Molly, Bev, and Harold stood near the punch bowl table and sipped from their cups.
“I thought the punch might be spiked,” Harold said as he looked into the cup he held in his hands.
Molly shook her head and Bev laughed. She watched a few students dancing in the middle of the dance floor. Molly shook her head again and smiled when she saw that they were dancing in their socks. She wondered what did they do with their shoes? Looking around, she spotted pairs of shoes were on the floor. They were lined up and bordering the perimeter of the dance floor. She put her cup on the table and stepped forward, leaving her two friends watching her. When she reached the edge of the dance floor, she placed her right foot behind her left, pulled it up, and removed its shoe. She then switched her feet and removed the other shoe. Harold and Bev stepped next to her and removed their shoes. Molly laughed and skipped toward the middle of the dance floor but suddenly stopped when the speakers squealed with feedback. The music stopped and a voice replaced it.
“Welcome to the 1950s!” Mr. Eichenberger said into one of the two standing microphones. “Are you ready to dance!”
A slow drumbeat began then a bass note from a bass guitar joined it. The kids started gathering closer to the stage. A simple, constant guitar note harmonized with the drumbeat. Mr. Eichenberger, and two women behind him started to sway with the sound. Molly found herself swaying to the beat, too. She recognized some of the band members and she laughed out loud when she saw the drummer.
“But first,” Mr. Eichenberger continued. “I want you to meet the band. You may know some of them as teachers here at SLMS so don’t be surprised! We do have lives, too!”
A cheer rose from the dance floor and Mr. Eisenberger stepped back to let it die down before he continued. “Yes, that’s Mr. Dalton on the drums! Mr. Quitman is on lead guitar! My friend, Mr. Twillman is on bass guitar! My other friend, Miss Orlando is on brass and vocals! I’m Mr. Eichenberger and I add a little bit of what we need. Finally, our lead vocalist, Mrs. Irondale and, believe it or not, she sounds a little bit like Mama Cass! Together, we call ourselves, Out for Fun! Enough talk – let’s Twist and Shout!”
The gym erupted with cheers as Mr. Eichelberger escorted Miss Orlando to the chairs beside the drums and they each picked up a trumpet. Mrs. Ironside stepped up to a microphone and started to sing, “Well!!!!” She held the note what seemed to Molly to go on forever. Molly laughed. Mrs. Ironside did sound like Mama Cass. The music of the band began to swell, and the kids began to jump and clap. “Well, shake it up baby, now…” Mrs. Ironside’s voice filled the room. “Twist and shout!” Molly started to twist and shout. Beside her, she saw Bev and Harold gyrating with the sound of the music, and she laughed out loud. The school dance had officially begun.
Molly and Bev were watching a blind-folded Harold trying to pin the tail on the poodle in the corner of the gym. Several marks were on the portrait of a poodle taped to a bulletin board. Those marks identified where others had placed their tail on the poodle. The closest to the where a tail should go would win a door prize. Molly could see that Harold had aligned himself in a fairly good line to get really close. He reached out feeling for the board with two hands. He stopped when he felt the board and, with his right hand, pinned his tail to the poodle. He instantly removed his blindfold to see what he had done.
“That is really close,” one of the Cooking Club girls said to him. “What are your initials?”
“HJ for Harold Jones,” he said and turned toward the two waiting girls.
“I thought it would be funnier,” Bev said when they turned toward the refreshment tables.
“Congratulations, Harold,” Molly said to him. “I was impressed.”
A tall figure approached them from behind and tapped Molly on her shoulder.
“I need to talk to you in the lobby,” Miss Marvel said to the three of them. “I will get the others and meet you there.”
Molly led Harold and Bev through the gym doors to the lobby atrium then turned to face them.
“What did we do?” Molly asked her two friends as they stopped near the door.
“I don’t know,” Bev whispered as she looked around the room. A few students were milling around it. Several were holding punch cups. A few girls were fanning themselves and laughing during their conversations.
“We didn’t do anything,” Harold said. “I wonder what she meant by the others?”
“Oh,” Molly replied. “I think that will become clear in a few seconds. Look.”
Bev and Harold turned to follow Molly’s gaze into the gym. Through the windows of the doors, they could see Miss Marvel, along with Mrs. Rogers, leading a trio of students, Ted, Carol, and Jason, toward them.
“The Whodunnit Club?” Bev asked. “For what?”
“I guess we will soon find out,” Molly said to them as the door opened.
Miss Marvel paused in front of them and looked around the room. She glanced at them and nodded her head for everyone to follow her. The small cluster of teens followed the two adults around the corner onto a hallway that ran beside the gym. Miss Marvel stopped about halfway down and looked up and down the corridor.
“You guys,” she said to a couple of students peering around the corner from the lobby. “Go back to the dance. This is not your concern.”
After the two figures disappeared, she bent down, and everyone huddled around her.
“There has been a robbery. Mrs. Rogers has just told me the money from the photo booth is missing.”
“I didn’t do it,” Jason said.
“No one said you did,” Mrs. Rogers quickly added. “None of you are being accused. It’s a simple request. I need your help.”
“Why not call the police?” Carol asked the obvious question.
“Someone here, at the dance, stole the money. The only people here are students and teachers. I believe it is a school matter,” Mrs. Rogers explained to them.
“But why us?” Harold asked.
“Aren’t you the Whodunnit Club? I figured that you might figure out Whodunnit,” the physical education instructor explained.
“I have some questions,” Ted said. “Can I ask them?”
“Sure,” Mrs. Rogers said.
“How much money is missing?” he asked her.
“We don’t know yet. Mr. Rogers is trying to figure that out now. All I can tell you is that $11.00 is all that was left.”
“$11.00?” Carol said quietly.
“Yes, one $5.00 bill and six $1.00 bills,” Mrs. Rogers told them.
“Who found the money missing?” Ted asked another question.
“Jim Hairston. He is an eighth grader and plays baseball,” Mrs. Rogers explained.
“Was he alone when he found the money missing?” Harold asked.
“No. Pearl Adams was with him. She is a softball player,” Mrs. Rogers explained.
“Where were they before they noticed money missing?” Harold asked.
“I don’t know,” Mrs. Rogers answered.
“Where were you and Mr. Rogers?” Harold asked.
“We were ,” Mrs. Rogers hesitated for an instant. “Dancing.”
“Miss Marvel?” Molly turned toward her club sponsor. “Are you sure about this?”
The assistant principal looked at her and said, “For now. Mrs. Rogers, will you please excuse us? We will see you shortly.”
Mrs. Rogers stood upright, looked around the group, smiled, and walked away.
“Okay, I agree, it is not the best reason not to go to the police,“ Miss Marvel calmly said to her club members. “But let’s try to figure it out anyway. Let’s do it quietly. Harold and Bev, go interview the photo booth members including Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. The rest of us will start talking to others and making observations as we go. Write down your observation as soon as you can. At our meeting on Monday, we will discuss what we found out and decide what to do next. Okay?”
Molly and her friends re-entered the gym. In the middle of the dance floor, a long line of people had formed on one side of two Cooking Club girls holding a bamboo pole at shoulder height. Mr. Eicheberger’s voice was coming from the speakers, “All right, all right! That was rather good first attempt but now we have to start eliminating people. Lower the Limbo pole to waist high!”
The two students did as they were told. “Okay, let’s step up the music!” The band did as they were told. “Remember, who knocks the pole or falls down is out! Let’s Limbo!” The line of students began to push forward.
Bev ran to the end of the line practically pulling Harold along with her. Molly laughed at the two of them and started to look around the room. Most students were in the limbo line. A few were behind the refreshment table watching the others. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers stood alone at the photo booth, both of them were looking grim. Principal Marty was standing near the same spot Molly first saw her that night. She was holding a red cup. Mrs. Young was standing next to her, talking, her yellow dress making her stand out among the rest. Molly thought it looked like she was trying to be noticed. She also held a red cup in her hands. Molly looked around for Mr. Charles but didn’t see him anywhere. She looked on stage. All the band members and the guy who had been playing records were all there, playing music, and watching the action on the gym floor. She glanced back toward the photo booth. Miss Marvel had rejoined the Rogers and was watching the limbo contestants. Mrs. Young approached them and stood next to Miss Marvel, said something to all of them, and they all started to laugh. Molly noticed something about Mrs. Young. Something was missing from her earlier ensemble, but she couldn’t quite place what it was. What would Holmes do? She decided that she would think harder on that topic. A roar of laughter erupted from the crowd causing Molly to look toward it. She started to join the others in laughter as she saw Harold sprawled out on the dance floor with the limbo pole on top of him.
To be continued…
My First Stories 