“Well looks like our investigation has just begun,” Officer Laura said to Jack and John.

“It surly has begun,” Officer Jack agreed.

Ms. Bacon looked at the police officers. “Thanks for the help this morning,” she said.

“Oh you sure welcome,” Officer John said.

The Main Phrase Danny Ottenstien and Felix Osburne were in Algebra class.

The Algebra teacher ready to close out for the period.

“Alright we can work on probability and slope in the next few weeks,” the algebra teacher said. “But right now I’m finished for the period so I have to check on the computer for my next class okay.” The teacher walks to his desk. “Ya’ll can talk until the bell rings. I know you guys wanna talk about this whole Alex Huggerman thing. You know what I’m talking about.”

Danny looked at Felix. “Wow,” he said to him.

“I know,” Felix said. “It’s Alex.”

“Can’t believe that black boy would get into trouble again,” Danny slight shakes his head in disbelief. “I just wish Alex Huggerman could disappear.”

“You mean expelled.”

Danny thought for a moment. “Yeah,” he said.

“Well Alex will learned his lesson again. Until he becomes a better person, Alex needs to grow up.”

“But Felix, Alex is grown up.”

“I know, I just want him to grow up behaviorally. I want him to be mature, that’s all.”

“We might not believe in him in denial, because trust me, he wasn’t. He will say that he didn’t do this crap to try saving his ass.” He looked straight. “Man I’m tired of him.”

“Look Danny, it’s not just him,” Felix gets up of his seats and puts his stuff away. “There could be other suspects involved in this crime scene. Maybe it’s Alex’s friends who did this. Maybe his family. Maybe his siblings. Brothers and/or sisters. Who may involved in this.”

“I would not believe that the notion that Alex’s family or relatives involved in this because…it would be stupid. I mean why would Alex’s family do this. Alex is the pain in the neck. His parents should teach him something.”

“Yeah,” Felix has his backpack on his back. He then glaze at his left. “We’re pretty sure it’s him. Maybe my dad can help us.”

“Oh and I’m bringing my mom to talk about it.”

The bell rings. The Algebra teacher looked at his watch.

The students begin to exit out of the classroom.

“Alright folks see ya tomorrow,” the algebra teacher said.

Danny and Felix were the last ones standing. Felix watches Danny getting up off of his seat and putting his backpack on.

“This story might appear on the news,” Danny said as he and Felix start walking out. “It might be appeared already on the internet.”

“But Danny that story could take days to develop,” Felix said. “It might take weeks for the police to confirm the suspects.”

They stopped walking in the hallways to look at each other.

“Felix.”

“What.”

“This is the first time we saw our school being targeted for vandalism.”

It’s lunchtime and everybody is still talking about the incident that happened overnight. They want to know who do it, especially the boys since, for some reason, they don’t like each other that much. Danny and Felix are walking into the cafeteria where most of the boys argue with each other about who done it and why. One table, consist of four boys, would believe who vandalized the gym trophies case, the ones who about to sit on their table, Danny and Felix.

Danny and Felix are the most hated duo of all of the boys at least. They even are the most controversial of them all. First of all, they have a blog. Launched when they were in middle school, they make opinions on race and sex. Since then, Danny and Felix, both now 14 years of age, have the most raciest and sexist teenagers of all time. But they just don’t care. They just

want to do whatever they want to do. They love to make criticism more than take it.

Alex Mlex, Austin Lohan, Luke Lee, and Dustin Page were sitting one half at the roundtable together not asking each other who did it, believing it was Danny and Felix who did it, even though they actually not. Alex, Austin, Luke, and Dustin were always unhappy that they sit with them. They wish they had to move but because all of the tables filled with angry boys, they just had to sit with their most-hated duo. When they see Danny and Felix, they immediately unhappy.

“Holy crap,” Austin said shaking in disbelief. “Here they come.”

“Guys get ready,” Luke said. “Let’s hope it’s not a bloodbath.”

When Danny and Felix are about to sit, Dustin slides his seat to block them.

“Oh no you don’t,” Dustin said.

Danny looked at him like if he’s on to something. “What the hell are you doing you asshole,” he said.

“Blocking you guys’ seats.”

“Why?” “Because you did it,” Alex Mlex said.

“Did what?” Felix asked. “vandalizing the gym trophies closet?”

“Yeah.”

Felix walked on his right and looked at Alex Mlex straight in the eye. “No we don’t,” he said.

“Then who did,” Alex said as stands up, still looking at Felix in the face.

Everybody stopped talking and looked to see what’s going on. Felix already has an answer but somehow stage fright kept him from saying it.

“It was Alex Huggerman,” Danny said, helping Felix out.

Felix and Alex Mlex looked at Danny.

“Who,” Alex Mlex said.

“Alex Huggerman.”

“The guy who got his ass whupped by the police?” Luke asked.

“Yes, are you joining the club, Luke?”

“No, what you need to do is shut up and get a grip.”

The gang looked around as the student body in the cafeteria to speak in their whisper tone.

“Oh wow lots of chatter,” Austin noticed. “Sounds like we gonna have an argument. Starting now.”

Dustin begins to shake his head in disbelief. “You know what,” he said before sliding back to his own seat. “Let us recluntanty give you guys your seats. For the moment.”

Danny and Felix looked at each other before the sat down, face to face with the four boys while everybody else go back to where they doing.

Austin folded his hands and looked down at the table.

“Listen,” he said looking up before looking down again for another few seconds. Then he finally looked up and begins explaining. “Alex Huggerman. We know him. Yes, we liked him.

Why? Because of his grades. His good grades. Sure, we want to be friends. And we also want to be competitive because he’s better in Biology. We want to be better in that subject than

him. Sure it’s okay if we can have….(straight As at the same time)” “Can we please stay focus?” Danny interrupted.

“Can I finish?”

“No because your explaining have nothing to do of what is going on,” Felix said.

Austin unfolded his hands leans back looked slight up to his right, feeling pissed.

“Well first of all why did you believe it’s Alex Huggerman instead of you two?” Dustin asked.

“The reason why Alex Huggerman is the suspects…,” Felix says.

“He’s a suspect,” Luke yelled.

“Doesn’t matter.”

Luke begins to shake his head in frustration.

Felix sighed. “The reason why Alex Huggerman is a suspect is because Danny here…heard his name in the intercom. The same time he first saw the incident.”

“We know who Alex Huggerman is,” Danny said. “Yes he’s good student who doesn’t give a crap.”

Alex Mlex, Austin, Luke, and Dustin all rolled their eyes.

“Yes I know,” Felix said. “We pissing you guys off…”

“But you guys never finish my statement,” Austin said.

“Well your sentence isn’t deep enough to be related.”

Austin rolls his eyes once more before he quickly leaned forward and folded his hands again. Danny and Felix roll their eyes as they don’t want to hear his long statement.

“Well you know what,” Austin said with a vicious smile.

“Let me finish my statement okay. This time I’m going to make

my statement a little deeper IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT,” his face frowned and turned red.

Danny and Felix looked at him in disbelief.

“Go. Ahead,” Felix said.

“Okay,” Austin said it in a calm tone. “We’re already told you about why we like Alex Huggerman. Now we’re gonna talk about what we don’t like about Alex Huggerman, which I’m almost gonna get to that before you two interrupt me,” he paused, looking at the frustrating faces of Danny and Felix.

“We also want to let you guys know that we’ve had been five minutes well into lunchtime, so we can explain whatever we want,” Luke said.

“Thank you Luke,” Austin said without looking. “Now let me explain: What we don’t like about Alex Huggerman is that he gets into trouble all the time.”

“Um…,” Alex Mlex speaks up. Austin looked at him. “I don’t think he gets into trouble all the time. I think he gets too much trouble.”

“Well not too much trouble Alex,” Luke said. “I think Alex Huggerman gets a lot of trouble.”

“Well not really Luke,” Dustin said. “Alex Huggerman did get in trouble…several times.”

Danny and Felix, hearing all the commotion, feels already annoyed.

“You guys wasting our time here,” Danny said. “You guys should already know how much trouble did Mr. Huggerman got into.”

After that rant, the four boys looked at them, starting to feel that they had enough.

“You know what,” Austin said. “You guys won’t shut up. So fine. We just now shut up.”

“Actually as a matter of fact,” Alex Mlex said as he gets up from his seat. “Let’s get out of here and leave those two son of a bitches right in the ass monkey of America.”

“Look,” Felix jumped out of his seat and stares at Alex Mlex. “We’re not son of bitches, you four are.”

“Oh really,” Alex Mlex was feeling a fight coming. “Okay.

Well let me tell you the final word. The conclusion that we couldn’t get to. Because you two are idiots! The conclusion: We’re not sure Alex Huggerman is a suspect.”

“What did you mean?” Danny asked.

“What did I mean? Oh for god sake, It could be anyone who did it. We don’t know…who did because there’s no confirmation. So, it could be you guys…”

“That was not us.”

“Well it could be…,” Alex Mlex starts shaking his head.

“You know what I’m out.” He walks out of the table and begins to exit out of the cafeteria. The rest of his friends looked at each other before starting to follow him.

“Yeah we gonna follow him,” Austin said.

“Good luck we hope you guys telling the truth,” Luke said.

“Just want to let you know if you don’t, you be getting your asses kicked.” Then he left too, joining Alex Mlex and Austin.

Dustin was the last one.

“Go ahead Dustin,” Danny said. “Leave. We don’t care if you…(don’t believe us).”

But before he could finish, Dustin takes his chocolate milk and splash into the face. “Punk bitch,” he said as he finally left.

Felix watch Danny as he wipe his eyes with his hands. He then looked in front of himself. “What an freaking idiot,” he said.

“Yeah tell me about it,” Danny said. “Like I said they don’t give a crap.”

NEW TITLE: The Carmine Puzzle (6-16-2014) Carmine Alexander is an 14-year-old African-american teenager. He has just got his lunch from the cafeteria. And he heading to the teacher’s classroom. The teacher has let him and other students to eat in here. Carmine asked him to eat lunch with here to be with his potiental girlfriend. After getting his lunch, he gets into the classroom and gets to sit down with Angelica, who brought her own lunch from her mom.

“Hey Angelica,” Carmine said.

“Hey Carmine,” she said.

“I came here to talk with you.”

“Yes,” she slightly nodded her head while taking her bite of the sandwhich. “I know everybody is talking about this incident…”

“You mean the incident where the gym trophies case was vandalized and got trophies stolen.”

“Yeah…,” she then paused as she looked at him. “Listen,” she said. “There’s a whole a lot of crap going around who done it, why did they done it, and a whole lot of confusion.”

“Yeah I was at the cafeteria. There’s a group of guys believe it was Danny and Felix, who I really hated to have them in english class, sit near them or even talk to them or work together.”

“Sounds like you guys don’t like those two idiots,” the teacher said. “Guess what, I don’t like them either. Whenever there’s either of them in my class, I can only teach them with respect.”

The history teacher got a nerve with Danny and Felix when she saw a post where the teen boys called Hillary Clinton a bitch because they think that she can’t handle the bendgazi attacks that happened on the eleventh anniversary of September 11. Outrage and controversy have been poured inside the high school and outside. Danny and Felix have been suspended because of this and have been told to apologize for calling a bitch.

Carmine and Angelica shrug their shoulders.

“Well okay,” Angelica said. “Enough said.”

Then someone has entered the classroom. It’s Mr. Franklin, the security officer.

“I had to come to your room to talk to you,” he said to the history teacher.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“There’s a conversation that happened at the cafeteria.

Those four boys who usually sit with Danny and Felix believe the hated duo did it.”

“Huh huh,” she slightly nodded.

“But Danny and Felix believe Alex Huggerman did it.”

“Oh because Alex Huggerman is the usual troublemaker at school. I just wish he could lock up in jail and don’t come back to school.”

“That’s a good sugesgestion, guys,” Mr. Franklin turned to the students. “Don’t do what Alex Huggerman did because believe me he’s a menace.”

“Yeah you will ended up in trouble like him,” the history teacher added. “You also will get expelled.”

“Hoh oh,” he chuckle.

As they continued talking private, the students resumed talking including Carmine and Angelica.

“So I guess I’m taking Alex Huggerman is the answer,” Angelica said.

“No Angelica,” Carmine said as he shook his head. “Alex might be a bad person even though he’s also a good student as well. But I don’t think Alex has ever stole anything. He was more…anger management.”

She slight turn her head to her left. “Why so?” she asked.

“Because he gets angry at things he gets trouble with. I mean we’re talking about the McDonalds incident.”

“Yeah,” she said like she remembered.

“So I don’t think he’s much of a thief person even though he almost stole a candy before he put it back. I don’t believe he would stay up all night and steal a trophy. Really, there’s got to find evidence to prove that. And I’m gonna investigate.”

“How? You don’t have any access to those crime scene areas plus the staff won’t be happy because they think you playing detective,” she stared left. “Which you’re actually not.

But really Carmine, you should stay out of this?”

“Stay out of this? What are you like my best friend now?”

“Well,” she paused and then sighed. “Okay I’m the smart one with the smart computer. But you do have to listen to what I say…and you do need to be careful.”

“Got it,” he said with a hopeful nod. “I will listen to you, do need to be careful, and not get my ass whupped.”

“Is that clear?”

“Yes.” “Call your parents, okay.”

“I will.”

Hours later, school is over. As Carmine walked out of the building from the entrance, he was joined by his best friend Isaac who came from the other way. He wears dark-rimmed glasses.

“Hey,” Isaac said.

“Hey,” Carmine said.

“So what’s going on.”

“I just talked to Angelica. We come up with a plan.”

Isaac had a thought for a moment. “You mean a plan to find who’s the bad guy is? Carmine you don’t even look like a detective.”

“Look I have my parents who have my back. They let me go whatever I want.”

“Yeah but even still,” Isaac stopped him from walking.

“Okay do you want to know my plan is?” Carmine asked.

“Sure,” Isaac folded his arms.

“My plan with Angelica goes like this: I get to sneak into high school…”

“What, are you nuts?”

“I wasn’t finish Isacc.”

Isaac starts to be quiet.

“Okay,” Carmine said as he took a deep breath. “As I was saying, I get to sneak into high school in the overnight through a window. And I’ll hault the security system, take pictures of the crime scene and undo the process and left before I’ll get my ass caught.”

“And that is your plan?” Isaac asked with an unsure look.

“Yes Isaac. That’s my plan,” Carmine walked past him.

Isaac starts to roll his eyes before continue walking. “You know,” he begins to talk. “Mr. Williams might contact the police again, this time for finger printing.”

“Listen Mr. Williams will identiy as the other suspect not me.”

“Well…good luck.”

“Really are you gonna help me on this?” Carmine stopped Isaac from walking.

Isaac begins to shake his head. “Alright, fine,” he said with reluctance. “I’ll help you. But you gotta be….”

“Careful. I understand and I think I heard it from Angelica.

Okay.”

Isaac watches his best friend about face and leaves him.

He roll his eyes again before he walks again a few miles away from him.

At Carmine’s house, Carmine is sitting on a one-person sofa chair in the living room. His bookbag was beside him. His mother, Ms. Alexander, is wiping off the dust on the bookcase.

“And Danny and Felix might the suspects or Alex Huggerman. Either way or another, some high school student

may have done this and nobody is taking the blame themselves.”

“Hmm,” Ms. Alexander said. “Well that was an interesting story.” She stopped wiping and throw the dirty paper in the trash can that was set up behind the bookcase. She puts her right hand on another chair while looking down. “You know,” she continued before looking at her son. “I’m already had enough with these two white idiots: Danny and Felix. They already had their problems with black people. I’m also had enough with this black kid: Alex Huggerman. While he might be a good student as you said, might as well called Alex Boogerman because he’s criminal and he’s a piece of work.”

“The police were currently investigating…”

“Then why should you too?” Ms. Alexander wipes the third level of the bookcase. “You know, you dectective, right.”

Carmine thought for a moment. “I can tell you what my plan is. Well actually my friend Angelica and I come up with a plan.” He tells her the plan. At first, for a few seconds, she was skeptical.

“Why can’t you just take a picture?” she asked.

“Because the man in guard won’t let students to come and take a look.”

Then she thought for a moment. “Well okay,” she said with a very calm tone. “I’ll give it a shot. Yeah, why not?”

In the late-night hours, Carmine quietly left the house with his walkie-talkie on. “Are you at home Angelica?” he whispered on the gadget.

“Yep,” she whispered. “I got my computer ready. Carmine, I’m not even in the apartment.”

“Well good for you,” he hops into his bicycle from the garage and starts riding his bike on the sidewalk.

“Can you tell me where you are right now?” she whispered.

“I’m on Neighborhood Street.”

“Good because I see that you’re on my computer, which is excellent. Now I don’t want you driving toward the school entrance because the school is setting up security officers and I don’t want you to get chaught.”

“I understand that after the incident that happened yesterday.”

“Now like I said be careful.”

“Okay.”

In the next few minutes, Carmine rides in another direction in order to avoid chaught by the security night watchers. He rides through an open area as he was following his friend’s directions. He parrol parked his bycicle behind a window.

“Did you get passed by the gaurds?” Angelica asked.

“Yep,” he said as he gets out of his bike and starts open the window very carfully.

“Like I said be careful.”

He slowly walked through the window and walked out of the classroom. He walked slowly in the hallway as he’s walking toward the crime scene area a few blocks from the school entrance where security officers are behind outside. When he got there, he took a flashlight and a digital camera.

“Almost there?” she asked.

“Yeah I made it.”

“You made it, great. Listen, don’t make a sound or make flash out of the camera. Make sure you camera doesn’t flash because this is one of the things you will get chaught. Now I’m watching the police officers on my computer map and my computer tells me that an officer will come in less than ten minutes, so don’t waste your time.”

“Okay.”

“Time’s off the essence. Just do the best as you can.”

He took a deep breath. The police officers outside are unaware that someone was inside the building. One police officer almost looked at the window but got distracted by the horn of a car driving past by.

Using his flashlight, Carmine takes pictures of all of the trophies that were left as well as the damage that it took. He took out a zipper bag and take out pieces of glass left.

“You got everything?” Angelica asked.

“Yeah,” he said as he starts sneaking out out of the crime secne and walked back through the classroom that he just came from.

“I’m happy to report that your bike is parked in the safe place and therefore no one stole your bike…because I’m pretty smart.”

“Thank you Angelica,” he saw his bike still there when he opens back the window.

“Once again, be careful.”

He finally gets out of the window, closes it, gets on his bicycle again and starts riding the opposite direction.

“Good job Carmine.”

“No. I think we did a good job.”

“Oh, I suppose you’re right.”

He ride past the school as he was on the sidewalk.

The next morning, Everybody follows the same routine that was adopted the previous day. Ms. Bacon was at the main office, already folding her arms, wondering around.

“Any suspect made yet Ms. Sanchez?” she asked.

“Nope,” Ms. Sanchez said. “No information made from the police.”

“I just logged out of my email,” Ms. Morals said. “The police say they begun their investigation.”

“Alright good make sure you guys following this closely while you work,” Ms. Bacon said. “Because I have a bunch of stuff to follow. I have a meeting to go to. I have a workshop to visit.” She looks at her watch. “You know what I’ll be doing the intercom in a few minutes,” she begins to walk out. “I’m going outside.” She exit and went out of the building and hangs with Mr. Roberts and Ms. Jackson.

Danny and Felix were slowly the center of attention as they walk down the hallway. The students and staff members were not in an unhappy mode. They looked at the controvisal due because they want to know if Danny and Felix are telling the truth. The truth that good student but troublemaker Alex Huggerman is a suspect. Most of them may not believe them.

The attention is making Danny and Felix feeling like they’re at war with them. The boys stopped and started talking. The four boys who Danny and Felix usually sit with, Alex Mlex, Austin, Luke, and Dustin, were looking straight at them when they were almost walked past them.

“Okay what is going on?” Felix asked in frustration.

“You two,” Dustin said as he begins to walked toward them.

“Wha..what about us?” Danny asked.

Dustin was in front of them, already folding his arms. “You know,” he said as he pace around the boys. “You guys are the most bluntest, most hated, deliberately idiot students in the world.”

“Yeah and you’re…(the most stupid kid)” “Be quiet let this young man talk,” Mr. Franklin said, who is on the left side.

“Thank you,” Dustin said. “As I was saying, we’re at lunch yesterday as usually. Before you guys come into our table,” He stopped walking and stare at them. “My friends and I believe that you two commited this kind of a crime.”

“Look we said we never…,” “Be quiet Danny,” Mr. Trucker said. “And Felix, don’t talk at all. Dustin, you may continue.”

“Thank you Mr. Trucker,” Dustin continues to pace. “As I’m saying before, you guys commit a crime. We tried to block you guys but since both of you said the suspect was Alex Huggerman, we let you guys sit and ask you why.”

As Dustin say this to Danny and Felix, Carmine and Isaac walked behind the cafeteria several blocks from where Dustin, Danny, and Felix are standing. They are joining the crowd.

“Now at first,” Dustin continued. “We didn’t believe Alex Huggerman would be one of the suspects. Because you guys based this as racism.”

The student that he’s talking about has just stand beside Carmine and Isaac, watching the conversation.

“But now,” Dustin looked at Danny and Felix again before continuing to pace. “After making a couple of thoughts, coupled with possible answers from the staff and the student body, my friends, Alex Mlex, Austin, Luke, and I had change of heart.” He looks at them once again. “Even though we even hate you guys, we started to believe in both of you. We think that Alex Huggerman is the suspect.”

Alex Huggerman, watching the conversation from several distance, can’t believe what he has heard as he angrily walked towards them.

“Oh here’s Alex,” Dustin said.

“Excuse me,” Alex Huggerman said. “Who thinks I’m the suspect?”

“We are,” Felix said as he and Danny were not afraid of him.

Alex Huggerman walked closer to them while Dustin stepped away. “You guys don’t anything about the crime.”

“Yes we do,” Felix said.

“No you don’t.”

“Look,” Danny said. “We heard that you steal candy.”

“Almost, I didn’t real steal the candy, okay. I was in a gang.

Didn’t realize that they gonna steal stuff until we walked into a convenience store. The gang got handcuffed, I didn’t. So I stay away from that kind of trouble.”

Everybody was listening to what’s happening. Carmine slowly shaking his head as he and Isaac watch the argument unfold.

Danny nodded his head. “I’m listening,” he said. “In fact we all are listening to your crappy defensive.”

“You can defend yourself whatever you want,” Felix added. “But this school is spoken.”

After that, Danny and Felix leaves and so is everybody else.

Alex Huggerman was really unhappy as he walked left down the hallway.

Carmine and Isaac are the only ones standing. Carmine disagree with the whole situation.

“Wow,” Isaac said. “Alex Huggerman got his ass kicked.

Maybe the school should kiss him goodbye.”

“Isaac this isn’t about Alex,” Carmine said. “This is about the crime and the trophies and,” he looked like he’s frustrated.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Did your plan worked out last night?”

“Yes,” Carmine takes out the paperbag out of his pants pocket. The paperbag has pieces of glass inside.

“Did you pick up a piece of glass Carmine?” Isaac asked.

“Yes, to show evidence.”

“Did Angelica saw it?”

“Not yet, I’ll will gonna show it to her.”

Then the bell rings.

A few minutes in before English starts, and Carmine is finishing what turns out to be a new essay. He already finished it. It’s just slighty different from the new one. Not that the old one wasn’t good enough, he injects the crime scene into the new essay so that everybody including Danny and Felix could hear it clearly. Issac walked into the classroom as usual and saw his best friend copying an essay.

“Carmine you hadn’t finish your essay?” Isaac asked.

“I already did,” Carmine said. “I’m just writing a new one.”

“Why?” Carmine stopped writing and looked at him. “Because I gotta defend myself and Alex Huggerman.” He continues writing.

Isaac got off-garud when he said that. “Wait,” he said.

“You want to defend this troublemaker?”

“Trust me, I don’t think Alex did anything stupid on that crime scene,” he moves his face slight closer to him. “I just think that everybody assumes it because of those two idiots here.”

Isaac turns around as he sees the familiar students walked into the classroom. The familiar students that they saw this morning. “You mean Danny and Felix,” he said to Carmine.

“Yeah,” he said as he finishes writing. “I want to teach them a lesson.”

“Well good luck. I already finished my essay,” Isaac sits down on his chair. “Wanna see it?”

“No thanks,” Then another student named Stanely approached Carmine. “Hey did you finish the essay?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Because I just written a new one.”

“You have written a new one?”

“Yes.” “Well I have written a new one too.”

“Oh…about Danny and Felix?”

As soon as Stanley said their names, Danny and Felix who were sitting beside and behind Carmine and Stanely, turned around.

“Yeah,” Carmine said. “Everybody believe them.”

“Not me,” Stanley said. “I just don’t believe Alex is a suspect.”

“Oh really,” Felix said, butting in.

“Well yeah,” Stanley said to him. “Alex has been in a lot of trouble these days, but now he’s recovering from this. He’s rebuilding his life, getting his life back on track. Maybe you guess his name because he’s the popular troublemaker at school.”

“No we didn’t make a logical guess Stanley,” Danny said, defending.

“Yes you did,” Carmine said, angrily nodded. “You just saying it because of race issues.”

“Look it’s not about race issues.”

Carmine and Stanley roll their heads.

The bell has rang and class should begin to start immediately. But for a few minutes instead, everybody including the teacher watch the conversation unfolding.

“It’s about the problems that we deal with everyday,” Danny continued.

“Like racism, sexism, and political issues,” Stanley said.

Danny and Felix are starting to get pissed.

“Okay, first of all,” Felix said. “The problems that we’re talking about are crimes, bullying and sexual assault.”

“How can you guys talk about things when both of you hate girls.”

A moment of silence.

“I’m talking about the last one,” Stanley continued. “I’m presuming you believe that girls are idiots then.”

Danny and Felix don’t even say a word, glancing at Carmine and Stanley.

The English teacher, Mr. Brookfield, who was standing behind the opened doorway watching the conversation, decided to walk in and start the class. “Okay that’s enough,” he said as he stands in front of the class. “Good morning everybody.”

Stanley sits down on his desk beside Carmine to his right while Mr. Brookfield begins talking.

“That’s a great defense Stanley and Carmine.”

“Thank you,” Stanley said.

“Thanks Mr. Brookfield,” Carmine said.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll be hearing more about in your essays,” he was looking for his clipboard. “Which reminds me…,” then he talked to himself. “Where is the attendance sheet?” he whispered.

“I hope our essays will knock the asses out of them,” Felix said to Danny, referring to Carmine and Stanley who started to look pissed again.

“Listen,” Stanley said. “This isn’t competition.”

“He’s right,” Mr. Brookfield said looking up at Danny and Felix from looking at his desk. “I don’t want to hear another sound from both of you. In fact, we don’t want to hear another sound from both of you until you guys are either volunteer or selected for your essays.”

“Well we loved to volunteer,” Danny said.

“Okay that’s fine, just be quiet until I get my attendance sheet ready.”

The class is watching Mr. Brookfield trying to find the clipboard.

“Ah there it is,” He said as he pulls it from the pile of textbooks. “Aright let me take attendance,” he walked out of the desk and stand in front of the classroom as he starts checking out everybody who is here. After he finished, he puts the clipboard on top of the desk and turned to Danny and Felix.

“Alright since you guys like to volunteer, you can go ahead,” he said to them. “Who’s up first?”

Danny and Felix whispered to themselves for a few seconds. Everybody else, including Carmine and Stanley, are starring at them.

“I’ll go first,” Felix said to Mr. Brookfield while raising his hand.

“Go ahead Felix,” Mr. Brookfield said as he walked back into his desk.

Felix stands with his essay on his hand.

“Good luck,” Danny whispered.

“Thanks,” Felix walked out of the desk and stands in front of the classroom. Felix speech goes like this: “Hello. I’m Felix. I just want to talk to you guys about the things we faced today. The things we talked about a lot. And the things we should rather stay from. First of all, I don’t think white people aren’t as bad as the black people. There are many differences that white people should be more careful about.

Number 1: Black people are just more aggressive than other people. The black kids make stupid decisions than the whites

ones. The black kids act like thieves, troublemakers and they end up in jail.”

So far, nobody was saying a word other than angrily starring at him, effectively disagreeing in every word that he has said.

“Number 2: White people shouldn’t follow with the black people because at often times black people get in trouble. It’s a good thing white people didn’t get caught too much. Number 3: Black people are more violent than ever. The young people purchase guns more than other people do. They form gangs and kill lots of people. And finally, Number 4: The black people curse…a lot. Sometimes the black kids are disrespectful than the white kids,” Felix looks up at the increasing angry class.

“That’s all I have to say.”

As he sits back down on the chair, no one, including the white students, no one is clapping or praising him in any way.

And they will not praise his controversial best friend Danny either.

“Nice job,” Danny whispered.

“Thanks,” Felix said.

“Well a very nasty thank you on your essay Felix,” Mr. Brookfield said. “I’m sure that you’re proud of it. Danny, you’re up.”

Danny gets up with his essay ready in his hands and stands in front of the increasly angry crowd. Carmine and Stanley are already folded their arms.

“Well I can see you all are very mad at us because we are the controversial people on this planet,” Danny said looking at the class. “But they are things that we have to say, especially

mine.” He then looked at the essay and begins reading. “I’m Danny Ottenstein. There’s a topic I like to talk about: girls. Yes, girls. Really. There are many reasons why boys should stay away from girls. Number 1: there was a notion that boys are stinky. Actually girls are. Girls have bad breath, bad hair, bad feet, bad teeth, and of course bad odor. Number 2: Girls talk waaayyy too much. They didn’t even get a chance to talk to you. At other times, the girls also talk about the nasty things that us boys don’t do. Number 3: The girls just wanna look pretty. That’s all. They don’t want to look dirty like the boys.

That’s fine. Well let me teach you a lesson, ladies: If you don’t look like shit, then get the hell out.”

The female students roll their eyes as well as Carmine and Stanley.

“And finally,” Danny continued. “Number 4: You know you guys heard the tagline, women are armed, men are dangerous.

Well here’s what Felix and I think the opposite: In reality, Boys are armed and girls are dangerous. We just want to know that boys should stay away from girls at all times.” He flapped his paper and looked at the class one more time. “Thank you.”

As he goes back to sit, Felix is the only student clapping.

Mr. Brookfield looked at them one more time, not even saying thank you to Danny. He then looked at the rest of the class. “Alright who’s up next?” he asked.

Stanley raise his hand.

“Alright Stanley, hop on board.”

As Stanley gets up out of his seat with his essay on his hand, the mood from the class starts to get calm after hearing the racist and sexist essays that Danny and Felix wrote.

“Good luck,” Carmine whispered to Stanley.

“Thanks,” Stanley said as he stands in front of the class.

Danny and Felix were already preparing to what Stanley said. They will disagree to everything that Stanley and Carmine will say.

“Well thank you Mr. Brookfield,” Stanley said. He then looks at the entire class. “Before I can read my essay – about the same issues we delt with, I’m gonna say a few words to Danny and Felix before I can read more about them.” He then looks at Danny and Felix. “First of all, both of your essays are stupid, look stupid, and sound stupid. What we just heard are incredibly stupid, idiotic, and unacceptable. You may disagree with what I’m going to say but you guys be the only one left in the cold.”

The class starts whispering. Carmine folded his arms proudly ready to listening. Danny and Felix were starting to get pissed at this.

Stanley starts to look at the essay as the class begins to quiet down. “Hi. My name is Stanley. I have written an essay for you. It’s about the issues that we face at school and the teenage community. Every day, we face problems that we encounter. Like racism, sexism, bullying, etc. Everybody knows what racism means. Everybody knows what sexism means.

They both mean nasty objections to the other gender or the rest of the races. For example, a black guy wants to go to the bathroom and saw that there’s no bathroom for black people. If he went into that bathroom, he’d get his ass whuped by a bunch of white people. That was way back in the 1950s. But can you imagine that today that there will be still bathrooms for

divided people? Well, there bathrooms for each gender of course. No problem for us. But we gonna have problems in the other kind of culture where we clashed with the black people and the black people will become victims. Of course today at school we white kids want to be friends with the black kids. We just skeptical because of these two stupid boys that begins with a D and an F.” As soon as he said, Danny and Felix suddenly become the center of attention. In response, they roll their eyes at the classroom and shake their heads in disbelief.

“Keep pissing off you two,” Stanley said as he looked away from his essay. “But the class has spoken.” He then looks back at the paper and continues reading. “And those boys want us white kids to stay away from them.” He looked back at Danny and Felix. “Just what you said in your essays.”

“Okay you know what we had enough of this,” Felix protest.

“Yeah can you step off the stage?” Danny asked.

“Ah no,” Mr. Brookfield said. “You two be quiet.”

Danny and Felix sighed.

“Danny you can continue,” Mr. Brookfield continue.

“Okay.” Danny continues reading from his essay. “As I said in the earlier part of my essay, we also had an issue with sexism. Yes there’s no problem going to our bathroom. But there’s something we gonna have to deal with. There are qualms about boys and girls. There are qualms that boys would attack girls and there are qualms that girls would say mean things about boys. The truth is: Yes, boys attack girls because they hate them. And yes, girls say nasty things about boys

because they hate them. Boys are more into violence and nasty crap and Girls are more into fashion stuff and gossip. But we gonna have to work together, communicate with each other, and make friends with each other. I just wish that we could stop making problems with ourselves and stick to the program.

That’s all I have to say. Thank you.”

The class starts to clap for him as he gets back to his seat.

Danny and Felix can’t believe the appreciation Stanley gets.

“Way to go Stanley,” Carmine said.

“Thanks Carmine.”

“Alright,” Mr. Brookfield said. “Very interesting statement, Stanley. Who’s up next?”

Carmine raise his hand.

“Alright Carmine you’re next, step right up.”

Carmine gets up out of his seat and starts walking towards the teachers’ desk and turns around looking at the front of the desk.

Felix looked at Danny and whispered at his ear. “I’m pretty sure Carmine’s essay is going to be the worse,” he said.

“I agree with you Felix,” Danny said.

Carmine looked at Danny and Felix before looking to his essay. He cleared his throat. “Hello. I have already finish my essay. But now due to the current situation, I have to write a new essay. This is one is called…The Truth about Danny and Felix and other things around.”

The class suddenly gets excited as they whisper around the room. Danny and Felix are starting to get more pissed.

“Alright folks,” Mr. Brookfield said. “I know this is a popular topic so you guys quiet down. You can continue, Carmine.”

“Thanks,” Carmine continues reading. “Danny and Felix are the most controversial high school students of them all. They have been making most of the racist and the sexist comments on their worst-ever-rated blogs. They have been grounded and suspended several times. They even get expelled only once.

What have you already heard from them are totally outrageous, stupid, unbelievable, and totally unacceptable.

Everybody knows that. We all know that. I just think that Danny and Felix should have respect on this. Yes, they hate me. I hate them too. But the rest of us hate them because of the same reasons that we faced. We all hate them. Everybody hates them. I just wished Danny and Felix should not be there at school at all. I wished Danny and Felix shouldn’t born here. I wished there’s a world without Danny and Felix. I wished that Danny and Felix should never live at all.”

Danny and Felix are started to feel angry towards this.

They knew that his essay was going to be the worse.

“Now there’s a situation occurred,” Carmine continued.

“An incident strikes the gym trophies case where half of glass have been shattered and most of the trophies have been stolen. We all been shocked. We students had to form a single line because of this. After all of the commotion and the confusion, a suspect has been emerged. His name is Alex Huggerman. Yes, most of us hate him because of his rational behavior. But he was also a good student. But for some reason, his name came up out of nowhere. The claim was made

by…Danny and Felix. Now everybody wants to believe them because of his stupid behavior. But me and my friend Stanley doesn’t believe them because of their racist remarks.”

Danny and Felix looked at each other as they can’t believe what Carmine just wrote.

“Even though Alex Huggerman is a bad person,” Carmine continued. “Stanley and I don’t think he’ll ever steal a trophy.

We don’t think he ever steal anything at all. You guys hate Danny and Felix but you guys believe that they telling the truth.

Let me and Stanley be very clear: Danny and Felix are planning to expel Alex Huggerman.”

The class slighty gasped.

“Yeah they’re making fasle investigations. I just got that kind of a discovery made by Stanley.”

Danny and Felix immediately looked at Stanley, who wasn’t afraid of them or given them a fake smile. They looked back as Carmine about to finish his statement.

“They actually want to expel Alex because of racism. And I don’t want that to happen. That’s the essay that I want. I’m pretty sure you’re all heard that. Thank you.”

As soon as he finished, the class stands up and clapped for him. Danny and Felix, who are the only ones not standing, gave their furious look on their faces as Carmine walked back to his desk.

“Wow that was a very good one,” Stanley said.

“Yep.” “You sure knocked the hell out of them.”

“Yeah,” Carmine looked at Stanley. “I think I teach Danny and Felix a big-ass lesson.”

“Very cleaver,” Mr. Bookfield said. “Anybody else.”

Just after these kind of essays, the mood shifted because not everybody wrote that kind of essays that Danny and Felix, and Carmine and Stanley. They write things about the food, music, family fun, among other things. That just a couple of them, the rest of the essays will continue the next day if they can’t get through the rest of the class, who haven’t been up there yet.

The English class has wind down. The bell has rung. The students started exiting the classroom.

“Alright essays continue tomorrow,” Mr. Brookfield said.

“Have a nice day.”

As they pack their bags late, Danny and Felix watch their enemies Carmine and Stanley exiting the room talking to each other.

“I can’t believe you nailed that speech,” Stanley said as he and Carmine were now on the hallway.

“Well I hope that this Alex Huggerman situation will be solved in a better way.”

“Yeah let’s hope…”

Just then, Danny and Felix hopped off the classroom and turned to Carmine and Stanley.

“Hey,” Danny shouted as he and his best friend walked toward them.

Carmine and Stanley turned around. Most of the students are slowly started to turn their attention to what’s going on.

“Yes is there a problem?” Stanley asked in a rude tone.

“Yes,” Danny said as he nodded his head before looking at Carmine. “I think you just wrote the stupidest bullcrap we had ever heard.”

Teachers and staff members, who are either on the hallways or on the doors, starts to pay attention to the conversation.

“So wait a minute,” Carmine said with a pant. “You think that I wrote the stupidest bullcrap?”

“Yeah,” Danny said.

“That bullcrap is not bullcrap.”

“Oh it’s certainly is.”

“We strongly disagreed with every word that both of you wrote,” Felix added.

“Well we strongly disagreed with every word that both of you wrote,” Stanley said.

“We know you guys are the racist and sexist students around,” Carmine added.

“Oh please,” Felix said with a lousy attitude. “Even you guys made the lousy grades ever.”

“I’m a straight A student Felix. I don’t fool around in high school” “And I’m a straight A too,” Stanley said. “It seems like we don’t watch TV that much.”

“Oh that’s great,” Danny said unhappily.

“I guess that you guys are…”

“Slackers?” Felix guessed. “No. I even made an attempt to boost that grade for Science since I get an F.”

“Well forget about Felix,” Danny said before he turned back to them. “First of all Stanley, how did you know that we gonna expel Alex Huggerman?”

“A couple of days ago,” Stanley said. “I heard you two on the way without being caught.”

Danny and Felix shake their heads in disbelief.

The bell has rung, but no one and I mean no one has walked into the classroom yet. No teacher or a staff member directed them to their location, instead watching the situation unfolding without an attempt to break it.

“I believe you spy on us,” Felix said.

“No I did not spy,” Stanley said.

“Yes you did. You even spy on us when we’re partying.”

“No- well, I did even spy on both of you,” Stanley regretted. “But that was because you two were drinking achool.”

Danny and Felix looked at each other as they give their regretful looks on their faces.

“Yeah,” Danny said. “We got busted. Since you made that call, we were planning to kick your ass. Lucky for you, that didn’t happen because instead we got our ass kicked by our parents.”

“Listen,” Felix explain. “We believe Alex Huggerman is a suspect.”

“We don’t believe so,” Carmine said.

“And why is that, because he’s black and you’re black?”

“Don’t ask that question…at all. I mean it.”

“First of all why can’t just both of you leave not just alone but also Alex alone?” Stanley added.

“Because Alex is a bastard and you two are idiots defending him,” Felix said.

“Well we can be idiots definding this bastard,” Carmine said. “Which I don’t think he’s a bastard.”

“Well how about throwing a cup of coffee to a custmere’s face,” Felix slightly walked closer. “Alex did that.”

“Well that was his mistake.”

Just as the conversation will continue to unfold, Ms. Bacon, the school principal, come on the intercom.

“Pardon the interruption,” she said. “Would everybody please come to the classroom immediately? The bell ran less than a minute ago.”

As soon as she gets off the intercom, Danny and Felix looked at Carmine and Stanley one more time.

“You know what,” Danny said nodding his head. “You guys good luck. We’re confident that you guys will end up in jail.”

“Yep,” Felix said as he and Danny starts walking.

Carmine and Stanley didn’t even say the final word as they watch their enemies walked past them. As soon after that, the entire school body goes back to where they were. The students are heading to their next classrooms. The teachers don’t mark them late at all, because of the very interesting conversation.

The staff members, including the security officers, did the same.

Less than a few hours later, it was lunchtime. The buzz is all about the essays given by the student duos of good friends Carmine and Stanley, and controversial friends Danny and Felix.

Every English student that was in their class pass the word around and then everybody who were told about them pass on

to the student body including those who saw the conversation but wasn’t in their English class want to know more about this.

Even teachers and staff members are talking about it.

Back at the main office, Ms. Bacon walked from her office and into the hall where Ms. Sanchez, Mrs. Benson, and Ms. Morals are working on their desks.

“You know I can’t stand these two,” Ms. Bacon said.

“Who?” Ms. Morals asked.

“Danny and Felix. Well Carmine and Stanley are into the fight which I told everybody to stay out of it but…,” she sighed.

“I just wish the situation could be solved quickly as possible so we can go back to normal,” she folded her arms as she finish her sentence. “Matter of fact, this situation should never happen at all,” she walks off as she continues talking. “We need to place security systems. That’s beyond security cameras. That way, police could arrest suspects quickly.”

In the cafeteria, Danny and Felix, the center of the buzz, has just got their lunch from the lunchroom. Mostly everybody watches them as they sat down on a table that is not far from the lunch lines.

“Tough crowd,” Felix said.

“Yeah,” Danny said, feeling pissed. “What a bitch to them.”

“Well I think Carmine is a piece of shit. He doesn’t know a thing about Alex Huggerman.”

“Stanley too. I don’t give a shit about what they said.”

“Neither am I.” Just then outside the caferteria, Angelica, Carmine’s friend, is walking to a classroom with lunch when her friend

Sarah approached her with the same news that everybody is talking about.

“Hey,” Sarah said, walking quickly toward Angelica. “Do you hear what’s going on?”

“Oh yes my friend Carmine gets into an argument with that…,” she was shaking her head as she doesn’t want to spit out Danny and Felix’s names. “Bullcrapers,” she finished her sentence.

“You mean Danny and Felix.”

“Correct.”

They walked into the classroom as they talk.

“But how is this fight started?” Angelica asked.

“Well I was in their English class,” Sarah explain. “We supposed to be reading our essays. Yes some students showed up and did what they can. But it was the last fifteen minutes and it wasn’t really about that. The first minutes are kinda pretty interesting. The first presentations were like…,” she was trying to explain things but lost it for a minute.”

“Was the fight in the classroom?”

“No,” Sarah shook her head. “The fight was after class. It wasn’t like a physical fight. It was an argument. Well there’s two kinds of argument both there and after class. One is defending the other is the typical non-phyiscal fight.” Then Sarah begins to clarify. “Okay here’s what happened: Felix is first on the essay. He tells about how we should stay away from black people when in fact we’re nice and kind to them. Danny is second on the essay. In fact, Felix and Danny were first on the line to read their essays to us, only controversial. As I said,

Danny was second and he was telling…something,” once again Sarah was frizzled out.

“He was telling that we’re the worst people than males,” Angelica answered.

“Correct. They even went on to say that Alex Huggerman is a suspect,” Sarah shake her head in disbelief. “I’m just disgusted by them.”

“Did Carmine stand up and argue against them?”

“Yes he did. He was the fourth person after Stanley. But somehow Stanley was Carmine’s partner.”

“You mean his best friend.”

“Right.”

“And then after that, they immediately start fighting for a while and then continue after class.”

“No Angelica the fight is after class. We gave our rounds of appulace to Carmine and Stanley and then we moved on.”

“So are their essays led them into a fight?”

“Carmine and Stanley’s defensive speeches led them into the popular angry conversation with those bastards.”

“Well this conversation is heard all around school. I have to say that I agree with Carmine and Stanley.”

“But you didn’t even heard their essays or read them.”

“Sarah, you said the details about them. Why did you ask me that question?”

“Because…,” she was trying to come up with an answer but gives up. “Never mind,” she sighed.

Back at the cafeteria, Danny and Felix’s friends, Alex Mlex, Austin, Luke, and Dustin, join them at their usual table. They all heard what was going on.

“Oh hello,” Danny greeted unhappily.

The group was all quiet and didn’t say hello back to either Danny or Felix.

“Oh so you guys have to agree with these two dumbasses,” Danny irritated.

“Look Danny,” Dustin jumped out of his seat.

Before he could say anything, their table suddenly becomes the center of the attention. Everybody stopped where they’re doing and turn their attention to see what’s going on.

Dustin, who was the only one standing and started this commotion, looks around like as if he was going to give his argument about Danny. He then sits back down, prompting the student body to go back to where they were.

“Listen Danny,” Dustin said in a calm, scolding tone. “I don’t care what you and your stupid friend thinks about this…society we live in. In fact, we don’t care at all.”

“Okay Dustin,” Felix annoyed. “It seems that you guys don’t give a crap about us.”

“Yeah you guys want to hang out with Carmine and Stanley,” Danny added.

“It’s not that we want hang out with them,” Alex Mlex jumped out of his seat, speaking out of his defense. “It’s that….,” he suddenly lost of words.

“What Alex M. was trying to say,” Luke jumped in. “is we don’t believe the values that you wrote.”

“Carmine and Stanely are the best,” Austin added.

“Yeah, right,” Felix said pathetically.

“They even believe Alex Huggerman is not a suspect,” Dustin said.

“Of course he is,” Felix said with a chuckle.

“No he is not.”

“Yes. He. Is.” Danny yelled. Everybody paused again to see what’s going on. So far, the cafeteria is quiet for a few seconds as neither of them didn’t bother to say anything to the crowd.

He shakes his head as the cafeteria resumes. “Okay,” he then digs into his backpack. “We want to prove it,” he grabs his file of information out of his backpack.

Alex Mlex, Austin, Luke, and Dustin were look in disbelief when Danny and Felix trying to prove something that was in fact wrong.

“Here are the facts,” Danny shows them a couple of info papers that show proof where Alex Huggerman was a suspect in the gym trophies stealing incident. The four boys take a look at the papers. They looked at them closely. Then they looked at each other in very questionable looks, espically Austin, who was doubtful since he watch everything that came in on the news from the time he came from school the day after the incident unfolding to the time he went to school this day.

“Seriously Danny, Felix,” Austin said doubtfully. “Is this…what you guys proving to us?”

“Yes idiot,” Danny said ignorantly.

“What, did you guys watch the news?” Felix asked.

“Yes, I did,” Austin said, now starting to feel annoyed. “I watch the news all day and all night, yesterday and last night.

And I haven’t seen anything from this pile of information,” he touched the papers with his one right finger. “On the TV or online or any newspaper that is reporting this.”

“What you guys proving to us is total fake,” Luke said.

“No you guys are bullcrapping,” Felix said.

The boys are getting frustrating over this.

“Listen,” Dustin said. “You can prove us wrong. But anything you have is…like we said: total fake.” He then gets up from his seat.

“You’re leaving?” Alex Mlex asked him.

“Nope. I’m gonna use the bathroom.”

Danny and Felix took their deep breaths as they brace confrontation from their table friends. Then they saw Carmine walking into the cafeteria empty handed. He already got his lunch, he just want ketchup. As he walked past them and headed towards a pile of ketchup stacked on a table, Danny closed the chocolate milk he was drinking and throws the bottle at him in the head. Carmine turns around and immediately saw Danny looking at him, knewing that he did that. It appears that a fight is starting to brew. Everybody once again stopped what they’re doing and turn their attention to what’s going on as Carmine, who just got a ketchup, and Danny, who gets off the table, walk toward each other slowly. As they walk closer, everybody, including the security officers, watches as they slowly come face to face. Austin comes back from the bathroom to watch the entire scene unfolding.

“Did something just happen,” Austin whispered to Luke.

“Danny throw a bottle at Carmine,” Luke explained.

Danny slowly shakes his head while Carmine does a neck crack.

“So,” Carmine begins to speak. “You wanna tell me why did you hit me?”

Danny didn’t say a word for a few seconds. Instead he punches him in the face, sending him falling to the ground. It prompted a bunch of girls, who were standing a few blocks from them, to start running toward and start beating Danny to the ground. The security officers then rush to the scene.

“Security we got a fight going on in the cafeteria,” Mr. Franklin said with his walkie-talkie as he approached the scene.

The whole entire cafeteria watches as the security officers tried to break up the fight. Carmine pick himself up from the floor.

As the fight between Danny and the girls escalates, Ms. Bacon walked furious into the cafeteria.

“What’s going on?” she yelled.

The whole entire student body, except for Felix and the gang, point fingers at Carmine and Danny.

She shook her head in disbelief. “You know what I had enough,” she said. “Danny, Carmine, come with me.”

Carmine and Danny looked at each other in shock.

Less than a minute later, Carmine and Danny were in the principal’s office, sitting in chairs that were a few blocks apart from each other facing Ms. Bacon, the principal, who had been starring at them back to back folding her hands.

“So you two were in a fight,” she said.

“We weren’t in a fight,” Carmine said. “He punches me in the face,” he was pointing to Danny who was sitting on his right.

“I’m talking about the fight during the bell before the third period. Really what’s going on, is there something you guys like

to tell me? I know it’s about racism, sexism, and…among other things.”

“The fact of the matter is…,” Danny begins to say immediately.

“Can I speak Danny?” Carmine asked.

“No, Carmine, you don’t have the right to speak.”

“Um sir,” Ms. Bacon looked at Danny straight.

“Fine,” Danny hesitated.

“Thank you Danny,” Carmine said. He then explain the situation unfolding from the minute the name Alex Huggerman pop in as a suspect to the most-talked-about nasty conversation between him and his best friend Stanley and Danny and Felix to the point where he and Danny nearly got into a fight.

Ms. Bacon sighed. “You know what really amazes me is that we have this whole entire controversy that we have been dealing with, not just this school year, but for three years. And it’s frustrated that we can’t get out of this.” She turned at Danny. “And you make it a lot worse- You know what you became the butt of the contr-no in fact you and you little buddy Felix became two students who I really hate.”

“What, are you gonna expel me and Felix?” Danny asked.

“Yes I’m about to,” she stands in slience for a few seconds.

“But I’m giving you a chance…for you and your BFF to shut...the…hell…up. Understand?”

Danny didn’t answer a word.

“Now you two go back to lunch or I’ll get you guys into lunch detention,” she made it very clear.

Carmine and Danny exit out of the principal’s office without a word. As they exit out of the main office, the two walked in different directions with Carmine walking down the hallway while Danny returing to the cafeteria.

At the lunch classroom, Carmine walked back toward his lunch in front of his friend Angelica.

“Carmine what took you so long?” Angelica asked. “Is there a teacher stopped by?”

Carmine looked at her for a few seconds. Then he drink a sip out of his choclcate milk. After he puts it down, he starts explain it, sort of. “Listen, there are things that going on my head,” he says. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”

“What, what’s wrong?”

Carmine paused eating, not feeling like he gonna talk to her or any student. “You know what,” he was shaking his head, looking down. “Can we talk about something else?” he asked as he looked at her.

She thought for a moment. “Okay,” she said.

They talk about how did Angelica earned an award for her science fair project.

Minutes later, lunchtime was over. The students were already gone to the next class, though when they gone into their classrooms, they still talk about the controversy between Carmine and Danny and Felix. Felix was in a History classroom when his classmate Mac sat down beside him. Mac looked at Felix.

“Wow what happened,” Mac asked.

“What happened,” Felix said, with an unbelievable look.

“Dude do you hear what’s happening?”

“Yeah Felix, It’s just that I don’t know what is going on.”

“Carmine and stupid Stanley makes stupid essays that got us into a popular fight.”

“Did you guys beat them?”

“Well there was one punch from Danny, but that was in the cafeteria. The popular one was not physical and was more like an argument and it took place in the hallway this morning.”

“Did you guys won?”

“Won?” Felix looked unbelievable as if Mac had never heard that much. “Do you already know that we have been hated by everybody?”

Just before they continued the conversation, the bell rang.

Then an intercom followed. The class begins to quiet down.

“Hello,” Ms. Bacon said. “Parden our interruption, there’s an incident that happened at the cafeteria that I like to talk about. Two students involve in a fight. Well, not really a fight, but more like a student punches another student. That move is unacceptable and we cannot tolerate that. Secondly, I want to talk to you guys about the conversation that’s been buzzing around the school. Now I don’t want to get involved in this, our staff will not get involved in this, and neither our students will get involved in this. Right now, we trying to stay focus on your education. Okay. Please have that conversation elsewhere.

Thank you,” she turns off the intercom.

“Well,” Mac begins talking again while opening his history textbook before looking at Felix. “There will be another day of this crap if you guys won’t be quiet.”

Felix stares at him. “You know what,” he said. “Why can you just shut up.” He then turns his head to the teacher.

Mac glance at him, unhappy at what he just told.

That night, Carmine was doing his homework on his bed in his bedroom. The television wasn’t on. Neither’s the computer.

Then suddenly, Mr. Alexander enters the room. He was still wearing his suit and a tie.

“Sorry to disturb you,” Mr. Alexander said.

Carmine slides the homework to the bedroom as Mr. Alexander sat down on the computer chair.

“Um...,” Mr. Alexander thought for a moment. “What I was gonna say?” he asked himself before he remembered. “Oh about that punch. Listen,” he turned to Carmine. “I know racism is a popular topic in school.”

“Yeah it is,” Carmine said.

“And you have the two hated boys come and get you like a dog.”

“Yeah.”

Mr. Alexander looked annoyed before he took a deep breath. “Can I speak?” he asked him politely.

Carmine did not answer loudly. He answer it with a nod, meaning yes.

“Okay.” Mr. Alexander then begins to clear his throat.

“Carmine, you attended a school. A high school that was already full of racisim and sexism.” Then he thinks again before realizing that he made an error. “Okay you can thank Danny and Felix for all of this. But I want you to deal with this stuff because…well that’s part of life. You know that life sucks and life is complicated.” He paused talking, knowing that he made another error. “Okay life is not complicated, complicated is different. No, life is controversial. Life is controversial. And you

know what Carmine, there’s gonna be pretty nasty group of boys that might wanna attack you in self-defense…because with straight As and being as the most popular student….maybe, you will become the target of this very popular controversial topic. I’m very proud that you didn’t fight back with this guy. You stand there and act as a victim. You didn’t get in trouble. It makes me happy.”

Just then Ms. Alexander opens the door, “Carmine your friends wants you,” she said. “Wanna if I let them into your room?”

“Sure,” Carmine said.

“I’ll get out of here,” Mr. Alexander said as he got up from his seat and walks out with his wife.

Seconds later, Stanley, Carmine’s best friend, and Angelica, his would-be girlfriend, stop by.

“Hi,” Carmine jumped up. He was surprised to see Stanley and Angelica entering his room. “What are you guys doing here?” he asked.

“Well we heard about the incident this afternoon,” Stanley said.

“That you got punched by Felix?” Angelica looked uncertain.

“Yes I got punched…,” Carmine nodded. “…by Danny.”

“Oh Danny,” she said like she got it.

“But wait how did you guys…”

“I come to him what’s going with you and he said that you got into a fight,” Angelica explained.

Carmine looked at Stanley in question.

“The minute I heard that there’s a fight, I knew that you’re involved with Danny and Felix,” Stanley explained. “And as I walked down the hallway during lunch, I hear people saying it was Danny started a fight with you or Felix, and that’s when I knew it,” he was nodding his head.

“Do you know Angelica is my…,” “Yes Carmine, Angelica is your girlfriend. I just talk to her about it.”

Angelica then sat down on the bed beside Carmine. “Look Carmine,” she said. “I love you. I just don’t want you to get emotional upset. When you’re upset, don’t just hide it. I knew something’s up when you came back from the cafeteria.”

“Carmine we just wanna say that you’re not an asshole,” Stanley said. “At least you walked in front of Danny in defense and got your ass kicked instead of beating him up. Thank god, you didn’t get in trouble.”

“I was in the principal’s office Stanley,” Carmine said.

“Yeah I know, what I ment was you didn’t get suspended or expel or get lunch detention.”

“Well I’m fine right now,” Carmine gets up from the bed and grabs the pile of information that was on the computer desk. “My face is okay,” he continues talking as looks at the papers. “There’s something I found,” he then looked at them.

“From the internet. From my high school’s website.”

“Oh really?” Angelica said as she and Stanley walked toward him.

“Yeah. One of the teachers – who I don’t know personally – said that one of his students…might be a supect of this. And it’s not really Alex Huggerman at all.”

“See told you that bastards Danny and Felix are telling unture statements about this,” Stanley said proudly.

“What’s the student’s name?” Angelica asked Carmine.

Carmine tend to look further at the papers. Then he looks closer at one of them. “His name is Ben Duggs.”

“Ben Duggs?”

“Yes Ben Duggs.”

“Do you look it up?”

“Yeah,” Carmine said as he turns over to the facebook page he printed out. While it says the name, the facebook info say that not only he attends at the same school, he’s also in the same freshman class they’re in.

“So did the teacher thinks one of his students was a suspect?”

“Yes,” he said with a nod to her.

“So it’s not Alex Huggerman?” Stanley asked.

“Nope.”

“Well great…”

“Wait Stanley,” Angelica said. “Before you can celebrate,” she turns back to Carmine. “Is Alex’s name in the article?”

“Nope,” Carmine said. “I looked everything that I saw and printed. Alex Huggerman’s name…wasn’t on the article.” He then look back at the papers. “The teacher even said that it wasn’t Alex Huggerman like what Danny and Felix told.”

“See,” Stanley exclaimed. “Told you again. That teacher won’t be joining that duo. That person thinks otherwise.”

They were all looked at each other.

Minutes later at night, Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica are walking down the sidewalk.

“Maybe he is telling the truth Stanley,” Carmine said. “The teacher hasn’t confirm it. The school hasn’t confirm it. The police hasn’t confirm it. We didn’t confirm it.” He turns around and stops his friends from walking. “But even though it hasn’t confirmed, we truly believe that that teacher is right.”

“What’s the teacher’s name?” Stanley asked as they continued walking.

“I believe it’s Mr. Standman.”

“What subject does he teach?”

“I don’t know. I have to look it up.”

As they approaching the public restrooms, Stanley is starting to feel something funny from his gut.

“You know what I think I have to go to the bathroom,” he said.

“Go right ahead Stanley,” Angelica said.

“We’ll wait right here,” Carmine added.

“Okay thanks,” Stanley went into the men’s public restroom. As he went that restroom, he walked past someone so seriously mysterious standing behind the wall. He stopped and take a look at him. That guy looked like a thief. Some guy that looked like…one of those bad guys Stanley seen in the news. Stanley continues ahead for the toilet, keeping an close eye on that guy. As he starts peeing, the thief starts exiting the restroom to his suspicious.

When the thief walks out of the bathroom, he sees Carmine checking out his smartphone. He then runs towards and grab it and runs away.

“HEY!” Carmine shouted as immediately begins chasing that guy. Angelica starts following him.

Stanley knew what was going with the thief as he immediately flush down the toilet, washing his hands quickly with soap and water, push the dryer hard before quickly exit the public restroom. He then looked left to see if the chase was there. Then he looked to see if the chase went to that direction.

When he sees Angelica and Carmine, he starts catching up to them.

Angelica runs faster past her boyfriend Carmine, trying to catch up with him. “Come back you son of a bitch,” she said to the thief.

As the chase unfolds, Danny and Felix were in a restaurant with Felix’s dad, Mr. Osburne. They were eating pizza.

“So really why did you guys cause a stir in school today?”

Mr. Osburne asked.

“Listen, is that simple,” Danny said. “Carmine and Stanley wrote…”

“No no it all started when after we read our essays,” Felix explains.

“Which they are terrible,” Mr. Osburne added.

“No our essays aren’t terrible, they are.”

“As we’re saying,” Danny says. “Carmine and Stanley wrote things that really gives us pains in the back. And then we strike back after the class is over.”

“We get into an argument with them,” Felix said. “They didn’t believe us that Alex Huggerman is a suspect in this.”

“Look guys if they don’t believe that Alex Huggerman is a suspect then I would agree with them,” Mr. Osburne said.

“What?!” Danny and Felix shouted. It prompted everybody in the restaurant turn their attention to what’s just happened

for a few seconds. After silence, they resumed to what they’re doing.

“Listen you guys are the racist and the sexist and you guys better stop it,” Mr. Osburne told.

“Look dad,” Felix said, looking straight at him while folding his arms. “You don’t understand what’s going on here.”

“Well I do.”

Before they about to argue, Danny, Felix, and Mr. Osburne got distracted by a some kinda chase outside. As the thief, Carmine, Angelica, and Stanley run past the restaurant, Mr. Osburne looked back at Danny and Felix.

“I think it’s Carmine,” Mr. Osburne said as he gets up from his seat. “I believe his cell phone was stolen and I think we need to stop the thief.”

“What?” Felix was shocked.

“Are you kidding?” Danny said, agreeing with Felix.

“Listen let’s go,” Mr. Osburne said as he quickly exit out of the restaurant. Danny and Felix started to follow him.

They walked into their car. Mr. Osburne is behind the wheel beside his son Felix while Danny was sitting behind in the middle. Mr. Osburne ignites the engine and gets out of the parallel park that was beside the restaurant. They start passing around cars, catching up past the chase. Then Mr. Osburne stops into another parallel parking slot.

“Now!” he ordered as he exit out of his car. Danny and Felix reluctantly followed him. Mr. Osburne quickly open the tuck and grab a big baseball bat. “Here have this,” he said as throws it to Felix.

When the thief is approaching them, Felix hit him in the head with the bat sending him falling backward to the ground.

Carmine, Angelica, and Stanley suddenly stopped running as they get to the knocked thief. After Carmine grab his cell phone back from the thief, he, his girlfriend, and his best friend looked at their enemies. Danny and Felix looked at them for a few seconds before Felix hit the thief in the face once again making them unconscious.

All of them, safe for Mr. Osburne, were speechless.

Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica can’t believe Danny and Felix stop the thief that they were chasing with. Danny and Felix, while stopping the thief for them, don’t know how to say, after making controvisial remarks. Maybe they don’t want to say anything nice after they did something nice for them. After all, it wasn’t Danny and Felix.

Carmine starts to slowly point fingers at Danny and Felix.

“You…,” he was struggling to come up with a statement.

“You stop that thief for us?” Stanley asked.

“Yeah, how did you know we were chasing him?” Angelica asked.

Danny and Felix, who was still holding the bat, looked at each other as they not willing to give them their answer.

“I told them to capture the thief,” Mr. Osburne, Felix’s dad, stepped up. “We saw you guys chasing him so I figured that we would stop the thief.”

Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica were caught off-guard when Mr. Osburne said he told Danny and Felix to capture him.

They started to wonder if he feels the same controversial way as his son Felix and Felix’s best friend Danny.

“You…told them to stop this guy that we chasing with,” Stanley asked Mr. Osburne.

“Yeah, I told them because I don’t like my son’s beliefs or my son’s best friend’s beliefs.”

Carmine and friends got off-guard again.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Carmine said. “Is that mean you don’t like your son?”

“No Carmine that doesn’t mean my daddy doesn’t like me,” Felix quipped.

“Felix, be quiet, let me do the talking,” Mr. Osburne said.

He then turned back to Carmine. “His controversial beliefs,” he says to Carmine. “…does not mean I don’t like my son. I like him, it’s just that I wish my son…would never make those remarks.”

Felix shakes his head as his father is saying this, but Danny suddenly decides that he had enough.

“Okay you know what,” Danny speaks. “Can we tell you guys something?”

“What Danny?” Carmine asked.

Danny starts to feel admit. “Okay,” he talks straight to Carmine and friends. “Alex Huggerman is not a suspect.”

“Bingo,” Mr. Osburne said.

“So let me guess,” Carmine said. “No let us guess: you and Felix made up that bullcrap story.”

“I’m sure they did,” Mr. Osburne added.

Felix looked at Danny as if Danny starts to believe in Carmine. “Danny, are you serious,” Felix said.

“Look we were wrong about Alex Huggerman,” Danny explains. “Even though he’s black and he’s gone through big

trouble and we hate him,” he shook his head while looking slight down for a few seconds before looking up again. “We don’t believe that Huggerman…is a suspect on this.”

“Danny, what are you doing, you’re not gonna agree with this asshole are you?” Felix keep asking him.

“Stop calling Carmine an asshole,” Mr. Osburne said. “He’s an intelligent young man. He already knows Alex is not a suspect. You should know that too, Felix.”

Felix shake his head again before he finally starts to agree with them. “You know what,” he said. “Do you guys have any plans?”

“Plans?” Angelica asked unbelievably.

“We’re trying to solve the case that you two incorrectly working on,” Stanley said. “Do you guys have any real information?”

Danny and Felix looked at each other. Mr. Osburne already knows.

“You know what let’s all hope into the car,” Mr. Osburne said. “Felix you sit beside me, Danny you sit beside the left window while you three…,” he was pointing to Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica. “…squish beside him so we can all fit in the car.”

Danny and Felix can’t believe Mr. Osburne is doing this.

Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica, while they’re happy that someone is so nice is giving them a ride, feel uncomfortable riding with Danny and Felix, but since they all up to something, they had no choice but to do what Felix’s dad told them to do.

Once Angelica, Stanley, Carmine, and Danny squishy sat in the back seat, while Felix sat in the front right seat, Mr.

Osburne ignites the engine again. He then gets out of the parallel parking slot.

“I can’t believe I’m sitting beside a boy who I hate,” Danny said, looking at Carmine.

“I knew this is coming,” Carmine said.

“Danny it looks like you gonna survive this,” Felix says.

“Because…,” he sighed while shaking his head. “You’re an unlucky one.”

“Yeah well you guys are gonna be lucky if you two settle your differences with them,” Mr. Osburne. “That’s why I’m driving you all to me and my son’s house and come to the table and disscuss.”

“I wish we would never discuss this at all,” Felix said without looking. “In fact if my dad wouldn’t be distracted, I wouldn’t stop the thief with the bat. You guys, Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica, would be giving chasing that asshole.”

“Felix he stole my smartphone,” Carmine said.

“Oh he stole your smartphone, huh?” Felix turns around.

“Yeah and if I wouldn’t stop the thief, I wouldn’t be able to catch it and my parents will be upset about this that I believe that they don’t have any money to buy another smartphone.”

“Good that means you’re the black guy who’s out of luck then.”

“Felix can you just stop,” Danny said.

Felix starts to feel more surprise when his best friend said it.

“I know you try to help, but right now you making thing worse,” Danny explained.

“Wha, what did you think I’m doing then Danny,” Felix starts to argue. “No first of all,” he shook his head while raised his left hand. “Have you changed something? Did something change your heart or attitude? Did you have a change of heart after we defeated the thief?”

Angelica, Stanley, and Carmine all looked at Danny as he was suddenly speechless.

His best friend’s speechless makes Felix feel horrible and led him to turn back around and stare at the car window.

At Carmine’s home, Ms. Alexander was on the phone with her son Carmine. He lets her know that he and his two friends will be riding to Felix’s home.

“Oh so Felix’s dad is driving you guys to his house,” Ms. Alexander said. “Okay, to debate on this controvisial topic?” she wondered. She then slightly open her mouth. “Oh oh okay.

Well, good luck.” She then hang up the phone as her husband walk downstairs into the living room.

“Who was that?” Mr. Alexander said.

“That was Carmine.”

“Is he coming home yet?”

“No he was taken by Felix’s dad with Danny.”

Mr. Alexander suddenly got suspicious when she said the names Felix and Danny. “Did he got into a fight?” he asked.

“No he didn’t. There was a thief he was chasing that knocked out by Felix. Carmine was unhappy about and so Felix’s dad who was with his son take them to their house.”

“So are they working on a settlement?”

“Maybe…or they could be teaming up to solve a case,” she then slowly walks around the living room.

Mr. Alexander suddenly got skeptical. “Now why would Carmine team up with the ones he hates?” he asked while walked a few steps further. “I mean Danny and Felix are very hard to work with.”

“Yeah, well…sometimes they have to work with people around them, even if they hate each other.”

Mr. Alexander thought for a moment.

“Do you need anything?” she asked.

“Oh no I’m fine,” he said. “I’m gonna take a shower,” he heads back upstairs.

“Okay dear.” She then looks at the open window.

At Felix’s house, Ms. Osburne was reading a book. A book written by Hillary Clinton. She is reading the book when suddenly a doorbell has rang.

Mr. Osburne was up first ahead of Felix, Danny, Stanley, Carmine, and Angelica. When his wife opens the door, she suddenly got surprised.

“Um…what’s going on?” she asked. “Why did you bring his friends in the middle of the night?”

“I would like to have all of them to sit down and start a discussion,” Mr. Osburne said.

She then moves her head to find Carmine looking at her.

“Oh hello,” she said as she steps out of the doorway to meet him. “I believe you’re the good godfather that is against this.”

Carmine thought for a moment when she said that.

“Um…yeah, I believe so,” he said.

“You getting any straight A’s?”

“Yeah,” he scratches his hair. “I don’t play video games, or watch television. When I’m doing my homework or when I’m

finished my homework, I go into a lot of research for the homework I’m doing.”

She nodded her head at him as she was impressed. Danny and Felix starting to feel pissed when they watched her. She then turns back around. “Okay,” she said as she steps back in the house. “You guys can go ahead,” she swung her arms.

“Thank you very much my dear,” Mr. Osburne said as he and the others step inside the house.

Once everyone is inside, she shuts the door.

“Alright guys into the living table,” he said walking into the dining room.

The dining room consists of an oval dining table, kitchen appliances, dining chairs, and some magazines and newspapers.

Danny, Felix, and his father Mr. Osburne, sat on one side of the oval dining table behind the fridge, while Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica sat at the other side behind an open window. Ms. Osburne stands in front of the table, folding her arms, watching the situation.

“Alright we all here for a settlement,” Mr. Osburne said.

“A settlement?” Felix asked with a shock.

Mr. Osburne looked at him. “Yes Felix a settlement,” he said before looking back at everyone. “As I’m saying,” he continues to explain. “We’re here to discuss the case that we faced not only in school but also in our community.” He turned to Danny and Felix. “You two may have found a suspect,” he said to them. “But Alex Huggerman…is actually not.”

“We know that dad,” Felix said. “We made that story up.”

“Excactly because you guys want to expel him don’t you.”

“It won’t be Alex Huggerman who’ll be expel,” Ms. Osburne added. “It’s gonna be you two, Felix and Danny.”

“We said we’re sorry,” Danny said.

“No sorry isn’t enough,” Stanley said. “You should apologize to what both of you did. Criticizing Hillary Clinton, calling her the b word, making racist and sexist remarks. In fact, you should apologize for everything that you did.”

“You know Stanley,” Danny said while shaking his head.

“Sometimes you’re bothering us.”

“I’m not, stop your nonsense.”

“You know thanks for the thought,” Felix said to Stanley.

“But really we’re not gonna apologize to whatever we do…at all.”

“Okay let’s not talk about who should apologize or what,” Mr. Osburne said. “Are we gonna argue about this,” he asked Danny and Felix. “Because I can give these guys a treat,” he was pointing to Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica.

Danny and Felix reluctantly sighed, didn’t say a word.

“Okay again,” Mr. Osburne took a deep breath. “Now we had that moment, let’s talk about the case. The case that happened at school…two days ago. Now we all know what’s stolen. But we don’t know who stole them. Since you guys are the center of the controversy, I came up with an idea about working this case out. That’s why I bring you all into the table.”

“Wait,” Carmine got off-guard. “You…,” he was talking to Mr. Osburne. “…want us…,” pointing fingers to Stanley, Angelica, and himself. “…to team up with…them,” pointing fingers to Danny and Felix.

“That’s my idea,” Mr. Osburne said.

There is a feeling that there’s gonna be argument but they all calm down and start talking in a positive way.

Danny and Felix looked at Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica.

“Do you guys have any information on this case?” Danny asked them.

“Yes,” Carmine said as he raise his eyebrows. “As a matter of fact I recently printed information from the school’s website.”

“Good we got some information,” Mr. Osburne gets excited.

Carmine grabs the pile of information from his bookbag.

He tells them that a student named Ben Duggs was one of the suspects. It was claimed by a teacher.

“Ben Duggs?” Felix skeptically asked.

“Who is he?” Danny asked.

“We don’t know,” Stanley said. “All we know is that he’s a student who walks into school.”

“We plan to have a meeting with Mr. Standman first thing tomorrow morning,” Angelica added.

“Oh okay,” Felix said with a skeptical nod. “Let’s hope that teacher is telling the truth.”

“What, did you have any information that is true?”

Carmine asked.

“Uh, no,” Danny said. “But we got sources.”

“Yes,” Mr. Osburne said to Carmine, nodding his head.

“They have sources, although like we said the Alex Huggerman story is made up.”

Felix took a deep breath. “We had been given information from our friends,” he said.

“Yeah our…good friends,” Danny added.

“Good friends that don’t have the same feeling as us,” Carmine said.

“Yeah…about that,” Danny said in a slow tone.

“They actually hate us,” Felix said. “Less than you guys are.”

“Okay who are they?” Angelica asked.

Danny and Felix tell the names of their friends, friends that hang out with at the lunch table: Alex Mlex, Austin, Luke, and Dustin.

“So your friends help you but you guys disagree with them,” Carmine said.

“Well then why did you need their help?” Angelica asked.

“Because we have to,” Felix said. “We have to because they have the right information.”

“So are any of your friends gonna help us with this case?”

“You know what you guys can figure it out on your own,” Mr. Osburne said as he gets up from his seat. His wife, Ms. Osburne, joins him, walking behind the right side of the table.

As they leave, everybody else were now the center of a possible deal. Angelica, Carmine, and Stanley now faces Danny and Felix.

“Let me answer your question Angelica,” Danny said. “Yes they will.”

Carmine took a deep breath. “You know I’m trying to be calm and work my butt off,” he said to Danny and Felix. “But you guys try to exploit me…”

“No we’re not…,” Felix tries to defend before Danny stopped him.

“Felix can you just let him talk,” Danny said. “I think we should have to agree with them.”

Felix gave a glance stare at Danny as if his best friend join the wrong party. But rather than being the odd man out and arguing with him, Felix decided that he should start agreeing with them too, even though they hate each other. He then looked back at Carmine.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“Thank you Felix,” Carmine said. “As I’m saying, I’m working my butt off on my schoolwork and my homework.

Angelica and Stanley, too. But both of you are trying to exploit us by giving us false information. Everybody in our school doesn’t give a shit about that.”

“We would love to work with you guys,” Stanley said. “If you guys are really confortable about this.”

“If you two won’t and I’m pretty sure you’re guys aren’t, we just gonna work on our own,” Angelica said.

Danny took a deep breath. But before Danny could say anything, Felix spoke up.

“Okay if Danny wanna join you guys, then I’m joining too,” Felix said.

“You are?” Carmine said.

“Yes.” “Thank you Felix for the commitment,” Danny said. He then turned to the trio. “I think we should work together,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we should settle our differences.”

“Okay so you guys don’t wanna apologize,” Carmine said.

“But you guys wanna work with us?”

“Of course.”

Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica looked at each other as they very hesitated to work with their hated duo. But they reluctantly give them a try.

“Okay,” Carmine said. “On a careful consideration, we decided to work with both of you. We’re not gonna argue, we’re not gonna fight over who’s the suspect. We’re gonna focus on the case and we’re gonna solve it together. It’s that a deal?”

Danny and Felix stay silent for a few seconds before finalizing the deal. “Yes,” they said.

“It’s a deal,” Danny said.

“Alright we’re now a team,” Angelica said. “Just remember we got to stick together when information comes to us.”

Everybody nodded their heads.

“And we want both of you to not…screw…it…up,” Stanley said in a cold tone.

“We understand Stanley,” Danny was about to get irritated again but he calm himself. “We will not screw it up,” he said it slowly and calmly.

“Alright it looks like a done deal has been made,” Mr. Osburne hopped into the dining room and stands in between Danny and Felix. “Have you guys made a commit to work together?”

“Yes dad,” Felix said.

“Okay,” Mr. Osburne turns to Angelica, Carmine, and Stanley. “Guys, it’s time to go,” he said to them.

“Well thank you for your time Danny and Felix,” Carmine said as he gets up from his seat. “And thank you Mr. Osburne.”

“Anytime,” Mr. Osburne said.

Stanley and Angelica get off their seats and followed Carmine and Mr. Osburne exiting the house. Danny and Felix are still sat down, feeling unhappy. Although Danny is not related and should go on to, he actually having a sleepover with him. Even though their parents don’t like their sons’ remarks, they let them sleepover for the night because they’re…best friends.

Minutes later, Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica were on the car with Mr. Osburne, who is behind the wheel. Carmine sat beside him while Stanley and Angelica on the back.

“Folks what did you guys think about working together with Danny and Felix?” Mr. Osburne asked.

The trio didn’t say a word for a few seconds, feeling awkward to answer that question.

“Anyone?” Mr. Osburne keeps asking.

Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica looked at each other obviously waiting for an answer.

“Well,” Stanley spoke up. “Let me take on that: either the deal is gonna be awesome or down-right stupid.”

“I don’t know Stanley,” Carmine said. “But we have to keep on our close eye on them.”

“Well let’s not overreact on this,” Angelica said. “We all know what Danny and Felix offer for us. Tomorrow, our investigation starts. We’re meeting with Mr. Standard first thing in the morning. I’ll be sitting on the bench a few blocks from the cafeteria. If not, I’ll be at the media center. If not, try to call me. Okay. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” Carmine and Stanley said.

“Well that’s more like it,” Mr. Osburne said.

While Mr. Osburne drives these students home, Danny and Felix are lying on Felix’s bed staring at the ceiling. They were really unfortunate when they decided to work with Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica, whom they call all three of them idiots. In fact, they don’t want to work with a black dude, a girl, and a boy who supports all races and gender of people.

Danny and Felix looked at each other after having their thoughts to themselves.

“Well what are you thinking Danny?” Felix asked.

Danny thought again before he could talk. “I’m thinking about what we just did,” he said.

“Yeah the deal to work with these assholes. I’m mean we could work on our own.”

“Yeah…,” Danny was iffy about that statement. “But about the thief chase…”

“Oh so I guess you had a change of thought then,” Felix suddenly sat up.

“No Felix,” Danny sat up too. “I mean I hate Carmine. But since we stopped the thief, I guess we had no choice but to decide to work together with these…bastards.”

“We?” Felix said as it suggests that he come up with that plan too. “You had no choice.”

“Look Felix you’re just gonna argue about it, it’s gonna makes this worse. Actually in fact, we make things worse...including ourselves. I know this is not the right choice to do and we hate them, but we got to do what we got to do.”

Felix lowered his head before looking back at him. “You know – and this is unfortunate – I’m gonna agree with you on this one.”

“Well first of all, did you think about something Felix?”

“I was thinking of a plan. A plan to trick them.”

“A plan to trick on them,” Danny started to get intrigued by the idea. “Hey I was thinking the same thing too…for a while.”

“So wait let me ask a question,” Felix starts pacing. “You thinking of a trick, I was thinking of a trick,” he then stopped in front of Danny. “What was the trick?”

Danny got off guard. “Wait you don’t figure a trick?” he asked.

Felix shakes his head in slight frustration. “You know what let’s investigate with them,” he said. “And see how we…work together,” he mocked.

“Well it’s almost bedtime,” Danny looked at his watch.

“I’m gonna get my pillow,” he then exits out of Felix’s room.

“Okay then,” Felix then looks at the computer, which is far apart away from his bed. After a feeling of thought, he gets into the chair and boots up his computer. As he waits, Danny returns with his sleepbag and pajamas, only to saw that his best friend is on the computer. He puts his sleepbag on the floor and his pajamas on the bed and then walk towards him.

“Um are you gonna go to your bed?” Danny asked him.

Felix looked at him. “Yeah,” he said before looking back at the computer, which is booted up. “I just want to look for information.”

“Okay,” Danny went back to his sleeping bag and open it up. He took up his pajamas and heads for the bathroom that is inside the bedroom.

When he enters the internet, Felix logs into one of their frenemies’ sites, Austin. He then starts scaming through his blog to find information. When he found it, it really wasn’t Alex Huggerman that he or Danny have expected. He found an article that featured Ben Duggs as a suspect. The suspect that Carmine was talking about. But this time, the article was written by Austin.

“How does Austin know this?” Felix wondered. “Ben Duggs was first claimed by a teacher, now Austin believes it too?” He starts to remember the pages that Carmine printed and showed to them. He then checks out the school’s website to find the exact correct info as Carmine. And it appears that Carmine was right: Ben Duggs has been emerged as a suspect. He then looked to his right to find that Danny, who just coming out of the bathroom.

“Danny, Carmine is right,” Felix said it quick.

Danny suddenly got off-guard once again. “What?” he said.

“Yeah,” Felix said as Danny come to his computer to check out. “I just found both the information that we’re read on paper, and the article from Austin.”

“Austin?”

“Yeah he have claimed that Ben was one of the suspects.

It’s unclear whether Austin simply agreed with the teacher or he did research on that student.”

“Very unclear.”

“Well since Carmine print his, I’m gonna print mine.” And Felix starts printing the article from Austin while Danny starts making his sleeping bed.

The Investigation begins…

The following morning in the half-hour before class starts, Danny is walking down the hallway with Austin and Dustin.

Austin and Dustin were from a Newsclub early meeting. They were heading for breakfast in the cafeteria. They were skeptical about Danny and Felix working with Carmine.

“So you guys are working with Carmine and Stanley?”

Austin asked.

“Yep,” Danny said. “That black girl Angelica is also gonna help us.”

“Okay why, why did you guys wanna work with them?”

Danny tells everything what happened the previous night from stopping the thief to a deal being made. He also tells Austin and Dustin about how unhappy and reluctant he and Felix felt but at the same time. He also told Austin about the article about Ben Duggs, the same claim as the teacher Mr. Standman.

“Well like I said, I always check on the news,” Austin said.

“I also check on the school’s website as well and that’s where I found Mr. Standman’s suspicion. I looked up Ben Duggs on the web,” he studdenly stopped walking prompting Dustin and Danny stopped too. Austin looked at Danny. “Danny,” he said to him. “Ben Duggs have a criminal record.” He continues walking.

“Well what criminal record does he have?” Danny asked.

“He has been driving under the influence a few times. He was fourteen, he got his license revoked and his parents

grounded him. I collected the information that was on the news. He is now sixteen.”

“Wait fourteen-year-olds can drive?” Dustin asked.

“Some of them…if they’re able to, but only if your state applies to these conditions. Maryland is one of them.”

As they enter the cafeteria, they saw Felix sitting down on their usual table with Luke and Alex Mlex. They walked forward and join them.

“Hey guys,” Luke greeted.

“Hello Luke, Alex,” Dustin said.

“So listen Austin. Felix have recently looked at your site last night and read that Ben Duggs is a suspect.”

“Correct,” Austin told the same information that he gave to Danny. He told them about his criminal record.

“God gee,” Alex Mlex reacted. “I mean he’s fourteen driving under the influence?”

“Does that mean he would ever drive again?” Luke asked.

“We have no clue about that,” Austin said while he and Dustin shrug their shoulders and shaking their heads.

“Any other criminal information about him?” Felix asked.

“No,” Austin said with his eyebrows slight raised. “That was it. That’s all the information that we found.”

“I try checking on recent updates on Ben Duggs,” Dustin added. “But despite the claim, his name wasn’t on the news…yet.”

There was a moment of silence as thoughts comes up in all of their heads.

Meanwhile, Angelica is sitting down on the bench talking to her best friend Sarah while waiting for Carmine and Stanley to show up.

“So you three are teaming up with the most hated duo?”

Sarah asked.

“Hey it was Danny and Felix, not us,” Angelica explained.

“We didn’t approached them for this. Anyway we’re about to investigate about what happened with Ben Duggs. We’re gonna be having a meeting with the student’s teacher, Mr. Standman.” She then see a teacher that is about to walk past by. “Um, excuse me,” she stopped him. “Is Mr. Standman here?”

“Yes why?” The teacher said.

“Because me, Carmine, and Stanley are about to meet him. I’m waiting for them to show up.”

“Oh so you guys a detectives huh,” the teacher nodded his head as if he’s impressed.

“Well technically.”

“Partners in crime?”

“Maybe.”

“Is she a partner?” the teacher pointed to Sarah.

“No,” Sarah shook her head. “I would love to but…no,” she shook her head again.

“You’re just not a crime person, huh.”

“No. I don’t watch crime TV.” Soon, Carmine and Stanley are arrived. “Hello,” they each said to the teacher.

“Well hello there you guys must be her partner,” the teacher point fingers this time to Angelica.

“Yep.” “Hey Sarah,” Stanley said.

“Hey.” “Well we gotta go,” Angelica got up from her seat.

“Alright you guys good luck then,” Sarah said.

The teacher watch as Angelica walks with Carmine and Stanley.

Seconds later, they enter Mr. Standman’s classroom, where Mr. Standman is typing up some stuff on his office computer.

“Good morning Mr. Standman,” Angelica greeting.

“Good morning,” Carmine and Stanley each said.

Mr. Standman turns around. “Oh good morning,” he greeted back. “You guys came here to talk about something.”

“Yep,” Stanley said.

“Okay,” Mr. Standman scotch his chair in front of his desk.

“What is about?”

“This,” Carmine shows him the printed page he found on the school’s website. Mr. Standman takes a look on this.

“Oh yes,” Mr. Standman said, nodding his head. “I did claim that Ben Duggs was behind this. Not Alex Huggerman.”

“Why did you think Ben Duggs was a suspect behind this?”

Stanley asked.

Mr. Standman leans back. “Well I can give you guys an explanation,” he said. “Ben Duggs was more of a troubled student. More like a stupid person. He was on my class the first semester. I know he had a criminal record but he needs to snap out of it.”

“Wait he had a criminal record?” Angelica asked as she and Carmine and Stanley got suspicious.

“Yes he had.”

“Well what did he do wrong on his criminal record?”

Carmine asked.

“He was driving under the influence. His license was revoked and he’s upset about it.”

“What happened with him then at school?” Stanley asked.

“What happened with him…is that he won’t shut up. He just talks like too much. I told him to go stand in the hallway several times. Obviously that didn’t work, so when he won’t listen, I contact security. Maybe keeping him out of classroom is a good idea. Maybe he should kept in security’s office for a while. Maybe he should learn how to be quiet…in a classroom.”

Carmine, Angelica, and Stanley listen to what the teacher is saying but started to feel uncertain whether if Duggs was the suspect. Because even though he had a criminal record, they weren’t sure if this incident was a response to him being taken by security? Sure he drives under the influence, but did he commit other crimes, such as what Alex Huggerman did in the last few months?

“Um, we get that Mr. Duggs is much more of a talkative person,” Carmine said. “But do you think his talkative behavior led him steal some the trophies? Like we’re talking about more information on his criminal record, did he do anything else besides driving under the influence?”

“Yes,” Mr. Standman nodded. “He did get involved in a crime in a connivance store. He stole couple of candy and left.

The store owner got noticed and contacted the police which

arrested him. His parents told me about and no he wasn’t connected to Alex Huggerman.”

“So he was like you said more of a troubled student,” Carmine said.

“Exactly.”

“But wait is he black or white?” Angelica asked.

Mr. Standman thought for a moment. “I guess he’s a Mexican accent,” he said.

“Where is he now?” Carmine asked.

“He’s in security,” the teacher nodded his head. “Uh you guys shouldn’t go there. You three should stick to your best behavior. Do not go there, the security officers will not let you in.”

“Okay so is there any friends we would like to talk to?”

Angelica asked.

“Alex Huggerman is a friend. I mean I seen him talking to him in the halls. Why can you guys talk to him?”

“But is he in your class though?” Carmine asked.

“No,” Mr. Standman shook his head a little. “But I remember an earlier news story of Alex Huggerman being part of the same gang as Ben. I suggest you guys can talk to him, not Ben, Alex.”

The bell rangs.

“Oh time for class,” He forgot.

“Yeah,” Carmine said as he, Stanley and Angelica got up from their seats. “Thanks for the conversation.”

“Thank you very much Mr. Standman,” Stanley said.

“Thank you,” Angelica said.

“Oh you’re all welcome,” Mr. Standman said. “Just don’t get to class too late.”

“Alright,” Stanley said.

In the English classroom, minutes before English class starts to wrap, Mr. Bookfield is wraping his statement for the students. After that, the class were given to talk to each other.

Danny and Felix turned to Carmine and Stanley.

“So,” Danny speaks. “Anything about Ben Duggs?”

“He said to have a criminal record,” Felix added.

“Uh yeah,” Stanley said. “He has a criminal record.”

“He drives under the influence,” Carmine says.

“Yes we know that,” Danny nodded.

“And he was involved in two crime scenes, one of which with Alex Huggerman and the other alone.”

Danny and Felix were supposed that Ben’s criminal record was more than that. The information that they heard was from Austin. Apparently they feel like Austin didn’t do more research.

“Wait a minute,” Felix said. “Austin said that’s the information that was there. So how come his criminal record includes two acts of thief?”

“Yeah where did you get this information from because Austin never got this?” Danny said.

“You guys obviously forgot that we had a meeting,” Carmine said.

“Oh yeah right,” Danny said it smoothly.

“Yeah we didn’t remember,” Felix added.

“I guess the teacher you guys talked to have access to Ben’s record.”

“Um yeah he did talk to his parents,” Carmine said. “His parents told the teacher about his criminal record.”

“Oh,” Danny and Felix said it smoothly.

Then the bell rings, everybody gets up from their seats.

“Okay don’t forgot homework on an English book,” Mr. Bookfield said, who’s on his desk.

Carmine and Stanley continue to talk to Danny and Felix on their way exit.

“So you guys only got a little information,” Carmine asked.

“Yep,” Felix said.

“Austin doesn’t have much access as the teacher,” Danny added.

“Any other suspects have emerged?” Carmine asked.

They stopped at the same section that they previous had a conversation, only this time nicer.

Danny and Felix looked at each other.

“No,” Danny said as he shook his head.

“Finding the suspects may pretty be the police’s job,” Felix added. “Maybe we can ask the police for help.”

But Carmine and Stanley thought something else.

“No we had a better idea,” Stanley said.

“Yeah how about we can go to Angelica’s ask her for help,” Carmine suggested.

Danny and Felix were skeptical.

“I’m not sure about that,” Felix said.

“What do you mean Felix?” Stanley asked.

“Angelica is a girl.”

“Yeah what’s the problem?”

Danny and Felix looked at each other waiting for each other’s answer.

“Danny, Felix, here’s the point,” Carmine said. “Angelica is my girlfriend. She’s smart, she doesn’t get in trouble, and she loves me. I loved her back. I think she will help us.”

“In what way?” Felix asked, even more skeptical.

“You’ll see,” Stanley begins to walk off and so is his best friend Carmine. Danny and Felix looked at each other once again before walking off in a different direction.

After school, Carmine, Stanley, Danny, and Felix are went to Angelica’s room in her house. There, they watched her booting her computer.

“Since you’re smart how many good grades did you get?”

Danny asked.

“It’s none of your business,” Angelica said.

“Yeah can you guys just knocked it off,” Stanley told Danny and Felix.

They gave him a glance stare before looking back at the computer.

“Alright let’s log into the internet,” she said her computer booted up. As she gets into the browser, she logs into the social media site.

“What are you doing?” Felix asked.

“I’m hacking into Ben Dugg’s profile,” she said.

“For what?”

“Felix, knocked it off,” Stanley told.

Carmine looked annoyed as he gave a stare at their two hated friends. He then looked back at her to see if she has found any connection.

“Um Angelica you might gonna be in trouble if you’re hacking,” Danny said.

“No you making her get in trouble,” Stanley said.

Carmine shook his head, feeling he had enough of this.

“Danny, Felix, shut the hell up,” he told him. “Just let her do whatever she wants.”

It appears that Danny and Felix are started to feel uncertain about what she is doing. As far as they think, she will get her or them in trouble.

“Okay,” she said as she found information.

“What did you got,” Stanley said as he and the boys looked closer.

“I found a connection between Ben Duggs and Alex Huggerman just like Mr. Standman told us.”

“It looks like they have been friends with gang members,” Carmine said.

“Yeah I think so,” Felix said.

“Wait there’s an article that I remember,” Danny said. “I remember the news story where Alex and Ben along with others arrested for stealing candy.”

“I’m looking it up right now,” Angelica starts typing the news story on the search engine and starts finding the article.

“Here it is,” she clicked on it and starts reading it. “You’re right Danny, they were on a recent crime. I didn’t watch the news that much, but I want to learn more about this.”

“Well maybe that same gang stole the gym trophies,” Felix said. “Maybe Huggerman hides his identity at the time of this incident.”

Carmine, Angelica, and Stanley looked at Danny and Felix.

“It can be true,” Danny added.

The three shook their heads as they disagree with them.

“Okay you know what we gonna print those faces and names and go to Alex Huggerman tomorrow,” Angelica said.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Carmine said. “How about today?”

“You guys wanna go now?”

“Yeah. Oh it’s because of homework?”

“Right.”

“Oh,” Carmine and Stanley nodded.

“Wait what about Ben Duggs?” Felix asked.

“We can’t because he’s in security and we’re not allowed to go in there,” Stanley said.

“Well how long has he been there?”

“We don’t know,” Carmine said. “He was brought to security because he was disruptive in the classroom. We don’t know if he ever came back to the classroom for a brief time or not.”

She already started printed pictures from the internet as the conversation.

“Has Alex Huggerman gone to detention?” Felix asked.

Carmine and Stanley looked at each other before looking back at Danny and Felix.

“Um I never hear him gone into detention,” Stanley said.

“Yeah I was focusing on my schoolwork,” Carmine added.

“Done,” Angelica said as she finished printing. She grab the papers and put them in her backpack.

“Can we get Alex’s address just in case you’re leaving?”

Stanley asked her.

“Sure,” she click on Alex Huggerman’s information and printed the home address. She takes the paper and gives to Carmine and Stanley. “Here you go,” she said. “Ihave to give you guys these pictures since you guys want to visit Huggerman,” she takes them out of her bookbag and give it to them. “You guys good luck,” she said as she exits.

“Thanks,” Carmine and Stanley said. Then Carmine put them in his backpack.

Danny and Felix looked shocked when Angelica didn’t say goodbye to them, which is unbelievable to them.

Less than an hour, Carmine, Stanley, Danny, and Felix were at Alex Huggerman’s house. Mr. Osburne is there with them.

He drove them to the house after a call from Felix. Carmine ring the doorbell, in which it was picked up later by Mr. Huggerman.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Good afternoon,” Carmine greeted. “You must be Alex Huggerman’s father.”

“Yes, do you need him?”

“We just here for questions and inquiry that’s all,” Mr. Osburne said.

“Okay you guys can come right in,” Mr. Huggerman lets everybody inside his house. Once they’re in, he close the door.

“Alex Huggerman is upstairs in his room to the left,” he told them.

“Okay,” Carmine said.

They then walk upstairs to the door of his room. Carmine knocks on the door.

“Who is it?” Alex Huggerman asked.

“It’s Carmine…and the team.”

They wait for three seconds until Alex Huggerman opens the door.

“Oh hi,” he said before looking at everybody else. He then stumbled by Danny and Felix. He frowned. “Danny, Felix,” he said.

“Oh no,” Danny and Felix said as they shake their heads.

“They’re all with me Alex,” Mr. Osburne clarified.

“However they’re the investigative team, I’m the substitute for Angelica.”

Alex Huggerman nodded his head. “Come in,” he said as he steps back to let them in. Once they’re in, he closes the door. “So why are you guys here for?” he asked.

“We here because you seem to have a friendship with Ben Duggs,” Carmine said.

Alex Huggerman lowered his eyebrows. “And how did you know that?” he asked.

“Mr. Standman tells your name…,” “Wait did he ask you guys to come here to my room?”

“No Alex,” Stanley said. “He saw you two on the hallway, we got up to Angelica to find there’s a connection.”

“And we know that you two stole candy from a connivance store,” Felix added.

“Look Felix don’t go there,” Alex Huggerman said.

“Okay alright now,” Mr. Osburne tries to calm them down.

Alex Huggerman and Felix looked at each other furiously before Carmine continues the conversation.

“Here are the photos that we printed out,” he said as Mr. Osburne hands Alex Huggerman the pictures. The pictures are gang members connected to him and Ben Duggs. “Those are

the people whom you hang out with,” Carmine continued. “I believe you part of some gang or something.”

“Yes,” Alex Huggerman said, looking crazy at him. “I was, but I decdied to become a better person so…”

“Do you have any idea that these people would tarnish those trophies?” Stanley asked.

Alex Huggerman shake his head. “I have no clue,” he said.

“You don’t have a clue that the people would steal the awards of the sports legacy?” Danny asked.

“You know what why are you two even doing here?”

“Because we want to investigate what’s going on, we didn’t came here to attack your ass.”

“Okay now, Alex, Danny,” Mr. Osburne hold his hands in the air while looking at them with a mean look. “Alex,” he continued. “I’m sorry that I have to curse at you, but you’re some sort of an asshole.”

Alex Huggerman starts to feel shock and shakes his head.

“Yes you are,” Mr. Osburne said. “You are the center of crime scenes for the past year. And, don’t get me wrong, Felix’s right.”

“Thank you,” Felix said.

“No Felix you don’t need to thank me you and Danny have the reputation of being nasty.”

After a few moments of silence, Carmine ask another question to Alex Huggerman.

“Mr. Huggerman,” Carmine said. “Have you ever been contact with them?”

“Yeah.”

“Since when?”

“A few months ago until I got arrested for stealing.”

“And you stayed away from them since?” Stanley asked.

“Yep.” Carmine and Stanley looked at each other.

“I’m not sure Ben Duggs wasn’t even a friend…” Carmine tries to explain to Stanley before looking back at Alex Huggerman.

“Hey are you still friends with Ben Duggs,” Carmine asked.

“Not anymore,” Alex Huggerman shakes his head.

“Because he’s in security right now and we can’t…”

“Can we talk about Ben Duggs right now?” Stanley asked Carmine.

“Yeah,” Carmine said.

“Hey what’s your relationship with Ben?” Stanley asked Alex Huggerman as they and Carmine sat down on the bed.

Danny sits down on the computer chair while Felix sat down on the floor, both listening to the conversation. Mr. Osburne is the only man standing, and he doesn’t get his feet or legs tired.

“Pretty good,” Alex Huggerman said.

“Pretty good?” Stanley asked in an uncertain way.

“Yeah.”

“Even he’s in in-school suspension?”

“Listen I had contact with him several times per week.”

Stanley calms himself down. “Did Ben ever stole the trophies?” he asked quietly.

Alex Huggerman was suddenly silent on that question.

“Did he ever tell you that, in person, or on the phone?”

Huggerman struggles to answer as his mouth was slightly open and starts to slightly shake his head.

Carmine and Stanley slightly lowered their heads as they’re waiting for an answer. Danny and Felix leaned forward hoping for an answer. And Mr. Osburne stands still all of a sudden.

“No…,” Alex Huggerman speak. “er…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Stanley asked.

Huggerman still shake his head. “No,” he said. “I don’t think he ever…”

“Alex, are you trying to hide something?” Carmine asked.

“No I’m not trying to hide Carmine.” Alex Huggerman’s face suddenly turns horrible.

Danny and Felix looked at each other starting to feel concerned, sensing Alex Huggerman’s emotions, rather than arguing at him back.

“Did Ben tell you something, a secret, that you cannot tell us?” Stanley asked.

“No,” Alex Huggerman said, feeling terrified. “Why would Ben do that?”

“Because he’s the claimed suspect,” Stanley said.

Alex Huggerman is shaking his head. “I mean yes…,” he struggled to speak.

“Alex, can you tell us what’s going on?” Carmine asked calmly.

“No I just…I just don’t want to talk about this,” Alex Huggerman gets off his bed and walks out of the room.

Carmine and Stanley looked at each other before the rest of them looked at each other.

“My god,” Danny said as he looks at the door.

“Is he crying?” Felix asked as he jumped out of the floor and exits the room. He reached for the bathroom. “Hello,” he said.

“Go away,” Alex Huggerman said. “I don’t care who you are anymore, just go away.”

Felix opens the bathroom door, ignoring him. Danny was behind him.

“I said go away,” Alex Huggerman shouted, as it reveals that he wasn’t quiet, but mad and terrible.

“Look this isn’t about me or Danny,” Felix said. “It’s about you.”

Felix tries to explain that he and Danny were technically detectives but it seems that Huggerman had enough.

“Can we at least talk to you for a moment,” Danny steps aside.

Alex Huggerman stared at them while thinking about it.

Felix turns around and peek out of the bathroom door.

“Um we gonna have a private conversation so you would you guys please…,” he said.

“Okay Felix if you say so,” Mr. Osburne said. After then, Felix close the bathroom door and stands beside Danny and in front of Alex Huggerman “We know that we have been picking on you,” Danny continued.

“Picking on me,” Alex Huggerman moaned. “You guys threatened me.”

“No we thought you are the suspect.”

“What’s the word thought mean to you? What’s the difference between the statement ‘we thought’ and the remarks that you guys made?”

Felix starts to shake his head as he hesitated to spit it out.

“Alright,” he said.

Outside the bathroom, Carmine, Stanley, and Mr. Osburne are listening to the conversation.

“Man, Alex is talking smack at those idiots,” Stanley said.

“He is trying to get them to make an apology,” Carmine said.

“Well let’s find out what happens,” Mr. Osburne said.

Back at the bathroom, Felix is already starting to make an explanation.

“Listen,” he said…

“I already listen enough,” Alex Huggerman said. “Can you just…go away.”

But Danny and Felix are still standing here. They suddenly got frustrated both at him and themselves. They decided to calm themselves down.

“Why are you guys still doing here just get out,” Alex Huggerman said. “I told you guys to get out already.”

“No we coming out,” Danny said calmly.

“Why?” Danny and Felix immediately didn’t answer. They already calm and not wanting to shout at him anymore, technically.

“Can we ask you a very important question?” Danny asked.

Alex Huggerman would say no, but since they asked him nicely, he decides to calm down as well. “Yes,” he said.

“Did Ben Duggs told you something that you’re not supposed to tell?”

Alex Huggerman is silent, slowly nodded and looking away from them. Danny and Felix were waiting anxiously for an answer. Then Huggerman looked at them and stopped nodding.

“No,” he said.

Danny and Felix looked questionable when it wasn’t the answer they were looking for.

“Are you serious?” Felix asked.

“Yes, I’m serious.”

Danny and Felix didn’t make another argument with him.

They decided that they would agree with him, even though they don’t know whether or not he’s lying.

“Okay,” Danny said. “We heard you. We can believe you.”

As they’re hearing this outside the bathroom, Carmine and Stanley looked at each other, shocked that Danny and Felix starts to believe in someone that they would be bashing.

“What,” Carmine said, looking dishonest.

“Unusual,” Stanley said.

“I can’t believe Danny and Felix,” Mr. Osburne said, shaking his head.

Then Danny open the bathroom door for Alex Huggerman to get through. After he and Felix gets out of the bathroom, Danny closes the door. Carmine, Stanley, and even Mr. Osburne were skeptical of Alex Huggerman.

“Gee, I don’t know about Alex Huggerman right now,” Carmine said as he wondered. “There must be something.

Stanley and I trusted him from the begening he was mistaken, but now we felt like…”

“Look guys,” Danny said. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to be worried about. As long as that boy is telling the truth, we trusted him. That’s all we can say.” He and Stanley starts to walk off.

Carmine, Stanley, and Mr. Osburne looked at them.

“You know there’s unanswered questions that I would like to ask,” Carmine said to Stanley before walking back to Alex Huggerman’s room. “Mr. Huggerman,” he said.

Huggerman sat back on his bed and looked when Carmine came back in.

“Can I ask you a few more questions,” Carmine asked.

Huggerman thought for a moment. “Sure,” he said it calmly.

Carmine sat down beside the bed while Stanley and Mr. Osburne re-enters the room. “So Ben Duggs isn’t the suspect at all?” Carmine asked.

“I don’t know,” Alex Huggerman said. “But I swear I never heard anything out of him telling me what not supposed to tell.”

“Okay,” Carmine nodded. “As long as you’re not telling lies I can sure that,” he talks as he and Stanley looked at each other before looking back at Alex. “Do you remember anybody else, in your gang?” he asked.

“May I see the pictures again?”

“Sure,” Carmine hands him the pictures. Alex looks at them.

“I know him,” Alex Huggerman said pointing to person named John Laz. “And him,” pointing to Matt Lane.

“But do you have any idea that these people would…,”

“I have no clue,” Alex Huggerman shake his head without looking. “I haven’t been contact with them since our arrest. The only gang person that I had contact with is Ben Duggs.”

“Who you believe he’s not the suspect?”

“I don’t know.”

“Guys can you just leave him alone,” Felix popped in.

Carmine and Stanley looked at him in an angry mode.

“Excuse me,” Stanley said as he walked toward Felix.

“What did you just say?”

“Aright you two,” Mr. Osburne said as he breaks the fight.

Then there was a moment of silence. Stanley and Felix looked at each other. Carmine looked down at the bed and sighed before looking back at Alex Huggerman once again.

“Look we’re just trying to investigate,” Carmine said to him. “Maybe I’m pushing it too hard.”

“No,” Alex Huggerman said once again shaking his head without looking. “It’s not that,” now he begins to slighty shed tears. “I just feel like…I can’t handle it. It’s like I’m the target now that I committed so many crimes,” he wipe the tears off his eyes while Carmine puts his right hand on the shoulder.

“Damn, you right,” he said to Mr. Osburne. “I do look like an asshole.”

“Well I’m sorry Alex,” Mr. Osburne said. “But this is what you did.”

“Mr. Osburne,” Stanley interrupt. “Can I speak to him?”

Mr. Osburne looked down for a few seconds. “Sure,” he said.

Then Stanley walked closer to Alex and Carmine. “Look,” he said to Alex Huggerman. “Carmine and I know that you’re

upset about this whole entire situation. We know that you were been mistaken for something that you didn’t do. We know that we…”

“No Stanley you don’t have to explain it,” Alex Huggerman said, nodding his head and feeling a little better. “It’s okay.”

Carmine and Alex nodded their heads slightly.

Alex Huggerman took a deep breath. “Well,” he said. “I have homework to finish…”

“Do you want us to leave the room?” Carmine asked.

“Um yeah,” he said it nicely this time. “Because then I would not have time to finish it.”

“Well at least you not…forcing us to get out,” Stanley said.

“Well I’m not.”

“Alright then,” Carmine gets off the bed. “We’ll see you later.”

“Thanks sir,” Stanley said as they started to exit the room with Mr. Osburne closes the door.

“Do you guys know how much pressure do you put him under?” Felix asked Carmine and Stanley.

“Look it’s none of your business,” Stanley said.

“Alright that’s enough,” Mr. Osburne said. “We have put him pressure on him. It’s not just you, you, or you,” he points to Felix, Stanley, and Carmine. “I put him pressure,” he points to himself. “I called him an asshole. Maybe if you and Danny haven’t had a fight with him, then maybe this conversation would be a lot smoother.” He then sighed. “Where’s Danny?” he asked.

“Danny’s outside,” Felix said.

“Okay.” they started to go downstairs after the conversation.

“Thank you for very much Mr. and Ms. Huggerman,” Carmine said.

“Oh you’re welcome,” Ms. Huggerman said.

“Come back with us anytime,” Mr. Huggerman said.

Carmine, Stanley, Felix, and Mr. Osburne went outside where they see Danny standing looking at the sky.

“Danny do you get a call?” Felix asked.

“Huh,” Danny turns around. “Oh, no,” he shakes his head.

“I was getting fresh air.”

“Well we have to go home now,” Mr. Osburne said as he walks towards his car. As he’s hops into it, the rest of them followed.

Hours later at night, Carmine is laying on his stomach with his legs flapping in the air while reading the English book.

Suddenly he got a phone call. He picks up the smartphone. It’s Angelica.

“Hello,” he answered.

“Hey it’s me,” Angelica said, who she’s at her room, writing her notepad.

“Angelica?” he sat up.

“Yes.” “Oh hi, what are you doing?”

“I’m still doing homework,” she stopped writing.

“Technically.”

“Wow how many classes do you revecive homework?”

“A few. It’s not really long. I actually finished my homework but I’m doing research to get ahead. Anyway, how did you guys did with Alex Huggerman?”

“Alex was a person that we had difficulty to talk to.”

Angelica then sat up. “What did you mean?” she asked.

“He doesn’t want to talk with you or is he the suspect?”

“Neither of them,” he shake his head. “We asked him if Ben told him that he’s the suspect. At first, he declined to answer, but later he said no. It sort of like something’s fishy going here, but we decided to agree with Alex Huggerman.”

“You guys mean Ben Duggs is not the suspect here.”

“Angelica, we don’t know, all we know that Alex never got a phone call telling him that he’s the suspect.”

“You guys never- oh that’s right we couldn’t talk to him because of security,” she is referring to Ben Duggs.

“Right.”

“Did you still have those photos because…”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Because I’m not going back and hack into the system again. I could get in trouble. Now we might have to talk about this investigation tomorrow after school. You guys can over at my house,” then she paused as she remembers something.

“Um, how was Danny and Felix?” she asked.

“They were…good,” he nodded.

“What, seriously,” she was shocked.

“They were good even though we had arguments.”

“Really?”

He nodded again.

“Ok you know what we’ll talk about this tomorrow,” she jumped out of her bed and starts pacing. “Danny and Felix are usually no way clam than this.”

“I know,” he agreed. “Well time to head off.”

“Bye.” “Bye.” They both hang up their phones.

The following morning, Friday, Danny was walking down the sidewalk. He was into an argument with his mother this morning, she pushed him out while driving. As he’s approaches to school, suddenly a person from behind appears to be running and tackles him to the ground.

“Hey what are you doing asshole?!” Danny shouted.

The thief didn’t say anything but to grab his smartphone and ran.

“Hey give me back my smartphone you bitch!” Danny shouted.

But as the white car enters the student drop-off zone, a few miles from the school entrance, the thief quickly gets into the front seat, meaning Danny won’t be able to catch up to him. Then the car quickly drive past the line of cars to get in front of them before it exit the school. Mr. Roberts and Mr. Mac saw the scene.

“Call the police,” Mr. Roberts ordered him. “I’ll report the school security,” he walks into the school entrance as Mr. Mac grabs his own cell phone.

Meanwhile, Danny continued to walk into the school entrance, this time angry. He stormed his way into the cafeteria. Alex Mlex, Austin, Luke, and Dustin were sitting down

on their usual table when they suddenly say him mad walking and entering the table without saying hello. They glanced at him before Danny looked at them.

“Some idiot stole my smartphone,” Danny said.

“Your smartphone had been stolen?” Luke asked.

“Yes, I was walking down the sidewalk, which is not usual since my mom drops me off but because I had an argument, she drops me off far from school.”

“Hmm, I guess you had issues,” Dustin said.

“Yes Dustin, I have issues,” Danny yelled before he calms down. “Anyway when I was walking, I was attacked…,” “By who?” Alex Mlex asked.

“I don’t know, but this guy stole my smartphone. I tried to stop him but he just went into some car and left.”

Felix walked toward the table as he hears Danny’s explanation. “So wait…,” he started to look confused.

“Somebody stole your smartphone.”

“Yes,” Danny said.

Felix reacts by opening his mouth. “We gotta call the police,” he said as he takes out his cell phone. “Right now.” He then puts his smartphone on his right ear. “I’ll also talk to your mom about this,” he continued.

“No Felix wait,” Danny jumped out of his seat. But before he could tell his explaination, Felix hold his left hand in the air, knowing that the 911 operator is now on the phone.

“911 what’s your emergency,” the operator answered.

“Yeah somebody stole my best friend’s smartphone,” Felix said.

“Where?”

“At school.”

“So I’m looking at the map right here, you telling me that your best friend’s smartphone was stolen at the same school that was broke into the other day?”

“Yes this is the same school.”

“And who I am talking to, a student?”

“Yes I am a student.”

“Okay the police will arrive shortly, they will sure you’re not making lies.”

“No I’m not making lies,” Felix shook his head. “I’m telling the truth.

That statement caught his friends off-guard. Alex Mlex, Dustin, Luke, and Austin looked at each other as if they wondered who is Felix talking to?

“Okay good because if you are,” the 911 operator said.

“You’ll be arrested. And I know who you are.”

Felix raise his eyebrows to Danny’s suspicions.

“Okay I got that word,” Felix said. “Bye now,” he immediately hang up the phone.

Danny looked down and scratch his head.

“Man, Danny,” Felix said. “The 911 operator knows me.

Very well.”

Danny shook his head before he looked back at Felix.

“Okay you know what let’s not worry about this idiot 911 caller,” Danny said. “Let’s focus on who stole my smartphone.

It’s easily enough to say that this school is haunted by predators.”

“Yeah but you two also caught the attention of the entire school,” Austin said to Danny and Felix.

“By making remarks,” Dustin added.

“Alright okay,” Danny said. “We get it, we’re on a investigation with Carmine and Stanley.”

“And Angelica.”

“Whatever.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Roberts enters the main office.

“Call the police,” he said. “I think there’s an intruder…or another intruder.”

Mrs. Benson, Ms. Morals, and Ms. Sanchez where slightly shocked when they hear that. They looked at each other.

“Um, Mr. Roberts,” Ms. Morals said. “What is going on?”

“You said there’s another intruder?” Mrs. Benson asked.

“Yes,” he nodded. “I think I saw a man running far across the bus zone before he got into the speeding car.”

“Did he steal anything?” Ms. Sanchez asked.

“Um I don’t see him stole anything,” he shook his head.

“But I think I hear Danny screaming it was his smartphone that was stolen. I don’t know if it is a prank or an incident.”

“Wait who’s Danny?” Mrs. Benson said.

“I believe Danny Ottenstien.”

The women looked at each other again.

“So the smartphone from him was stolen,” Mrs. Benson continued.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“But wait is it a prank, or a rough-play, or…,” Ms. Sanchez trying to find out.

“I don’t know Ms. Sanchez,” he said. “But at least you can tell that scene made me sure that I should call the police.”

“Well call the police then.”

Ms. Bacon just come out of her office only to start hearing the conversation. “What’s going on,” she asked as she stands beside Mr. Roberts.

“There’s an intruder, Ms. Bacon.”

“An intruder?” she shouted.

“Yeah.”

“Last night?”

“No, this morning.”

“This morning?” she shakes her head in disbelief. “Can you tell me what is going on?”

“Ms. Bacon, I’m not sure if this situation that I just saw was fake, but the intruder stole Danny Ottenstien’s smartphone.”

“The intruder stole Danny Ottenstien’s smartphone.”

“Yes.” “Was it a response to his and Felix’s remarks or were they playing a game?”

“I don’t see Danny smiling at that, somehow the intruder wants to attack him for vengeance.”

“Than it is a response,” she nodded her head. “It is a response. Now, Danny and Felix are the students we furiously hated.”

“Right.”

“But stealing one or both of their smartphones is not the answer. We need to call the police and get the information on the intruder,” “Mr. Mac is already calling 911.”

“Good,” she nodded. “We need to get the intruder’s name and address. I believe the intruder is a student in here.” She then walks out.

Moment later, just minutes before school starts, the police arrived once again. They enter the parking lot, a few blocks from the bus zone. Officers John, Jack, and Laura come off of their cars and enter the school entrance.

“It’s the second time something like this happen at the same school,” Officer Jack said.

“First a break-in, a now a stolen smartphone?” Officer John asked. “Somebody must be a suspect at school.”

“Well this school needs to increase security ,” Officer Laura said. “Because this situation is going from bad to worse.”

They walked into the school entrance and then into the main office where Ms. Bacon is standing, holding her fingers on her forhead, feeling frustrated.

“Good morning Ms. Bacon,” Officer Laura said as Ms. Bacon looked up. “We heard that some student stole a smartphone in this same school.” She points her fingers down.

“Yeah,” Ms. Bacon said, unhapply nodded her head.

“Not from a phone store.”

“Nope,” Ms. Bacon folded her hands. “It’s this school. The smartphone was Danny Ottenstien. And it’s not a prank. It’s an attack.”

“We heard that story,” Officer Laura grabs her notepad and pen from her pants pocket. “So what happened?” she said as she starts writing down.

“It happened outside, just this morning. But I was in my office doing paperwork.” Just then, the bell rings. Ms. Bacon

looks at her watch. It was time for her to do the morning announcements. “You know why won’t we get Danny in her,” she said as she begins to walk toward the intercom.

“Okay.”

Ms. Bacon turns on the intercom. “Good morning staff and students, this is Ms. Bacon with something that I have to say about an incident that happened this morning. Danny Ottenstien is already been one of the most controversial students of all. Just this morning, his smartphone has been stolen,” she paused before she repeats that last sentence. “Just this morning, his smartphone has been stolen. While we don’t know how did that happen, we do know that it was a response to the remarks that he and Felix made. The police are here to help us figure out who did it and take this person to justice. If anyone of you know that you are the suspect who stole Danny’s smartphone, come to my office immediately. That’s the annocement I’m going to say, I’m really tired of it. Danny Ottenstein, we would like to come to the conference room now. Thank you and let’s have a peaceful productive day.” She turns off the intercom and looks back at the Officers Laura, Jack, and John. “Alright you guys follow me,” she said to them as she starts walking into the conference room. The officers followed her.

Moments later, Danny Ottenstien walks into the main office with a slip in his hand. He walked toward Mrs. Benson and her desk.

“Um excuse me,” he said.

She looked up.

“Did you know where the conference room is?”

“Right down beside the principal’s office?” Ms. Sanchez said, pointing fingers at the direction before putting her hand down. “Are you Danny Ottenstien?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well the principal is waiting for you and she got three police officers waiting for you as well.”

He stopped walking mid-way, stands there frozen.

“Don’t stand there like you’re shocked, just go up to the confrenece room.”

He sighed before he continues walking. When he got into the conference room, He saw Officer Laura, Ms. Bacon, and Officers Jack and John, sitting down in the other side of the table. There is an empty seat in the middle in front of him.

Ms. Bacon sighed to see him. “Danny Ottenstien, right?”

“Yeah,” he said it slowly and arrogantly.

She then slapped her right hand on the table towards the seat that was in front of him. “Here,” she said. “Sit down.”

He pulls a chair up and sits down in front of four people.

“Yes I know that my smartphone…”

“Can we speak first?” Officer Laura interrupted.

He sighed. “Okay,” he said calmy.

“Now we understand that your smartphone got stolen but can you tell us exactly what happened? We don’t know if it’s a student who attends this school. We don’t know if it’s a man who is not connected to the school. Can you tells what happened, what exactly happened…just this morning?”

Danny took a deep breath before he could explain it. “I was in my car with my mom,” he said. “Usually she drops me

off at school, not this morning. This morning, I feel like I was kicked out because I get into an argument with her.”

“About what?” Ms. Bacon said.

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe homework or something that was supposed to due today?”

“No it’s not that. In fact I already turn in my homework in.”

“Well good for you, then.”

He sighed again. “The reason that I got into an argument was because of remark did I made about mothers.”

“Really?” Officers Laura said with her head nod.

He give a glaze stare at her before continues explaining.

“Yes,” he said nodding his head. “I did. I made a remark that made me kicked out.”

“What was that remark about?” Officer Jack asked.

He looked at him.

“Don’t look at me like you don’t know.”

“I’m not.”

“Then tell us.”

Danny once again sighed. “I remark that mothers are bitches who like to talk and doesn’t give a shit about their husbands.”

All four adults looked at each other in shocked.

“Really?” Officer John said, feeling angry. “Did you really make that remark in front of your mother?”

“Yeah,” Danny said, starting to get defensive instead of being afraid or feeling remorse.

“And what happens next, you nodded your head.”

“My mom told me it’s inapproite and I tried to defend my statement because her talking becomes very annoying and doesn’t treat my dad very well, which he semes he’s very nice.”

“And then she kicked you out,” Officer Laura said.

“Correct.”

“Danny,” Ms. Bacon quickly looked down before looking back at him, feeling angry towards him. “Why did you say this?

In front of your mom? Now this integration went from the fact that your smartphone is stolen to the fact that now you said something so offensive before that incident.”

“You know we can move otter here and not helping you find your smartphone because of your remark,” Officer Laura said.

“Look I now I’m a jerk,” Danny said.

“Yes you’re…”

“Total jerk,” Officer Jack said.

He looked at him again.

“Don’t look at me like that, don’t look at me like that.”

Ms. Bacon takes a deep breath before moving back at the topic. “Now let’s get back to where we were,” she said.

“Yes we are,” Officer Laura said, writing down some notes about Danny remarking about mothers. She then looked back at him.

“So after you get kicked out of her car, what happened?”

Ms. Bacon said.

“I was walking down the sidewalk,” Danny said. “I was almost by the school anyway. I was walking down and suddenly I get tackled by some guy. Some guy with a mask and a black suit. He stole my smartphone out of my pants pocket. I tried to

stop him, but it was too late. There was a white car drove by and he hopped in and they left.”

“Do you know the name of your smartphone?” Officer Jack asked.

Danny thought for a moment. “I believe it was Samsung Galaxy,” he said. He nodded his head. “Yes it was it,” he feels confidant.

“Well do you know the model number?”

Danny thought for a moment again. “No,” he said, as he unbelievable shaking his head. “I uhhh….”

“You don’t know the number of the model.”

“No.” Officer Jack nodded his head.

“Do you have a case for your smartphone?” Officer Laura asked.

“Nope,” Danny shake his head again.

“Okay,” Officer Laura writes another note down on her notepad “Well did you know the name of the person was?” Officer John asked. “The person who stole your smartphone.”

“No,” Danny shakes his head. “Not at all.”

Ms. Bacon takes out pictures from her folder and shows them to Danny. Those pictures were taken from the security tapes that were recorded on the night where four people stole sports trophies, although three were only shown in the tape and those screenshots. “Do you know any of them,” she asked Danny.

He takes a closer look. They were…quite similar. He doesn’t know…which one.

Ms. Bacon and the police officers are waiting for his answer.

He looked up and gives these pictures back at Ms. Bacon.

“Um yeah,” he said. “I believe that guy this morning looked like one of these in those photos.”

“Do you guys find information on those guys?” Ms. Bacon asked the police officers.

“We do find information on Justin Laz,” Officer Jack said to her. “But we couldn’t tell if he’s him or not.”

“Because when we walked into his house, he doesn’t look exactly the same as him in the picture,” Officer John added.

“And there were no suspiusous clothing in his room…whatsoever.”

“Maybe we can take a look again to see if he’s wearing makeup or something or hiding something,” Officer Laura said.

“Good idea Laura,” Officer Jack said.

“Yeah Justin Laz is already suspended,” Ms. Bacon said as she pile her photos and puts them back in her folder. “Danny, we gonna let you go now,” she said to him. “But remember,” she leans her head toward him. “Just. Shut. The. Hell. Up.” She paused after the last word.

The police officers already folded their arms, looking at him.

“Understand,” she said.

Danny shakes his head. He would not shut up in various places when it comes to people of color and women. Danny is starting to believe that Ms. Bacon and Officer Laura are just idiots who grab his ass into this. He even blamed Officers Jack

and John and the rest of the police officers whom he hadn’t know.

“I need to hear your answer Danny,” Ms. Bacon is still mad.

He looked up. “Yes,” he said reluctantly.

“Good,” she lean her head back. “Do you have slip with you?”

“Yeah.”

She takes the slip from and takes out her pen from her suit pocket. “Where are you going?” she asked as she starts writing down.

“Algebra.”

“With who?”

“Ms. Locks.”

She then gives the slip back to Danny. “Here you go, have a nice day,” she said unhapply. She didn’t even look at him and instead focusing piling her folder.

“Thanks,” he said as he looks at her before he grabs the slip, gets up out of his seat, and walks out of the conference room.

Police officers Laura, Jack, and John looked at each other as they feel relaxed now that Danny is gone to his class.

“Well, anything else that the theifs stole?” Officer Laura asked Ms. Bacon.

“Nope,” Ms. Bacon said. “Just his smartphone.”

“Huh well okay,” Officer Laura said before she gets up out of her seat.

“Well that suspect, I believe, may be Alex Huggerman,” Officer John said as he and Officer Jack gets up too.

“We don’t know if it’s Alex Huggerman or not. Matter of fact, it’s not even Huggerman because she said that it was a response to those remarks,” Officer Laura points her finger to Ms. Bacon, who is now getting up. “And we’re confident that Alex Huggerman is not behind this because he swear in our last interrogation that he never stole the school’s trophies.”

“Well my school need to get their shit together,” Ms. Bacon said. “Because I’m tired of all that controversial bullshit.”

“Well we’re off now,” Officer Laura said. She then turns to the other officers. “Guys, we move out,” she said to them.

“Nice interrogation Ms. Bacon,” Officer John said.

“Oh you’re welcome,” Ms. Bacon said, holding her folding with one arm, looking at him. “Just be careful on your way out.”

She pull the chairs towards back the desk.

“Alright we’ll see you then if there’s another incident,” Officer Laura said.

“Oh no,” Ms. Bacon shakes her head. “We’re not goning to have another incident here at this school. I’m just gonna tell the school body on the intercom that this school needs to pull it together.”

“Okay well good luck then,” Officer Laura walks off the confrense room and so is Officers John and Jack. They begin to exit out of the main office, but the stopped for one more then when they came to Mrs. Benson, Ms. Sanchez, and Mrs. Beals.

“Hey if there’s information found on the stolen trophies,” Officer John said. “Then please contact us.”

“Okay we do,” Mrs. Benson said.

The police officer then exit out of the main office just as Ms. Bacon arrives again.

“So what happened with Danny Ottenstien?” Ms. Sanchez asked.

“Um yeah,” Ms. Bacon said as she put her elbow on the bar handler of Mrs. Beals’ desk. “While Danny has a smartphone stolen,” She nodded her head. “Yeah there’s something happened before his smartphone got stolen that makes me wanna…,” she shakes his head as she folded her arms.

“Explode?” Mrs. Benson guessed.

“Well,” Ms. Bacon chuckle. “Not explode, but expel him from the school.”

Mrs. Benson, Ms. Sanchez and Mrs. Beals all looked at each other.

“Yes my mind gets all rolling when something shit like this ever happened,” Ms. Bacon walks a few steps before she turns around to look at the women.

“Um, Ms. Bacon what happened?” Ms. Sanchez asked.

Ms. Bacon shakes her head once again before starts to answer. “Danny made a sexist statement about moms,” she said.

The women looked at each other again, this time in a shocking mode.

“In front of his mom,” Ms. Bacon added.

The secretaries thought for a moment.

“So you were suggesting that you gonna expel him from school,” Ms. Sanchez said.

“Yeah but since it’s not school-related, I’m not gonna bother with it anymore,” Ms. Bacon starts walking away from them and enters back into her office.

The secretaries looked at each other again.

Hours later, that afternoon, Carmine, Stanley, Angelica, Mr. Osburne, Danny, and Felix were all back at Angelica’s room after school. Carmine and Stanley were notified by Austin about Danny’s recent sexist remark as well as his smartphone stolen.

Austin saw Carmine and Stanley on the hallway during lunchtime. After that, Stanley informs Mr. Osburne while Carmine informs his girlfriend Angelica. Then, Carmine, Stanley, Angelica, and Mr. Osburne all agree to take Danny and Felix to Angelica’s room and find out what happened this morning while they all still investigating the school’s most-popular case that involves around the missing sports trophies. Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica, stand in front of Mr. Osburne, who has his hands on his hips looking at Danny and Felix. It looks like it’s all intervention “So you saying that mothers don’t take their crap from husbands?” Mr. Osburne asked Danny. “Do you even think you would be saying that in front of your mother?”

“Look I have problems with my mom,” Danny said. “Okay.”

He then slightly stares down. “My mom talk so much. She couldn’t let me hang out with my friends because of my behavior. What behavior? What did she see that I have a bad behavior? I don’t know uhhh maybe I spend time cranking up the volume.”

“Yes, Danny plays his music loud in order to make his mother crazy like shit,” Felix added.

Mr. Osburne sighed. “Okay I know you hate girls and women,” he said as he hold both of his hands. “I know you hate your mom as well. And I know that you and your mom went

into a spiral. But if you hadn’t made that remark….and you and your mom get along,” he slightly bobble his head. “Your smartphone wouldn’t be stolen.”

“But wait a minute,” Stanley interrupt, feeling wondered.

“Danny have you seen a thief in black mask while you were riding?”

“Um no,” Danny said, before he started to remember. “I…I think I saw him…walking down the sidewalk. Didn’t know that he is gonna steal my smartphone when I get kicked out.”

“Yeah did he told you to make a remark or you just…”

“No Stanley, I wasn’t told by the thief to do so, I made that decision. If I ever knew that thief very closely, I would not make a remark.”

“Just like I said,” Mr. Osburne said.

“Alright enough with this extremely stupid remark,” Angelica said, who now just got really mad at Danny. “Let’s start talking about your smartphone, Danny.” She walks to her computer and sat in the chair that was in front of it.

“Okay,” Danny said.

She takes out a piece of printer paper and pen and starts writing. “What’s the company’s name on your smartphone?” she asked Danny.

“Samsung.”

“Samsung,” she said slowly as she writes the same word.

“Do you know the name of your smartphone?” she asked without looking.

“Samsung Galaxy.”

“Samsung Galaxy,” she repeated the name slowly as she writes it. “What color is it?”

“Silver.”

“Silver,” she repeated it slowly as she writes. “What is the model number of your phone?”

That question made Danny lost for a minute. He doesn’t look at the model number nor does he usually pays attention to it.

She looked up to him, waiting for answer as well as the rest of the gang.

“Well certainly,” Danny said. “I don’t read it.”

“You don’t usually know your model number?” She was looking skeptic at him.

“No, not that many friends would want to know everything about their smartphone logically. I mean nobody would pay attention to their model number.”

“Hmm,” she hummed. “Well you have to ask your parents to buy you another smartphone.” She leans back on the chair with her pen that is holding on her left hand slightly towards her mouth.

“My parents won’t buy another one?”

“Oh because it’s too expensive.”

“Yeah,” Danny then looked at Felix. “Felix, I was hopping that you have the model code for me,” he said to him.

Felix starts to panic, didn’t know what to do or what to say. He had writtern everything that was in and on his smartphone as well as Danny’s so that in case where Felix or Danny’s smartphone is stolen, Felix can find it by putting the code online and track it where it is. If Felix still had that note, then Danny wouldn’t feel stranded while talking to Angelica.

“Were you had the number,” Danny ask Felix. “The code?

Did you still have it?”

Felix then looked at Danny. He nervously shaking his head.

“I forgot,” he said. “I can’t find.”

Danny sighed heavily as he lies down on Angelica’s bed. He can’t believe that his best friend can’t find the paper. What was Felix doing? He wondered. He could have put it around here somewhere.

“Well tough luck,” Carmine said to Danny and Felix. “You guys are becoming the most pathetic ones to yourselves.”

“Yeah, you lost your smartphone,” Stanley said to Danny.

“You can’t find a code for it,” He then said it to Felix. “So we’re not gonna help you two.”

“Okay,” Danny starts to feel ballistic. “Well we won’t gonna help you guys solving this case then.”

“Fine,” Stanley already folded his arms. “Then let the police solve it instead.”

Angelica gets up out of her seat and walked back beside Carmine and Stanley as the fight between Danny and Stanley starts to emerge.

“Alright alright alright,” Mr. Osborne said, trying to calm them down and preventing them from breaking up. “I know this a bad morning. And I’m really sorry about it Danny. But like I said, think before you can make remark out of your mouth.”

Danny just have a bad day. His mom and dad couldn’t believe that Danny’s smartphone was stolen by a thief. But they also unhappy that he would make that kind of a remark in front of her mother. He was then grounded for a week, except for investigating this current case. Once again, he, along with his

best friend Felix, were not happy to work with people who reject their views.

While the talk is about Danny’s remark and his stolen smartphone, they need to continue investigating a case. They all know Ben Duggs as a potential suspect. The other suspects are Matt Lane, Justin Laz, and George Sark, who have just emerged from today’s Washington Post newspaper. The Washington Post said that police arrested George Sark for information that is connected to Ben Duggs. But it’s a different story that involves a bank robbery. George has stole a thousand of dollars with Ben Duggs from Bank of America without even managed to get noticed. The police somehow know George Sark and his connection with Ben and the gang, but he is easily to be captured than Ben Duggs. They arrest him the following day and interrogated him about this. While it’s a different story, Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica decided to put his name on the list because it was possible that he stole one of the trophies.

The police, on the other hand, were still, too, investigating that same case as well.

“Alright now that we deal with Danny’s smartphone being stolen,” Carmine said as walked a few steps. “Let’s get our focus back on the case. We know that there’s a suspect arrested. His name is George Sark. He is connected to Ben Duggs. He stole a lot of money of the bank. We believe that he was the suspect behind the stealing of the throphies.”

George have been friends with Ben Duggs and his gang.

But while he doesn’t make any trouble with them, he does make trouble by smashing English textbooks. That was due to the fact that he had to repeat the eighth grade. Those

textbooks cost hundreds of dollars and his parents doesn’t have the money. So he has to get a job at a fast-food restaurant, who only pay him twenty dollars an hour. He has to work all weekend long and he’s been there for the past eight weeks. He couldn’t believe he has to work all weekend to pay for those textbooks that he destroyed. Eventually, he had given extra dollars to total enough money to pay them. After that he was told, that if he make another stupid thing, he would be paying a whole lot more or he’ll be kicked out of high school.

Even he was in high school now, he still not happy that he had to repeat the eighth grade. His grades are not that high since seventh grade. His behavior was most problematic, the same as Alex Huggerman in the past days. Although it was not clear to everyone that he was one of the thieves who stole the sports trophies, Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica were the ones to believe.

“Okay George Sark is now in the list,” Angelica said.

“What about Justin Laz?” Stanley asked. “Could we go to his location?”

“We have to dig more information about him, Stanley,” she said.

“That’s right we have to ask more people who knew him,” Carmine agreed.

Mr. Osborne had a thought for a moment. “How about asking the gym teachers,” he suggested.

“Or maybe Alex Huggerman’s friends,” Felix added.

The group suddenly looked at him as if he was referring to Ben Duggs’.

“Friends that are not bad people,” Felix clearly. “That are not related to Ben Duggs.”

“Oh,” the group said it slowly as they sighed for relief.

“Maybe we can ask them as well,” Mr. Osborne said before he got confused. “Um…who are those friends, Felix?”

“Huh,” Felix lost for a moment.

“Do you know them?”

Felix got slightly panicked again. “Huhhh….No,” he said.

“I’m just wondering if Alex has any friends now that he doesn’t hang out with Ben.” The group looked at each other, wondering the same thing. Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica might have remembered when Mr. Standman said that Alex Huggerman is a friend. But the teacher didn’t say who is who and they probably thinking that he is referring it to Ben Duggs, which Alex Huggerman says he’s no longer contact to.

“Can we call Alex Huggerman by phone?” Mr. Osborne said. “Do you guys have his information down already?”

“We do,” Stanley said showing him a piece of paper that has Alex Huggerman’s address, phone number, and email address.

“Alright see if we can call him right now.”

“But wait,” Danny stopped the movement. “What if Alex was practicing sports or something?”

Carmine, Stanley, Angelica, and Mr. Osborne looked at each other. They haven’t heard him say he was on a football team or on a basketball team. “No,” they said it together while they shake their heads.

“I don’t think Alex is ether on a sports team,” Angelica agreed.

“Yeah,” Carmine agreed.

“Yep,” Stanley said.

“So let’s call him now,” Mr. Osborne said as he takes out his smartphone.

Stanley give Mr. Osborne the paper so that Mr. Osborne can call Alex Huggerman’s phone number. He dial it and put his phone on his right ear.

“Hello,” Alex Huggerman answered. Alex Huggerman is sitting down on his bed, leaning on the bed’s wall, while doing his algebra homework. He was doing fine so far after a few troubled months. And he starts to manage to stay away from Ben Duggs. He starts to have good grades and he plans to have an honor roll in the next few weeks. He is now a very nice person who hangs out with good friends. Good friends that don’t involve in gang stuff like stealing candy or money, or murdering people.

“Yes is this Alex Huggerman?” Mr. Osborne asked.

“Yeah.”

“Um hi, this is Mr. Osborne. We’re calling you because we want to know if you have good friends to speak to.”

The rest of the group listen to Mr. Osborne but not Alex Huggerman as Mr. Osborne’s smartphone was not on speaker.

“Um, I do speak to Joshua Penny,” Alex Huggerman said.

“He’s in my History class.”

“Joshua Penny?” Mr. Osborne said.

“Yeah.”

“Hey Angelica can I borrow your pen and paper?”

“Sure,” she said as she walked towards her computer desk again. She puts another piece of paper and her pen on the desk so that Mr. Osborne can sit down and write it.

“Thank you Angelica,” Mr. Osborne said as she sat down on the computer chair.

“You’re welcome,” she said as she went back standing besides Carmine and Stanley.

“So Joshua Penny is your friend?” Mr. Osborne turn back at his phone to Alex Huggerman.

“Um yes,” Alex Huggerman said. “We’ve been friends since this History class. The history class for this semester.” He was trying to clarify that it was his second semester of history class with a different teacher and a different group of students, but same subject. Not that he was failing a class nor he was behaving badly, he was a good student and did what he need to do. It’s that it’s usually for some students to be marked in another section of the class but with the same topics that the teachers in a subject will teach.

“Is he at home right now?” Mr. Osborne asked.

“Uhhh no he is at the chess club right now.”

“Oh he’s at the chess club.”

“Yep.” “Any others?”

“Clifford Kanouski and Michael Outsburg.”

“Clifford what?” Mr. Osborne narrow his eyebrows as he heard a name that he didn’t understand before.

“Clifford Kanouski. K.” Alex Huggerman starts to spell their last names so that Mr. Osborne can write them. “A. N. O.U. S. K. I.”

“Alright Clifford Kanouski,” Mr. Osborne said. “And Michael…,” he waits for that student’s last name.

“Outsburg.”

“Oustburg?”

“No Outsburg O.U.T.” “Hold on hold on,” Mr. Osborne starts writing again. “Can you spell his last name now?”

“O. U. T. S. B. U. R. G.” “Michael Outsburg,” Mr. Osborne said as he written that name.

“Yep.” “Is he here right now?”

“Uhh no.”

“Why not?”

Alex Huggerman is trying to figure out where Michael is. “I think he said that…yeah he is hanging out with someone else.

“Who?” “I don’t know.”

Michael Outsburg, an Asian-American, is hanging out at a friend’s house tutoring Justin Ock, who needs help with mathematics. Michael and Justin were friends since middle school but they went into separate buildings. Though, it seems that Michael is smarter than Justin, as it can tells from their report cards. Michael is an A and B student, which means Justin is probably a B and C student. As a result, Michael makes a deal to tutor Justin. Since then, they hang out on the malls, movie theaters, and sometimes at the park.

Michael, overall, is an outgoing person. He takes a few walks right after school. But sometimes he was very concerned

that some rebel would kidnapped him. He tried to think smart of going places that would ultimately be dangerous. Sometimes when he usually walks, there’s a possibility that there’s gonna be an terrible incident wheather it’s targeted at him or not. At one point, he was about to walk home the usual way after school. But when he starts to believe that someone would attack him, and it is a black man walking around with a mask on and a bat walking around the sidewalk on that day, waiting to kill anybody. As soon as Michael notices very well, he warns everybody that if anyone of them would go on that path, they will be killed. It’s a close for him and the student body.

“Okay can you describe those two for us,” Mr. Osborne puts dashes besides their names.

Joshua Penny has long brown surfer hair and wears medium zipped-down sweaters. Clifford Kanouski has a spiked mohawk with tee shirts and short tight pants. And Michael Outsburg has emo hair and a zipped down sweater over a tshirt and dark blue jeans.

Mr. Osborne has all writtern down on the same paper.

“Hey Angelica, is there a copier?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said pointing to the printer that is on top of her computer desk.

“How can I copy?” he gets up as she walked back toward her desk.

She showed him how to use a copier to copy pages.

“Oh thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” she said.

“Alright thank you very much,” he said to Alex Huggerman.

“You’re welcome,” Alex Huggerman said before they hang up their smartphone.

Mr. Osborne made several copies of the paper that he had just written. “Here you go,” he said as he gives copies to Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica.

“Thanks,” Carmine said.

“Thank you sir,” Angelica said.

“And another two copies for you two idiots,” Mr. Osborne said to Danny and Felix as he gives these papers to them.

Danny and Felix roll their eyes as they take the copies from him.

“Whatever,” Felix said, looking down at the copy.

“Alright,” Mr. Osborne said, rubbing his hands, feeling that we had information to cover. He’s actually not reating to Felix’s respone. “Tomorrow we can find Alex Hugerman and/or any of his friends. And then we can ask questions about this case. If you guys find any of them at lunch, in fact I made you guys copies so that when you see any of them that match the descriptions, you’ll ask questions related to Ben Duggs.”

“Well me and Felix are not gonna investigate,” Danny said.

“Why not?”

“Because…”

“Because you guys wanna hangout okay,” Mr. Osborne said bluntly.

Danny and Felix sighed arrogantly.

“Okay you three go on your mission,” Mr. Osborne turns to Carmine, Stanley and Angelica. “Oh sorry,” he shook his head quickly and put his right hand on his forehead for a few seconds. “I mean on your…”

“Assignment,” Stanley finish his sentence.

“Yeah,” Mr. Osborne nodded. “So I see you Angelica tomorrow. Carmine, Stanley, Danny, Felix, we’re out,” he said it smoothly.

Carmine and Stanley waved to Angelica as they exit out of her room. In contrast, Danny and Felix got up from their seats and exit out of her room without saying goodbye to her.

“You guys are pretty arseholes,” Angelica said, referring to Danny and Felix, as she folded her arms.

“Yeah Angelica,” Mr. Osborne said. “I can really see that Danny and Felix hate girls.” He then smiled. “Well then once again, you have a nice day,” he said as he exit out of her room.

“You too.”

Elsewhere (we turning into the other direction of the story) The Montgomery County Police Department is still investigating the same case as Carmine and his friends. They had just arrested George Sark for suspicion of bank robbery.

But now details start to emerge from the DNA center that George Sark might also be a suspect who stole one of the sports trophies in the high school. Police officers Laura, John, and Jack were informed by officer Sarah Munn who has just got a call from the DNA office. The DNA Center has also identify Ben Duggs, Justin Laz, and Matt Lane as suspects of this case and the police officers were confident that they stole the sports trohpies.

Officer Laura is walking towards Officer Joan Lee’s office.

Joan is filling out papers related to the suspects. “Hey Joan what’s the latest?” she asked.

“Well Ben Duggs is confirmed as a suspect according to the DNA office,” she looks up. “He is currently at his house.”

“Grab the police together. I’m on my way to his house,” Officer Laura walks down Officers John and Jack. “Alright are we ready?” she asked.

“Yep,” Officer John said.

“Time to burst down that house,” Officer Jack said.

“Well actually Ben Duggs is living with his parents. He’s a teenager.”

“Oh okay. At least we don’t have SWAT team available.”

Police Officer Naomi Hum walks towards the officers with papers in her hands.

“What’s that Naomi?” Officer Laura asked.

“The addresses of the suspects,” Officer Naomi said as she hands them the papers.

The officers look at it.

“Alright,” Officer Laura said. “We’ll put the address to the GPS and start arresting people.” She turns to Officers Jack and John. “Are you ready?” she asked them.

“Ready mam,” Officer John said as he closes the folder.

Officer Jack nodded his head.

“Alright let’s do this,” Officer Laura starts to walk down the office hallway. “Alright we gonna recruit some men to track down the suspects,” she said to the walkie-talkie.

“Alright what do you need?” Officer Jenny said on her walkie-talkie. She was on the top level of the headquarters building.

“We need police unit of the spring bureau.”

“Okay. What location?”

“Well we have three locations, one of them I’m traveling with John and Jack. His name is Ben Duggs.”

“Ben Duggs?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh so you want for the police unit to capture Ben Duggs and his gang members.”

“That’s right. We’re going to Ben Duggs, tell them to go on the other suspects conntected to him.”

“Okay I’m gonna tell them right now.”

“Good,” Officer Laura puts her walkie-talkie back on her belt. “Jenny is gonna bring the crew in to bring his suspects,” she said to John and Jack. “Ben Dugg’s gang members.”

They quickly begin to exit out of the building and head into their police cars.

“Call Unit 221 we’re on a hunt for Ben Duggs and his gang members,” Officer Laura declared as she and her men went into the car. Officer John is behind the wheel sitting beside Officer Laura while Officer Jack went into the other police car.

“Call Unit 221 we’re on a hunt for Ben Duggs and his gang members,” Officer Jack repeated on his walkie-talkie as he went into his car.

They went on the movie.

Unit 221, the police bureau in Silver Spring, has been globbed up to find what they have been told: Arrest Ben Dugg’s gang members, Justin Laz and Matt Lane. The police unit have been split to arrest those potential suspects.

“Calling all police units,” Officer Laura Moss said on her walkie-talkie. “This is Unit 221. We split up to find the suspects.

I’m on split #1 finding Justin Laz. Officer Laura, can you describe him please?”

“He is white male,” Officer Laura said. “He has almost a bald head and believed to be wearing sweaters,” she slowly paused right there as she think she remember him from the police drawlings. For a moment, she looked skeptical. “If you see him, please arrested him,” she told Officer Laura Moss. “If my calculations are not correct, then that’s okay. Remember, I know it from the DNA.” “Okay good luck,” Officer Laura Moss said.

“You too,” they turn off their walkie-talkies. Officer Laura looked at Officer John. “How many miles left until we get to Ben Duggs?” she asked him.

“How about 13 miles left we’re almost there,” Officer John said, who’s driving slightly faster even though they didn’t pull their siren.

On Unit 221 Split #1, the police officers landed on Justin Laz’ house. Officer Laura Moss jumped out of the car and looked at the front door.

“Alright,” she said to the men before looking back at the front door. “Let’s knock on the door.”

They start walking toward the door with her leading in front. She walked on the entrance steps and rang the doorbell.

They’re waiting for an answer.

Then the door opens to reveal it Justin Laz’s mother.

“Hi we’re looking for Justin Laz, is this Justin Laz’s mother?” Officer Laura asked.

“Huh yeah,” Ms. Laz said.

“We believed that he was one of the suspects that stole the sports trophies in high school.”

Ms. Laz’s eyebrows raised. “Really?” she asked. She looked back and forth. “You mean he was…,” “He was one of the suspects who stole them, I’m sorry, mam. Is he in here?”

“Um no.”

“He’s not in here?” Officer Laura Mass slightly raise her eyebrows.

“No he’s in Matt’s house.”

“Matt Lane?”

Ms. Laz shakes his head in doubt. “I don’t know.”

“Alright I think it’s Matt Lane,” Officer Laura Moss starts to walk the steps down. “Thanks anyway.”

“We appreciated for answering the door,” One policeman said.

“You’re welcome.”

He and the rest of them followed Officer Laura Moss as they were moving along to find both Justin and Matt, which is the rest of Unit 221 is looking for.

“Alright Unit 221 do you find Matt Lane yet?” Officer Laura Moss asked on her walkie-talkie.

“Not yet we almost there,” Officer Josh Ramos said. He is behind the wheel of one of the police cars driving to Matt Lane’s house.

“Well let me tell you, Justin Laz isn’t in his house. His mom told us that he should be in Matt’s house, which you guys going and we’ll be going with you guys as well now.”

“Alright we believe in you. Just be careful.”

“Okay,” she turns off her walkie-talkie. “Guys let’s roll,” she shouted at the policemen.

Then they all went back into their respective cars and start driving back into the road.

“Calling all police officers,” Officer Laura Moss said on her walkie-talkie while riding. “Justin Laz is not in his house and we believed to be in Matt Lane’s house. Whether or not he’s coving his ass, we must arrest him.”

“Okay, we’re on a way to Ben Duggs’ house,” Officer Laura said. She is on the regular unit with Officers John and Jack. “You saying Justin Laz is not in his house, correct?”

“Correct. Right now we driving in with the rest of Unit 221.”

“Ah. Calling all agents, we almost there to Matt Lane’s house,” Officer Josh Ramos said on his walkie-talkie. He was on the other side of Unit 221 with the other policemen.

“Good.”

Unit 221 Split #2 are driving the nearest road to get to Matt Lane. As they turn left to another road, they’re driving three blocks to his house. After that, they reached to Matt Lane’s house. The police cars are scattered with one police car parks on the parking yard in front of two cars parked while the rest of the police cars park parallel beside the front yard.

“Alright calling all agents, we’re now on Matt Lane’s house,” Officer Josh Ramos updates. “Officer Moss, you said that Justin Laz is in house, is that correct?”

“I believe so,” Officer Laura Moss said. “That’s what his mom told me but she couldn’t say his last name.”

“Alright we’re coming in right now.” Officer Josh Ramos as well as the other policemen, who either off or getting off their police cars, start heading toward the front door. Officer Josh Ramos rang the doorbell before putting his hands on his hips.

The front door opens to reveal its Mr. Lane, Matt Lane’s father. When he sees the police, he immediately start shaking his head in horror.

“Are you Mr. Lane?” Officer Josh Ramos asked.

“Yeah is my son in trouble?” Mr. Lane asked without pausing a sentence.

“We believe so. There’s an incident that happened in high school that have sports trophies stolen and one of the indications that your son is one of the suspects.”

Just as Ramos talk to Mr. Lane, one policeman notice someone walking from downstairs and behind Mr. Lane. “Um excuse me,” he said interrupting the conversation.

“Yes,” Officer Josh Ramos said to the policeman.

“Is that Justin Laz?” “Huh yeah,” Mr. Lane said.

“He was one of the suspects too,” the policeman said to Officer Josh Ramos.

“Alright can we bring Matt and Justin in please?” Officer Josh Ramos asked Mr. Lane.

Mr. Lane was horrified that his son was in trouble. But he do it like the police officers told as he moves his head. “Matt, Justin,” he said.

Justin turns around to look at him. He was gonna throw his trash away.

“The police wants you.”

Justin narrows his eyebrows. He can’t believe the police is looking for him and his friend Matt. “What?!” he said as he quickly start walking down the front door beside Mr. Lane to face the police. “Are you kidding?” he asked them.

“No we’re not kidding,” Officer Josh Ramos said.

Just as this conversation escalates, Matt Lane walks downstairs. He, too, narrow his eyebrows. He can’t believe the police is here to arrest him. He tried to sneaky walk back upstairs, but his father caught him.

“Hey,” Mr. Lane said.

Matt Lane slowly looked at him.

“I know you trying to cover your ass but I’m sorry.”

“Yeah get your ass in here,” Officer Josh Ramos said as he peak his head in the door.

“But dad,” Matt Lane trying to explain as he walked downstairs.

“I’m sorry son,” Mr. Lane said. “I said I’m sorry son. But like I said, the police wants you.”

Matt Lane walked beside his friend Justin in front of the police.

“Okay you two were identified that you stole sports trophies from your school, is that true?” Officer Josh Ramos asked.

Matt and Justin looked at each other in horror before looking back at the police officer. Then they start chuckle.

“Really?” Justin asked.

“Yes really,” Officer Josh Ramos said as he’s looking dead serious.

“No,” Matt said as he and Justin looked at each other again. “That’s not true.”

“I’m afraid it is.”

“We didn’t steal sports trophies,” Justin said.

“I’m afraid there’s information that you guys did,” Two of the policemen have handcuffs up in the air ready for Justin and Matt.

“You two are under arrest,” one policeman said.

“But uh…,” Justin said before he and Matt attempt escape.

The attempt is immediately foiled as Mr. Lane grab both of their arms.

“Nah huh,” Mr. Lane said as he gives them to the two policemen with opened cuffs in their hands.

The policemen starts handcuffing Justin and Matt.

Justin and Matt feels angry over this as the police unit starts taking them to Officer Josh Ramos’ police car.

“Thanks very much,” Officer Josh Ramos said to Mr. Lane.

Mr. Lane sighed. “You’re welcome,” he said.

“I’m sorry that your son got in trouble,” Officer Josh Ramos pat him on the back. “But it’s your son’s fault. We have to arrest him.”

“Okay.”

Officer Josh Ramos pat him again. “Take care,” he said.

Mr. Lane nodded before he starts closing the front door.

Officer Josh Ramos starts walking away from the front door and heads back toward his police car where Justin Laz and Matt Lane were on the back seat. He gets back inside with Officer James Lee, who is behind the wheel.

Justin shook his head in disbelief.

“Calling all police units,” Officer Josh Ramos said on his walkie-talkie. “We just arrested Justin Laz and Matt Lane. We’re heading back to the police station.”

“Good job,” Officer Laura Moss said. “Calling police Unit 221 who heading to Matt Lane’s house. Matt Lane and Justin Laz are arrested. We should now make another direction to head back to the police headquarters.”

Officers Laura and John, as well Officer Jack who is on his police car, have reached Ben Duggs’ house.

They park their police cars parallel beside the front backyard. After that, the police officers got off and looked at the house.

“Okay we’re calling all agents to tell you that we have reached Ben Duggs’ house,” Officer Laura said on her walkietalkie. “We must suspect that it’s the right address and Ben Duggs is supposed to be here in that house.”

“Alright you guys on the regular unit good luck, we’re heading out back to the police headquarters,” Officer Laura Moss said whose unit is now going back to where she said as well as the rest of the unit who now has Justin and Matt.

“Okay thanks,” Officer Laura puts her walkie-talkie on her belt. She and Officers John and Jack start walking down the sidewalk.

“So Ben Duggs must be in this house,” Officer John said.

“He should be because it’s the right address to him,” she said without looking. “If he’s not in his house, we calling all of the police units to capture him,” she then stopped walking to look at Officers Jack and John. She continues walking to the

entrance steps. Then when they reached to the front door, she rang the doorbell.

After a few seconds, the door opens to reveal it’s Ms. Duggs, Ben Duggs’ mother.

“Hi can I help you?” Ms. Duggs asked.

“Well is Ben Duggs with you?” Officer John asked.

“Yes what’s the problem?”

“Ms. Duggs we have a connection to a case we currently investigating,” Officer Laura explains. “There’s an incident involving the missing sports trophies and we belive that your son is the suspect.”

Ms. Duggs is rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “Oh lord here we go again,” she said before peeking her head in the door. “Ben come here!” she shouted before she looks back at the police. “I’m sorry about this,” she said calmly to them.

“No,” Officer Laura shakes her head. “You don’t need to be sorry about. It’s not your fault. You have to keep your son in control, which you tried,” she shrug her shoulders as she said it.

“But we have to get him arrested.”

As they talk, Ben Duggs emerge from the door. He was wearing a tank top. He immediately frowned when he saw the police. “Oh crap,” he said.

“Are you Ben Duggs?” Officer Laura asked.

“Yeah.”

“Then you’re under arrest.”

Officer John hold the handcuffs in the air from his pockets and starting handcuffing Ben Duggs, who gives a surprise look at the police officers.

“Don’t look at me like that let’s go,” Officer Laura begins to walk off while Officer John takes Ben Duggs with them.

“Thank you Ms. Duggs,” Officer Laura glanced at her before continuing walking to their cars.

“You’re welcome,” Ms. Duggs said before closing the door.

Officer Laura and John take Ben Duggs in the back seat as they get into their car, along with Officer Josh who is in his police car. They then start their engines and start driving away.

“Okay Ben Duggs,” Officer Laura said without looking.

“You’re the suspect of this?”

“You know the throphy-stealing situation,” she looked at him through the mirror.

“Look I wasn’t stealing,” Ben Duggs tries to defend himself.

“Really? I hear reports from our other officers and your teachers indicating that you and your friends stole the sports trophies one night.”

Ben Duggs shakes his head with a smirk. “Well,” he chuckle. “I don’t believe so. I don’t believe me and my friends steal them.”

“Okay,” she glanced back at him. “You trying to save your ass from this. Don’t, because I know you’re the suspect.”

Ben Duggs hist his teeth.

“Don’t hist your teeth at me.”

Officer John, who is behind the wheel pay attention to the road, pulls the walkie-talkie from the control area. “Unit 221,” he begin. “Calling all agents. We’re found Ben Duggs, we’re heading back to the police headquarters.”

“Good job,” Officer Laura Moss said on her walkie-talkie.

“Looks like our mission is complete.”

Less than an hour later, all of the police units who capture the suspects drove back to the police headquarters.

Officers Josh Ramos and his team, who capture Justin Laz and Matt Lane, take them out of the back seat. Officers Laura and John took Ben Duggs out of their back seat. The rest of the officers, including officers Laura Moss and Josh, are walking into the police entrance with them.

“Alright boys,” Officer Josh Ramos said to the suspects.

“We’re taking you guys to the interrogation room.”

“So that we can ask you questions regarding the situation,” Officer Laura said.

They headed through the police main office and a few seconds later, taking them into the integration rooms one by one. Officer Laura and John take Ben Duggs to room 1, Officer Josh Ramos take Justin Lax on room 2, Officer Laura Moss took Matt Lane on room 3, and Officer Josh went to room 4 where George Sark was already seating. George Sark was put by the DNA people who had got word of them arriving at this time.

The suspects sat down on their only chairs in front of the tables while the police officers are standing, either walking around or not.

Officer Josh Ramos, Officer Neil Barns, and Officer Kristina Lee, on Justin Lax: “So Justin,” Officer Josh Ramos said, who is walking around with his hands folded on his back. “What are you and Matt doing? Playing video games?”

Officers Neil Barns and Kristina Lee suddenly glanced straight at him.

Justin Lax took a deep breath.

“I’m waiting for an answer Justin,” Officer Josh Ramos said with a grim.

“Okay,” Justin Laz shake his head. “Yes we’re playing video games. He invited me out.”

“Hmm,” Officer Josh Ramos looked at him and the floor back and forth. “Do you guys plays Grand Theif Auto?”

“Uhhh…,” Justin Laz stuttered. “Why did you asked?”

“Why did I asked,” Officer Josh Ramos haulted and glanced straight at him.

“Justin stop your foolishness,” Officer Kristina Lee said.

“Yeah cut the crap,” Officer Neil Barns said. “You guys play Grand Theif Auto.”

Justin Lax obiously can’t seem to defend himself after those remarks. “Yes,” he admitted. “I play Grand Thieft Auto.”

Officer Josh Ramos nodded before he continues walking around. “Do you guys know that it’s a violent game and you’re not allowed to play it?”

“My mom doesn’t allowed me to buy, but my dad did and he told me to don’t get chaught.”

“Why does your father listen to your mother?” Officer Kristina Lee asked him.

“Because he thinks my mom was clueless.”

“Oh so your mom is clueless huh,” she nodded like crazy.

“Yeah she worries about me a lot. He tells her to be quiet.”

Officer Kristina Lee pissed off as she glanced left.

“You know you’re becoming a terrible man,” Officer Neil Barns said. “Right?”

“I’m not becoming a terrible man,” Justin Laz said.

“Oh yes you are. Are you planning a school massacre?”

Justin Laz immediately got off-guard. “What?” he asked while narrowing his eyebrows.

Officer Neil Barns walks closer and touch the table with both of his hands wide apart while looking straight at him.

Justin Lax jumped up.

“A school massacre,” Officer Neil Barns said. “Are you planning a school massacre?”

Justin Laz got a questionable look on his face with his mouth slightly opened.

“Oh don’t look at us like that?” Officer Kristina Lee said with her head shake before folding her arms. “You must be planning something.”

After a few seconds of pause, with Justin Laz refusing to answer, Officer Josh Ramos begins to talking.

“Alright now that we get to the hobby question,” officer Josh Ramos said. “The reason why we take you and you guys into this room is because of the invesgation that we got into since it first occurred last week in high school.”

“And we believe that you and your stupid friends are the suspects,” Officer Kristina Lee said.

“My friends are not…” Justin Lax jumped out of his seat to defend.

“SIT DOWN!” Justin Lax got quiet. He then looks at Officers Josh Ramos and Neil Barns left and right before sitting back down.

“Justin,” Officer Josh Ramos, said calmly. “I’m gonna ask you simple questions. Well actually a lot of questions. Are you friends with Ben Duggs?”

Justin Lax glanced at him for a moment before glancing at the other officers, who are waiting for his answer. He then looked back at Josh Ramos.

“I’m waiting for an answer,” Officer Josh Ramos said it again.

Justin Lax sighed and looked down. “Yes,” he whispered.

“Is that a yes?” Officer Josh Ramos asked like he didn’t hear him.

“I said yes,” Justin Lax quickly glanced at him again.

“Don’t shout at me.”

They suddenly start at beat. Officer Neil Barns shakes his head while Officer Kristina Lee covers her eyes with her right hand in disbelief.

Justin Laz and Officer Josh Ramos start to calm themselves down.

“So you’re friends with Ben Duggs huh,” Officer Josh Ramos said.

Justin Laz is still glancing at him, who nodded.

“Well it looks like you gonna have a long intervision with us.”

Justin Laz looks at the officers, now shaking his head in disbelief.

Officer Laura Moss, Officer Jenny Knocks, and Officer Rob Lee, on Matt Lane: “Hello Matt,” Officer Laura Moss said as she sat down in a chair folding her hands in front of the table and Matt Lane, who is sitting down on the other side. She sat beside Officer Jenny

Knocks, who is standing and folding her arms while looking straight at him.

Matt Lane took a deep breath.

“What were you doing in your house with him?”

“Yeah why did you invite Justin?” Officer Jenny Knocks asked.

Matt Lane shook his head in confusion.

“We’re waiting for an answer,” Officer Laura Moss said.

“Why did you invite him to your house?”

He sighed. “I invite him to my house so that we can play video games,” he said.

“Oh video games huh,” she nodded.

“What video game?” Officer Jenny Knocks asked.

“Um…,” he stuttered.

The female officer stared at him.

“Okay Grand Theift Auto,” he spit it out.

“Grand Theft Auto?” Officer Laura Moss surprised.

“Yes.” “You mean you boys play the most violent game ever?”

Officer Jenny Knocks said as she put her right hand on the table while putting her left hand on her hips.

“Yes.” “How dare you,” Officer Laura Moss narrow her eyebrows.

“You guys should be punished for this.”

“Punished?” Matt Lane chuckle.

“Yes your parents will take away your video games and grounded for life.”

“My parents would never do that.”

Officer Laura Moss slightly raise her eyebrows. “Really?” she asked.

“Yeah my mother is totally okay with it.”

“Whoa whoa whoa wait,” Officer Jenny Knocks said as she got off-guard. “You mean you mother is okay for you playing this inappropriate game.”

“Oh c’mon it’s not that inappropriate.”

“Yes it is. Your mother should be ashamed of yourself.”

“Alright can we move on from this video game story and get right into the reason why we arrest him,” Officer Rob Lee said to the female officers as he felt bored at this. He was already leaning with his left hand on his chin while his left elbow is touched by his right hand.

They then looked at each other before looking back at Matt Lane.

“The reason why we arrest you Matt,” Officer Rob Lee continued. “Is because there’s an incident that happened in high school a few weeks ago and our DNA proves that you’re one of the subjects.” He creepy walks closer to him as he talks.

He was then besides the female officers to his right.

“Look first of all,” Matt Lane suddenly frowned, quickly trying to defend himself. “Yes there’s a robbery at school, but I’m not the one who stole them.”

“So who stole them?” Officer Laura Moss asked straight at him.

“I don’t know,” he stuttered.

“You don’t know?”

“C’mon tell us the truth do you know who stole those trophies?” Officer Jenny Knocks asked vigoulusy.

“What trophies?”

“Stop acting like you don’t know,” Officer Laura Moss yelled.

“Really I don’t know,” Matt Lane said as he stands up out of his seat. He is still trying to defend himself.

“Really?” She then stands up. “You don’t know who stole the sports trophies?”

He suddenly lost his words. He couldn’t feel like covering up his ass that much.

Officer Josh on George Sark: “George,” Officer Josh said as he sat down on his chair in front of him with a notepad and pen on the desk.

“Yes,” George Sark said it very polity like a gentleman.

Officer Josh does not it take it lightly. “Cut the smile off your face,” he demanded. “This is the interrogation. You linked to a gang that has been the subject of this case.”

“Look…,” “No,” Officer Josh shaking his head. “I’m not gonna let you speak until I’m finish talking.”

George Sark sighed without a word.

Officer Josh takes a look at his notepad and taking notes.

Right now, it’s piece and quiet. George Sark is not allowed to talk until Officer Josh says so.

After taking notes, Officer Josh looked at George Sark as he put his pen down. “Alright I got the information down on the pages,” he begins talking. He then folded his hands while pressing his elbows on the table. “First of all,” he said to George Sark. “We already arrested you on a bank robbery that

happened months ago. You stole a thousand dollars from the bank and we strongly encouraged you to give that money back to that bank. You understand?” his voice starts to get strict.

George Sark didn’t say a word.

Officer Josh takes a quick look at his notepad before looking back at him. “Second of all, you have been well conncected to Ben Duggs, have you?”

George Sark once again didn’t say a word. He didn’t even nod his head when he was asked a question.

“I believe so,” Officer Josh nodded as he flips through his notepad. He then looked back at him once again. “You’re a gang member,” he said it qiuetly before flipping his notepad again.

George Sark is still quiet, just what Officer Josh wanted.

“Now,” Officer Josh looks at him again. “Like I said, you’re arrested. You’re now with me talking to you about you stupid schemes with your…gangmembers,” he said it with a whisper at the end.

George Sark is started to get a little bit scared and angry both at the same time.

“Now third of all,” Officer Josh continued. “We have recently found new evidence. Evidence that you stole some of the sports trophies at high school. The 1999 Basketball Championship, the 1988 Basketball Award, the 2003 Football Championship, the 2006 Soccer Championship, etc.” He then looked at the notepad again. “Yep,” he said before looking back at him. “That’s the awards that you stole.”

George Sark is still quiet; anxiously want to defend himself and his friends.

“Your gym teachers have told us that you and your friends were believed to be thiefs at this situation. Is that true?”

George Sark didn’t answer the question.

Officer Josh nodded. “I believe so,” he said. “Now you guys are going to jail for about a long period of time.” He starts to smile. “Now that I finished my explanation, why won’t you start definding yourself and your friends.”

“Okay,” George Sark said before taking a deep breath.

“First of all, yes. I did stole thousands of money from a bank with Ben Duggs. But I won’t returning the money.”

“Why not?” Officer Josh asked calmly with a grim.

“Because the bank have a history of disrespect employees unable to transfer money to customers.”

“Really?” Officer Josh didn’t get into further. He looks at his notepad once again. “Alright continue.”

“Second of all, yes I’m friends with Ben Duggs. But Ben Duggs is nowhere to be found.”

“And why is that?”

“I think he knows every move you guys make.”

“Oh really?” Officer Josh nodded with a fake smile.

George Sark nodded as well.

“Well guess what idiot, we arrested him.”

George Sark quickly raise his eyebrows. “You’re what,” he said.

“Yes George,” Officer Josh stomped both hands apart on the table. “We arrested your leader.”

George Sark with his mouth open, staring at him, shaking his head, couldn’t believe it. “How?” he asked.

“We found his location from our internet archive.”

George Sark is still shaking his head slowly.

“Yep. We got our computers powerful enough to capture bad guys.”

“Then we gonna bust those computers down because you have no right do it,” George Sark starts talking in a mean way.

“Well then go ahead,” Officer Josh chuckle. “Go ahead.

Let’s see what happens then.”

Officer Laura and John on Ben Duggs: Officer Laura is already sitting down on her chair in front of Ben Duggs. Officer John is standing behind her looking straight at him.

“Mr. Duggs can I ask you something,” Officer Laura asked.

“Before we arrest you, what were you doing?”

“Um, I don’t know,” After all of the questions they answered, Ben Duggs and the gang were swear that they didn’t commit doing such an incident at high school, even though they actually did. They simply said that in order to defend themselves. They just think that their gym teachers are nasty enough to get them in trouble. After the intergoation, they were all released by the police.

Officers Laura, Josh, John, Josh Ramos, Laura Moss, Jenny Knocks, Rob Lee, Neil Barns, Kristina Lee are watch the gang walking away from them. They’re taking a bus station.

“You know,” Officer Laura said as she slowly shaking her head. “I’m kinda feeling these guys are playing a game with us.”

Officer Laura Moss halted. “You know what,” she begins to nod her head. “You’re right,” she agreed. “These boys might be playing a trick.”

“Well we can’t tell until we fully concluded our investigation,” Officer Kristina Lee said.

“That’s right we have to conduct our DNA test again to see if these are the right suspects,” Officer Jenny Knocks said.

“I feel like I’m bored,” Officer Rob Lee said as he about face and start walking.

“Yeah me too,” Officer Neil Barns said.

“Everyone back to your office,” Officer Josh Ramos said.

The police officer start walking apart into the destinations.

The next day, Mr. Osborne is walking down the sidewalk.

It’s 6:00am. He was a few hours before going to work. Suddenly as he walk past him, he saw an asian boy with emo hair. He’s wearing a zip-down sweater. Mr. Osborne turns around and starts asking him who he is. “Um, excuse me,” he said.

The boy halted, looked up, taking off his earphones.

“I’m not trying to stalk you, but your first name is Michael?”

“Yeah.”

“Outsburg?”

“Yes,” Michael Oustburg suddenly got confused. “Wait,” he said. “How did you know my name?”

“Well do you know Alex Huggerman?”

“Yes he is my friend. Did he told you my name?”

“Well we thought he had some friends including you that know the Ben Duggs gang.”

Michael Outsburg thought for a moment as he put his finger on his lip. “You know what,” he said before looking back at him. “I think remembered a little bit.”

“A little bit?”

Michael paused again. “Yeah,” he said. “Are you a police officer?”

“Um no actually,” Mr. Osborne chuckled. “I actually worked as a salesman at a car dealer.”

“Oh,” Michael nodded.

“But I’m investigating this case with a few students, including my son, as well so I have been going to their school only two times. I can’t go back and forth.”

Michael nodes again.

Mr. Osborne slightly gasped before he takes out his smartphone. “Would you mind if I take a picture so that my folks can come to you to ask what’s going on?”

Michael thought about it as he puts his finger on his hip again.

“They’re looking for answers and I’m too but I have to go to work at this time,” Mr. Osborne added.

Michael looked up. “Um, sure,” he said as he wouldn’t mind.

“Alrighty,” Mr. Osborne looks at his smartphone, touching the photo app and starts taking a picture. He’s holding it in a standard position, cropping from Michael’s face up to his shoulders. He then snap it. He didn’t ask him to smile. “Thank you,” he said as he puts back his smartphone on his pants pocket.

“You’re welcome,” Michael said as he starts walking past him.

Mr. Osborne starts sending the cropped photo to Carmine, Stanley, Angelica and Felix through text messages as he starts walking again. (Danny still doesn’t have a smartphone back yet) More than an hour later, at school, Carmine is entering the school and he was in the middle of the hallway when he saw Angelica talking to her friend Sarah, both of them are sitting on the same bench beside a big window.

“Angelica, Sarah,” Carmine said as he walks towards them.

The girls looked at him.

“Oh hi Carmine,” Angelica said.

“Hi, we’re just talking about the case that your guys investigating,” Sarah said. She then grabs the newspaper that was in between them and shows it to him. “I just saw today’s headline,” she said. “The police officers believe Ben Duggs and his gang members were suspects, but the guys believe that they’re mistaken.”

“They’re not mistaken, Sarah.”

“I know that. The police officers should’ve looked at the boys’ criminal histories before releasing them.”

“I have to agree with her,” Angelica said.

Carmine nodded before he pulls his smartphone out of his pocket. “Guys,” he said as he starts flipping through text messages on his phone. “Mr. Osborne sent us a picture of one of Alex Huggerman’s friend.” As he finds it, he shows it to them.

“He recently saw him this morning,” he added.

The girls looked at the picture for few seconds. Then as they’re about to stare around the school, they saw a glimpse of

Michael Outsburg, who had just come out of the cafeteria caring a tray of pancakes and orange juice. He was heading out to a classroom.

Carmine, Angelica, and Sarah glanced at each other and wasted no time to catch up to him.

“Excuse me,” Angelica said.

Michael Outsburg glanced back at them.

“Sorry that we interrupt you, but can we have a talk?”

“Um, sure,” Michael said. “But I have to go to a meeting.”

“This morning?” Carmine asked.

“Yeah I’m part of the National Society Club.”

“Oh,” Carmine said as he, Angelica and Sarah nodded their heads.

“Well could we talk to you at lunch,” Angelica asked.

“Sure just walked into Mr. Standman’s classroom. I hangout here.”

“Wait you hang out in Mr. Standman’s classroom?”

“Are you in his class?” Carmine asked.

“Used to be,” Michael said as he starts walking backwards slowly. “This is second semester, and people loved him.” He then turns around and walks away.

Carmine, Angelica, and Sarah looked at each other.

A few hours later, it’s lunchtime and Michael Outsburg is in line in the cafeteria once again, getting his lunch. Meanwhile, Carmine, Angelica, and Sarah who only joins the case for a few minutes (because she is very busy), slowly walked into Mr. Standman’s classroom quietly. Mr. Standman who is reading the day’s newspaper glimpsed at them and folded the paper up

where it was. “Hello,” he said as he flings off the paper at his desk.

“Good morning,” Angelica said. “We believe that a student named Michael Outsburg eats lunch in here, is that true?”

“Yes,” Mr. Standman said as he folded his hands on his desk. “Do you guys need him for something?”

“Ah yeah…,” Carmine stuttered.

“We want to ask questions about Ben Duggs and his gangmembers.”

Mr. Standman thought for a moment. “You mean the same case that is going on for a couple of weeks?” he asked.

“Yes,” Carmine nodded with his eyes widen.

“We want to talk to him in here,” Angelica said as she walked toward him. “We don’t want to take him.” Carmine and Sarah followed her behind. They were a few inches apart.

“Okay,” Mr. Standman nodded. “He’ll be there shortly.”

“Alright,” Sarah said as they walked toward the desk and sat down in their seats. She and Angelica sat beside each other while Carmine sat down in front of Sarah. He is beside an empty seat where Michael Outsburg is going to be sit.

Suddenly Stanley appeared into the classroom. He heard that his friends have met Michael Oustburg and is told to come here to talk to him.

Mr. Standman looked at him. He is already grading papers with his pen. “Oh Hello Stanley,” he said.

“Hi,” Stanley waved at him as he looks around.

“They’re over there,” Mr. Standman points to his friends.

“Okay thanks,” Stanley said as he walked toward them. He pulls out an empty desk that was beside Sarah and titled into a

90 degree angle. He then sat down. “Alright is Michael Outsburg here yet?” he asked.

“Not yet he’s getting lunch,” Angelica said. “Have you seen the photo that Mr. Osborne sent?”

“Yeah, got it on my phone.”

“We asked to talk to him this morning,” Carmine explained. “But he have to go to meeting or something.”

A few minutes later, Michael Outsburg walked into the classroom with a tray of pepperoni pizza made in a circle. He also has a couple of carrets and a ranch cream beside the pizza.

As he walked in, he stumbled across Carmine, Stanley, Angelica, and Sarah who were wating for him. He exchanged confused looks.

“Michael Outsburg right?” Carmine asked.

“They’re waiting for you,” Mr. Standman said to Michael.

To make things interesting, Michael saw that these students don’t have their lunches, which they actually ate. They actually brought packed-lunches, only for one day, he just didn’t see it. Stanley is finishing up his fruit snack.

“Well hello there,” Michael said as he walks up to his empty seat that is front of Angelica. He then put his trey down on his desk.

“Hey Michael,” Sarah said.

“First of all how do you guys know me?” Michael said as he sat down.

“Mr. Osborne sent us a photo of you this morning,” Carmine said.

Stanley pulls out his smartphone from his jeans pocket and shows Michael the photo. It’s taken this early morning when he was walking.

“Wait a minute,” Michael said with eyebrows narrowed.

“You guys are telling me that this man sent this photo to all four of you.”

“Correct,” Carmine, Stanley, Angelica, and Sarah said it together.

“Mr. Osmourne?”

“Mr. Osborne.”

“Oh,” Michael gets it. “Mr. Osborne.”

“Yep,” Sarah said.

“Mr. Osborne is our friend,” Stanley said. “He’s the son of Felix.”

“Oh the stupid student,” Michael nodded, now having a pathetic look on his face. “I believe his dad teach him a lesson about racism.” He then takes a bite out of his pizza.

“I think Mr. Osborne did,” Sarah said before she got a wondering look. “Maybe serveal times.”

“He is the parent of Felix,” Angelica clears up.

“Felix Osborne,” Stanley said.

Michael nodded as took another bite.

“Okay now that he is here,” Carmine said, referring to Michael. “Michael, do you saw any signs of Ben Duggs stealing the sports thropies?”

Michael, while eating, thought for a moment. He put the pizza down. “Hmmm,” he said. “This is the same question that Mr. Osborne said this morning.”

“Yeah, we wanted to know if you know any signs.”

Michael starts to remember. “Uhh…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Stanley asked.

“I didn’t see any signs…” then he stopped for a moment.

“Actually there is signs,” he comes slightly closer to them. “A few weeks ago before the incident, I saw a note inside the history textbook.”

“You mean they wrote a note inside the history textbook?”

Carmine asked.

“Yes,” Michael nodded. “But it wasn’t about planning the robbery nor I wasn’t thinking that they were threatening the gym teachers.” He quickly put one finger in the air before turning to his backpack to pull out the note from inside. “Here,” he said as he showed them the proof right here. “That’s the note.”

Sarah takes the note and starts reading to them.

The note reads: “Mr. Jacks and Mr. Michaels are the most dumbest gym teachers. They pick on teams that we don’t want to be in.

For example, I got to be on the girls team (pissed off laughing) pathetic. The girls are such bitches. The girls don’t even play sports. They just talk, and talk, and talk. In fact, I don’t feel like I’m gonna play with them.

Why can’t Mr. Jacks have us boys kick the girls’ asses. Huh. How about that, Mr. Jacks. Have us boys kick their pussy bitchin asses. For real.

Mr. Jacks and his stupid-ass coach Mr. Michaels should know the difference between good boys and stupid-ass girls. In fact they should have known better already, or I will kick their

fucking ass. I don’t care if I’m going to the police. (Chuckles pathetically) The police doesn’t even know how to find me.

THE END!” Carmine, Stanley, Angelica, and Sarah were pretty shocked as they exchange looks at each other. Michael nodded as if it is true. Even Mr. Standman, who is already on his computer, hears the note.

“Since when did you saw the note in the history textbook?” Carmine asked Michael. “Is it before the incident or after?”

“It is before the incident,” Michael said.

Sarah looked the note back and forth with a questionable look. “There seems to have no name in this,” she said.

“Really, let me see it,” Angelica demanded.

Sarah gives it to Angelica. Carmine and Stanley looked at each other once more before they looked at Angelica, who is reading it.

Stanley almost thinks it’s the controversial duo, because the words are too familiar. “I might be thinking Danny and Felix,” he said. “But I’m not sure if they went to gym.”

“Because they said they hate gym, right?” Carmine said it quickly.

“I gotta believed it’s actually Ben Duggs’ writing,” Angelica said.

“You think so?” Stanley asked.

“Yeah.”

“Can you guys please bring the note?” Mr. Standman asked.

Angelica comes off her desk with the note and walked toward Mr. Standman. She gives him the note.

Mr. Standman looks at it. He pays attention to the writing.

Once again, Angelica looks at Carmine, Stanley, Michael, and Sarah. After that, they looked at each other as they were waiting for Mr. Standman’s response.

“Angelica,” Mr. Standman called as he gives it back to her.

“I believed you’re right.”

She looked surprised, so is her friends, who were slightly dropped their mouths.

“How did you know it’s Ben Duggs?” Mr. Standman asked.

“Well I looked at the last two sentences of the note,” she said.

He looked back at the note and takes notice at the last two sentence. “Well good reading mam,” he said.

“Me and Sarah read today’s newspaper.”

Sarah waved her hand at him.

“The arrest of Ben Duggs is the headline,” Angelica continued.

He nodded before staring back at the note. “I’ll might have to tell Mr. Jacks right now,” he said.

“No,” the group yelled.

“I’ll take it to Mr. Jacks,” Michael jumped out of seat. He didn’t even finished his lunch.

“Me too,” Carmine said, jumping out of his seat.

“I’m going with them,” Stanley said to Mr. Standman.

Mr. Standman gives it back to Angelica, which in turn gives it back to Michael, who then exits out of the classroom along with Carmine and Stanley.

“Good luck,” Angelica said.

“Thanks,” the boys said.

A few seconds later, Carmine, Stanley, and Michael Oustburg were in the hallway to the gym. The lockers room were to their left and the gymnasium is to their right. The locker rooms also have their offices respectfully. The boys went into the men’s office that was beside the boys’ locker room.

The office door was open. They walked in front of it and saw Mr. Michaels talking to Ms. Robins. They then halted talking and looked at them.

“Hello,” Mr. Michaels said. “Can I help you?”

“We’re here to give this note,” Carmine said, entering the room with Stanley and Michael with the note on his right hand.

He gives it to Mr. Michaels who takes a look at it.

After a few seconds, Mr. Michaels believed who it is. “Oh,” he nodded before looking back at them. “It’s Ben Duggs. He’s been in-school suspension already right now.”

“Yeah, did you know any indication about this robbery incident?”

Mr. Michaels thought for a moment. “Uhh…I don’t think so,” he said. “We’re not so sure that this argument could lead to this incident.”

“I’m knida believe that Ben’s in-school suspension resulted in several trophies missing,” Ms. Robbins guessed, after she saw the headline article from earlier this morning. “But we can’t confirm it,” she shakes his head.

“Yeah, we cannot confirm whether this note – which I could say it’s a piece of crap – have any connection to this incident from a few weeks.”

“Okay,” Carmine said as he, Stanley, Michael nodded their heads.

“Where did you guys find the note?” Mr. Michaels asked as he puts the note down on his desk.

“In history class,” Michael said. “I found it in a textbook.”

“Did you guys notify the teacher about it?”

“Um actually I keep it in my bag?”

“Why Michael?”

“Because some guy in my class – who I believed to be a friend of Ben when he glanced at the note – told me that if I told any teachers about this, I’ll be dead.”

That few last words made Mr. Michaels and Ms. Robbins raising their eyebrows. They were speechless for a few seconds.

“Who is it?” Ms. Robbins said, looking suspicious.

“It’s…I can’t remember his name,” Michael said. “But I think his name is Evan K.” “We’re looked that up on my computer right now,” Mr. Michaels said as he quickly sat down on his spinning chair, swings to the screen and starts browsing the internet.

Ms. Robbins walked toward him as well as Carmine, Stanley, and Michael, all seeing what he’s doing.

As Mr. Michaels went into the student database, he found Even K., Evan Kadolgy. He looked back at Michael. “Did you mean him?” he asked.

Michael moves his head closer to the screen. “Yes,” he said nodding at Mr. Michaels. “That’s him.”

“Alright then…”

“But is he part of Ben Duggs’ gang, though?” Ms. Robbins asked.

“We don’t know,” Mr. Michaels scorch his chair back takes out a pen and starts writing Evan’s name on a piece of paper.

“Right now I’m sending this guy to ISS.” It means in-school suspension. “You guys head back to lunch,” he gets up from his seat. “It was very generous of you three bringing up this information.”

“Thank you,” Carmine said.

“Thanks,” Stanley said.

“You’re welcome,” Mr. Michaels said as he heads into another room with Ms. Robins.

Less than a minute later, Carmine, Stanley, and Michael have exited out of the gym and heading upstairs.

“But Michael that’s the only information you’re got?”

Stanley asked.

“Yeah,” Michael said.

“I mean did you have anything else?”

They halt walking midway. They’re a few steps up.

“No,” Michael said, nodding his head.

Carmine and Stanley looked at each other. Just as that, Clifford Kanouski is about to head downstairs.

“Oh hi Clifford,” Michael said.

“Hey Michael,” Clifford said as he walked just past them.

Carmine and Stanley gasped as they waste no time walking back downstairs to catch up to Clifford.

“Um excuse me,” Carmine said.

Clifford reached at the end of the stairwell and glanced back. He was about to walk down the gym hallway.

“Can we ahhh….,” Carmine stuttered, looking at Stanley for an answer.

But Stanley was lost too. He was frozen, searching for words to say to Clifford.

“Talk?” Clifford said, with a wondering look.

“Yeah,” Carmine stuttered.

Stanley nodded with a slightly worried look.

Michael, who is apparently calm, starts to walk downstairs, catching up to them. He suddenly can’t believe that Carmine and Stanley were desperate to have his friend.

“Um I actually head to class right now,” Clifford said.

“But..,” He takes off his backpack and starts pulling out a blank piece of paper, a journal to write on, and a pencil to write with.

“If you guys are available tonight,” he said as he starts writing the home address a few times in between spaces. He then starts ripping pieces of paper. “Here’s my address,” he said as hands them out to Carmine and Stanley. “You can also call me anytime,” he added. “Except for times when I’m out.”

“Okay we can come to your house to talk,” Carmine said as he and Stanley put their pieces of Clifford’s info into their pants pockets.

“We appreciated,” Stanley said.

“Alright I’ll see you guys there,” Clifford said. “Michael are you coming?”

Michael caught off-guard. “No,” he said shaking his head.

“I’m not the one who plans a deliberate meeting. I don’t know what these guys up to,” he points to Carmine and Stanley.

“Well see you later Michael,” Clifford said as he turns around and begins walking down the hallway.

Michael looked at Carmine and Stanley. “Really,” he said.

“What is that about?”

“Oh we’re just investigating the same case,” Stanley said.

“Yeah we’ll ask questions like we did to you,” Carmine said.

“Wait,” Michael got a questionable look. “You guys mean that Clifford knows this case?”

“No,” Carmine quickly shakes his head. “Well…”

“He isn’t yet,” Stanley said. “But let Carmine and I hope that he has some clues to this robbery.”

Michael sighed. “Well I’m head back to lunch,” he said as he walks back upstairs.

“Yeah me too,” Carmine said as he and Stanley follows him.

Less than another minute later, Michael, Carmine and Stanley went back to Mr. Standman’s classroom, where Mr. Standman is slightly swinging his chair with his hands folded and elbows on his desk.

“How was the meeting go?” Mr. Standman asked.

Michael halt to look at him. “The note is from Ben Duggs,” he explained.

“Mr. Michaels said he’ll notify Evan Kadolgy right now,” Carmine said.

“Yeah he’s going to ISS,” Stanley finishes as he, Carmine, and Michael walked away from Mr. Standman and toward Sarah and Angelica.

“Good Job folks,” Mr. Standman said with a smile.

Angelica stands up. “You mean that Evan Kadolgy will be in-school suspension?” she asked with a slight cold voice.

“Yes,” Stanley said.

“Good,” Angelica nod her head.

“Anyway while we walking upstairs, we saw Clifford,” Stanley gives her a piece of written paper. It’s a copy of Clifford’s home info.

Angelica reads it. “Oh we’re going to Clifford’s house tonight,” she said.

“Yes we are,” Carmine said it slowly.

“Who’s Clifford, another suspect?” Mr. Standman asked as he slightly swings his chair back to his computer.

“Nope,” Stanley said, looking at him while shaking his head. “Another friend who can help us.”

“Well good luck on that,” Mr. Standman picks a pen to point at him before turning his attention to the computer.

“Okay,” Angelica turns to Michael. “Thanks for giving us the info that you got.”

“Yeah thanks,” Stanley said as he grab his bag. “It was nice for us to send the note to Mr. Michaels.”

“Oh no problem,” Michael said, as he start taking bites of his sandwich again.

“Well I’m heading off to class early so...,” Sarah said before turning to Michael. “I would say thank you.” She then walked off. “See ya guys,” she said as she exit out of the classroom.

“Well we’re off as well,” Carmine said as he, Stanley, and Angelica exit as well.

Hours later, after school, Carmine, Stanley, Angelica, and Mr. Osborne were at Angelica’s house. Angelica is sitting on her bed, Carmine is sitting on her computer chair and Stanley and Mr. Osborne are standing. It’s 3:00pm.

Danny and Felix were grounded by their parents this morning of another controversy: the fact that President Obama

can’t save America because he’s black…and the republicans know that.

“Well you guys made the right thing,” Mr. Osborne said.

“You guys send the note to Mr. Michaels and have Evan Kadolgy sent in ISS.” “Yeah,” Carmine said. “If Evan hadn’t told Michael, Michael would have told this history teacher right away.”

“But was the note connected to this case at all?”

“We’re still trying to figure it out,” Stanley said. “Michael did the generous job of finding the note and he, Carmine, and I give it to the gym teachers. But we’re still trying to figure this connection out.”

“So you two…,” Mr. Osborne said as he points to Carmine and Stanley. “…and Michael send the note but the gym teachers weren’t sure whether or not the note is connected to the incident?”

“Nope,” Carmine and Stanley said.

Mr. Osborne looked at his watch. “Alright let’s go to Clifford Kanouski’s house,” he said. “I hope he isn’t at a club or something.”

“Nope,” Carmine said, getting up from the computer chair.

“He said he’s available all night tonight.”

“Well alright everyone hopped backed into the car.”

After a minute, the group exit out of Angelica’s house and into Mr. Osborne’s car. Mr. Osborne is behind the wheel sitting beside Angelica while Carmine and Stanley sit in the back. A few minutes later, they reached Clifford Kanouski’s house. Mr. Osborne parallel parked beside the front yard.

“Okay here we are,” Mr. Osborne said as they unbuckle their seatbelts. “Let’s get into the house.”

After they get out of the car and walked into the front yard toward the door entrance, Mr. Osborne rings the doorbell.

After a few seconds, Ms. Kanouski opens the door.

“How can I help you?” Ms. Kanouski asked.

“Well these teenagers here are here to see your son Clifford,” Mr. Osborne said. “They’re from Silver Spring High School and we want to talk to him. Is he here?”

“Oh yes,” she nodded before letting them in. “You guys come in while I call Clifford.” After that, she closed the door and step toward the stairwell. “Clifford, your classmates are here,” she shouted. “They are coming to your room right now.”

She turns back to Mr. Osborne. “Okay you guys go ahead and walk upstairs,” she said in a soft voice before she walks back to the kitchen.

“Thank you mam,” Mr. Osborne said. “Guys, come with me,” he said to the teens.

He, Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica walked upstairs. Once they reached the upper level, Mr. Osborne knock on Clifford’s door.

“Come in,” Clifford said.

Mr. Osborne opens the door.

To Mr. Osborne’s point of view, Clifford’s bed is to the right below a window with curtains. The television is to the left and the computer as well as the desk, where he is sitting in front of, is in the front. It’s a few yards from where they’re standing.

“Good Afternoon Clifford,” Mr. Osborne said like a gentleman.

Clifford glance his chair back to look at them. “Hello,” he said as he gets up.

“How are you doing sir?” Mr. Osborne ask as they shake hands.

“I’m pretty good.”

“Well you’re pretty like a gentleman.”

“No you’re.”

They begin to chuckle.

“Well okay then,” Mr. Osborne said with slight joy.

Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica looked at each other as they’re happy to watch them chuckling.

“Well actually both of you look like a gentleman,” Carmine said.

“Yes,” Clifford said with a nod. “And all of you are a gentleman.”

“Why thank you.”

“Thank you,” Angelica said.

“Thank you,” Stanley said.

“No thank you,” Clifford said.

The mood changes as they begin to question Clifford about the same case they’re working on.

“Now we came here so that we can have a nice talk,” Mr. Osborne said. “Now, you’re already know this incdent by now.”

“Ah yes,” Clifford nodded.

“The incident that have sports trophies stolen.”

“Yes.” “Do you have any clues, information, whatsoever?”

“Yes,” Clifford said as he sat back down on his computer chair looking in front of them. “Okay here’s what I remembered,” he starts explaining. “It was several days before this incident actually occurred. I was asked to bring the information cards to the main office and I was given a pass.

When I was headed to the main office, I saw Ben’s gang members – who I didn’t know them until after this incident – looking at the sports trophies and they ask themselves like ‘what sports trophies are we gonna steal.’ There was no security at that time so as I’m hearing this, I was wondering they can’t be them – the Ben gang – are they? So I just went into the main office to send the information cards. And right after that, the Spanish woman (Ms. Sanchez) notice the kids and peak out at the main door. She told them ‘uh uh. You guys should be in class right now not wondering down the halls.’ She then step out of the office for a few seconds, clapping her hands,” Clifford begins to clap his hands, imitating what Ms. Sanchez did. “and said ‘let’s go you should be in class’ and then she stopped as they walk down the halls. And that was it, the brunette woman (Mrs. Benson) starting looking to see if the info cards are correct – because she got distracted. She gives me approval and went out of the main office.”

“But wait,” Stanley said with a concern look. “You said it’s Ben’ gang members.”

“Correct.”

“And they’re few inches away from the main office.”

“Yep.” Then Stanley gives a questionable look at himself. “The Spanish woman is Ms. Sanchez,” he said to everyone. “Right?”

Clifford thought for a moment as well as everybody else.

“Yeah,” Angelica nodded.

“And the brunette woman is Mrs. Benson.”

“Yeah,” Carmine and Clifford said.

“The other one Ms. Morals.”

“Yeah.”

“Well then how come these office secretaries didn’t notice that the gang members were planning…,” Stanley stopped for a moment. He quickly begin to realize that they didn’t. He starts to remember what Clifford recently explained. Ms. Sanchez didn’t hear what they’re saying. She just notice them standing in front of the trophy case and tells them to go to class. That’s all.

Carmine, Angelica, Clifford, and Mr. Osborne are watching Stanley thinking.

“Oh,” Stanley said as he nodded before looking at Clifford.

“I can understand what are you’re saying.” Then he gives an uncertain look again. “But even that, did they know that the gang members are gonna plot a robbery?”

Clifford thought for a moment. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t think so. Even Ms. Bacon doesn’t know about it.

In fact, she is the only woman in the main office who can think off when it comes to the incident.”

“And she mistakenly believes it’s Alex Huggerman,” Carmine said.

“Who is my best friend,” Clifford added.

“Who she believed that he is the one who stole those trophies.”

“Correct, and you know Ms. Bacon is an honest principal.

But I don’t think my friend Alex wouldn’t do it.”

“Yeah,” Carmine, Stanley, and Angelica said.

“Even though he had been in trouble in the past, Alex had tried to rebuild himself into a good person. So maybe the school believes that he is the mastermind behind this because they believe he is still a leader and this might be the irony of it.”

Mr. Osborne nodded his head.

“We gonna talk about the note that Ben Duggs had written,” Angelica said.

“Yeah your friend Michael Outsburg recently the note before the incident,” Stanley said. “He couldn’t send it until this morning because of a death threat. Did he told you about it?”

“Ah yes,” Clifford said.