when you win, you can make me Secretary of State or something.”
“They’re joke posters,” said Rose. “Someone put Marie and
Noelle’s heads on animals’ pictures. We’re trying to find out who
made them.”
Marie crossed her arms. “Maybe you should run, Hope. Every-
one’s seen these posters, and they might have ruined our chances
at winning. So it might as well be you. Then, when you win, you can
make me ambassador to France.”
“Oh, you’ll still win,” said Hope.
Marie wasn’t as confident as Hope was that she and Noelle would
win. “Let’s get back to the mystery,” she said. “Who would have put up
those posters?”
“Faith,” said Rose, “you’ve been really quiet. Where were you this
morning?”
“I was right behind you, walking to school. You saw me. And, no,
I didn’t make the posters.”
Hope leaned over to Sage. “I wish I could have seen the posters.
Were they really funny? Who was on the hippo?”
“Noelle was on the hippo,” answered Sage. “Marie was on the
elephant.” And then Sage whispered, “And, yes, the posters were
funny. I still think it was one of the boys.”
“There’s a lot we can blame them for,” said Marie. “But not this.”
She smiled at Noelle. “I know who made the posters, and she’s
standing right here.”
Who made the posters, and how did Marie know? Tap here to find out.
Letters from
an Admirer
Someone really likes Noelle. But is it the person she thinks it is?
“Did you get my cousin’s letter?” Ben asked Noelle. “He said he
was going to write you as soon as he got home.”
“Did I ever,” said Noelle. “So far he’s sent five letters.”
“What’s this?” asked Marie. “You haven’t told me this. Come on,
spill it.”
“It’s nothing,” said Noelle, blushing. “It’s just . . . well . . . Ben
introduced me to his cousin Joseph a little over a month ago when
he was visiting. Joseph didn’t talk to me much. But I keep getting
letters from him. I just opened this one.” She held up the letter.
“Let me read it,” said Marie. She took the letter from Noelle’s
hand and read it to herself:
Marie looked at the envelope.
The letter had been sent from
Williamsburg two days ago. “I’d
love to visit the east coast, too,”
said Marie.
“Joseph’s been sending me a
letter every week,” Noelle said.
“He’s so thoughtful.”
“Wow,” said Marie. “He must
really like you.”
“I’m jealous,” said Ben. “He
hasn’t sent me any letters—or called since he left. So, did you get the
locket? What does it look like? Do you like it?”
“I do,” said Noelle. “It has a raccoon on the front, and a photo of a
raccoon inside. How did he know I like raccoons?”
“How would he not?” said Ben. “You’re always drawing raccoons
on your notebooks.”
“Yeah, maybe,” said Noelle. “And I must have been wearing my
raccoon T-shirt when we met.”
Marie had a funny look on her face. She said, “The guy who sent
you that locket, and the letters, must really like you. Maybe someday
he’ll be brave enough to tell you.”
“But he has,” said Noelle.
“Joseph tells me he likes me
in every one of his letters.”
“No, I don’t think
he does,” said Marie.
What did Marie mean? For a letter-perfect answer, tap here.
Taken for
a Ride
The girls love scary roller coasters, but could Sage’s
little brother be the bravest of them all?
“Am I tall enough for this ride?” asked Noelle. She stood next to
the sign with the bear holding its paw at 48 inches, the minimum
height for riders on all the scariest rides at Liberty Amusement Park.
“Not quite,” joked Marie. “Maybe in ten or twenty years. You’d
better stick with the baby boats.”
Marie and her friends had volunteered to bring the younger Ivy
Street kids to the park. Hailey chaperoned her younger sisters, Nicole
and Emma. Sage had agreed to babysit her little brother, Joey. And
Hope had asked to escort Caitlin, another of Hailey’s sisters, around
the park. Kenny, Noelle’s little brother, preferred to wash the car with
his dad, so Marie and Noelle were on their own.
They’d all arrived early and spread out through the park grounds,