Kids were still getting drinks from the drinking fountain and grabbing their English books out of their lockers Our teacher Miss Flores was busy (cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:88)(cid:73)(cid:192)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:68)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:71)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:78)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:3)(cid:78)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:90)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:3) few minutes for visiting I handed the invitations to my four best friends Lyra Caleb Rocket and Alex Our desks were (cid:69)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:74)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:74)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:83)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3) super lucky that we all got to sit together (cid:44)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:86)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:3)(cid:79)(cid:88)(cid:70)(cid:78)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:68)(cid:88)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:88)(cid:86)(cid:3) are the members of the Gumshoe Gang Mr Sleuth the school secretary gave us that nickname since we solve so many of the mysteries that occur at Watson Elementary And let me tell you there are a lot A gumshoe is a detective who cracks cases which was a good thing because there was no way I was ever going to put gum on my favorite pair of purple sneakers Oh thank you Lyra said when I gave her the invite Can I borrow one of your beautiful dresses Lyra was an amazing singer She could sometimes be so loud you wanted to clap your hands over your ears but she made up for it by 8
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being a great friend Of course Lyra I said When is the party Caleb asked squinting at the invitation These letters are so squiggly I can’t even read it Caleb loved math telling jokes and being really messy It’s called cursive silly And the party is this (cid:54)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:182)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:71)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:90)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:17)(cid:180) I’ll ask my mom as soon as I get home Alex said pushing on his glasses Alex was really smart and great at science Will there be anything related to aliens there Rocket asked Like an alien spaceship piñata Or a green Planet Moog cake Rocket’s real name was Ronald Gonzaga but everybody called him Rocket because he could beat almost anybody in a race He was also just plain silly No Rocket This is my birthday not yours Even though this was an elegant dress-up party I’d invited all the boys in the class too It was true that lots of my friends were boys plus Mom said everybody should be included And everybody included also meant Megan 10
the Big Meanie even though Megan did not like me at all and would probably rip up my invitation as soon as she got home I stared across the room to where she was sitting whispering and giggling with her best friend Emily Do you want me to go with you Lyra asked I shook my head I can do this I marched over to Megan’s desk Megan had sleek blond hair that (cid:73)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:54)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:90)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:87)(cid:191)(cid:87)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:78)(cid:72)(cid:3) button-up sweaters and khaki pants so smooth her mother probably ironed them every morning 11
