The Unusual Suspects

"No boundaries!" Ms. Spangler said.

"What's that mean?" Puck asked.

"It means we can go after her," Sabrina said, pointing at Natalie.

He clapped his hands like a happy baby. "School is awesome!" he shouted. He picked up a ball and handed it to Sabrina.

Sabrina was so happy she could have kissed Puck. Quickly shaking off this thought, she helped him stalk the big girl around the gym. Natalie huffed like an angry bull.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll drop those balls right now," she threatened them.

"You're probably right," Sabrina said, tossing the ball at the girl as hard as she could. It smashed into the side of Natalie's face and she fell down. Sabrina had knocked the bully down for the second time in two days.

"Natalie is out!" Ms. Spangler shouted. "No sides!"

Sabrina turned to congratulate Puck, just as a ball crashed into the side of her face and sent her reeling. The class cheered and Puck raised his hand in triumph.

"I won!" he cried. He raised both arms into the air and ran around the gym shouting, "Victory lap!"

Sabrina could already feel her lip swelling.

By the time lunch rolled around, Sabrina was ready to strangle the boy. So when she saw Daphne's smiling face in the cafeteria, it was like seeing a rainbow. The little girl was surrounded by her classmates, who, as they had the day before, looked at her as if she were a movie star. When Daphne spotted Sabrina and Puck, she excused herself and joined them at a table in the far corner of the room.

"How has your day been?" she asked.

"It's been horrible," Sabrina said.

"Tell my sister 1 wasn't talking to her," Daphne said to Puck. "I was talking to you."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "How long are you going to be mad at me?

"Remind my sister that I just said I was not talking to her," the little girl said to Puck.

Puck gri

"Get over it!" Sabrina cried.

"Tell my sister when she stops being a snot I will get over it."

"She says when you stop being a disgusting booger-crusted freak she will honor you with a conversation, but until then, shove off," Puck said.

"This is ridiculous," the older girl said, staring down at her serving of not-too-green green beans.

"Ask my sister what ridiculous means," Daphne said.

"She wants to know what…"

"I heard her!" Sabrina growled at the boy. "It means you are being silly! It means you are being a baby!"

"Tell my sister that I'm rubber and she's glue and whatever she says bounces off me and sticks to her."

"Your sister says…"

"Puck!" Sabrina shouted. She turned back to her food and took a bite of something she thought might be chicken. It wasn't even close.

"Well, if you're not going to talk to me, then you won't know that I've found a clue," she said.

Daphne's face lit up as bright as the sun. "What kind of clue?"

"Are you done with the silent treatment?" her sister asked.

"Depends on how good the clue is."

"You know those dusty footprints we were following last night? Well there's a kid in my homeroom whose feet were covered in the same dust."

"What did you do?" Daphne asked, interested despite herself.

"I tried to follow him, but he slipped into the boiler room," Sabrina said. "We're going to have to come back after everyone's gone and do some snooping."

Daphne smiled and hugged Sabrina.

Puck sniffed the creamed corn on his tray. He reached down with his bare hand and scooped some up. Then he licked it with his tongue. "Any of those disgusting warts show up, yet?"

"Ms. White told me that you don't get warts from touching frogs," the little girl growled. "Not even frog-girls."

"Ahh, I'm sorry to see that little joke die." The boy sighed as creamed corn dripped down his wrist and onto his clean shirt. "I had you completely freaked out."

"Hardy-har-har, Puck, you are so un-punk rock," Daphne said, turning her attention to her sister. "So, what's the plan?"

"First, you have to get a detention," Sabrina said as she eyed her gray hamburger.

"What?" Daphne cried.

"Puck got us in trouble, so we have to stay after school. Since the two of us have to stay, you might as well get in trouble, too. We should try to stick together."

"How am I supposed to get a detention?" the little girl asked.

"I don't know! Insult your teacher or something."

"I can't do that to Ms. White!"

"Yes you can. Be a

Daphne looked as if she was going to cry.

When the children met at the end of the last period, Daphne was back to giving Sabrina the silent treatment. Sabrina asked her how she'd managed to get detention, but she wouldn't answer. Sabrina shrugged. If she worried every time her sister got mad at her, she'd never have time to do anything else. Daphne would get over it. The important thing was that they were all together. Nothing bad could happen when they were together.

They walked down the hallway toward the detention room and Puck was nothing but complaints.

"I can't believe I have to be subjected to this torture," he whined. "I am royalty. To say anything I do is inappropriate in school is just foolish. Everything I do is majestic and regal."

"So when you were picking your nose in Mr. Cafferty's class, that was regal?" Sabrina asked.

"Absolutely," he said. "Back home people stand out in the freezing rain for days just to hear a rumor that I picked my nose."

"Ugh," was all Sabrina could say to Puck's disgusting conversation.

"This detention is going to be horrible. I've heard stories. Some kids go into that class and never come out, and the ones that do aren't the same."

"Aren't you being a little dramatic?"

"Not at all," Puck insisted. "From what I hear, this detention is a house of horrors."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and opened the detention room door. Immediately she put her hand over Daphne's eyes. Mrs. Heart lay in one corner of the room. Snow White struggled to her feet in another, and in the center was a skeleton in shredded coveralls with a name patch still visible-Charlie. The killer had left one identifying mark on the fabric of the coveralls-a bright red handprint.

"See, I told you!" Puck said proudly.

"It's gross, isn't it?" Daphne asked, turning into her sister's arms and hiding her face in Sabrina's sweater.

"Yes, it's gross," Sabrina whispered.

"I guess this means we don't have detention," Puck said.

Daphne pulled herself away from her sister and rushed to Ms. White. The teacher didn't look seriously injured, but was dizzy and disoriented. The children helped her to her feet and sat her at one of the desks in the classroom. Sabrina kneeled down to check on Mrs. Heart. She was breathing normally, but was out cold.

"What happened, Ms. White?" Sabrina asked.

The teacher looked confused and mumbled, but only one word was distinguishable: "Wendell."

Suddenly, there was a loud thump outside the window, followed by a painful moan. The children ran to the window and Sabrina stuck her head out. Below her was Wendell. The boy had jumped out the window, tumbled end over end, and was climbing to his feet.

"Hey!" she shouted. The boy looked up and his face went pale. He darted off toward the woods as fast as his chubby little legs could carry him.

Puck's enormous wings burst out of his back. "I'll get the little piggy."

Sabrina grabbed his arm before he could fly away. "Someone might see you," she cried, dragging the boy back from the window. Instead, she crawled out herself, dropping five feet before landing safely on the ground. Daphne followed and her sister caught her. Puck refused Sabrina's assistance and jumped on his own, his wings no longer visible.