the detectives
Charlotte
musician
history &
zombie
buff
lived in
France &
China
new
kid
pooch
named
Dumpling
Brooklyn
good
with
jokes
plays
soccer
summer
camper
big
family!
mom speaks
Spanish
Alex
artist
best
grandparents
ever
loves
ghost
stories?
travels
in Italy
has
very
cool
big
sister
FALL
First-Day Jitters
“I wish summer vacation wasn’t ending,” groaned Brooklyn Patrick,
flopping onto the grass next to Dumpling and rubbing the dog’s ears.
“Imagine how I feel,” said Charlotte.
Brooklyn smiled at her new friend. “Come to my house tomorrow. We’ll
walk to school together.”
After two years living abroad—first in France, then in China—Charlotte
Chen was seriously stressed about starting school in Chesterville. What
if she didn’t fit in? The thought of walking to school with a friend filled her
with relief. She smiled back.
Meeting Brooklyn had been a lucky break. Two weeks ago, during
Charlotte’s first-ever walk with Dumpling in Centennial Park, Brooklyn had
kicked a soccer ball in their direction and the dog had gone berserk chasing
it. Brooklyn couldn’t stop laughing, and Charlotte started giggling, too. The
ball was as big as the dog!
After that, they ran into each other almost every day as Brooklyn
headed home from soccer practice and Charlotte walked Dumpling. The
girls soon realized they were both about to start sixth grade at Weston
Middle School. Charlotte had liked Brooklyn instantly. She was friendly and
funny, and she seldom sat still for more than a few seconds.
“I blame my big brother for my soccer obsession,” Brooklyn explained,
bouncing the ball from knee to knee. “His name is Dale, by the way. He
kicked a ball at me so many times I finally started kicking it back. It was that
or get hit. Now I love soccer. Do you play?”
“Badly,” Charlotte confessed.
“Don’t worry. My friend Alex isn’t into soccer either. She’d rather paint,
and we’re still BFFs. You’ll love her.”
The day before school started, Centennial Park bustled with neigh-
borhood Labor Day picnics. In the crowd, Brooklyn and her BFF found
Charlotte, who had just pulled Dumpling out of another family’s kickball
game. Alex DeRose was as welcoming as Brooklyn had been. She wanted
to know all about the places Charlotte had lived, and she thought it was cool
that the new girl lived on the top floor of an apartment building.
“Plus, you’re so lucky you don’t have siblings,” Alex said. “There’s a pic-
ture of my sister in the dictionary under ‘know-it-all.’”
“At least you’re not a middle child,” Brooklyn said. “I have to deal with
older and younger siblings!”
Having a big family like Brooklyn’s sounded overwhelming to Charlotte,
but that night she changed her mind. “Life would be easier with siblings,”
she whispered to Dumpling, who was curled up next to her in bed. She
sighed and nudged him over to make more room. “Then I wouldn’t be the
only new kid.”
In her dreams, Charlotte got lost in school and ended up stuck inside a
desk. Then she failed math and got sent back to kindergarten. By morning,
she felt like a zombie. She liked zombies, but looking like one was not the
first impression she wanted to make. And forget butterflies. These felt like
bats swooping around inside her stomach.
She nearly sleepwalked to Brooklyn’s.
The fact that she’d never been inside the big
Victorian house or met Brooklyn’s family
made her even more nervous.
There seemed to be a lot of commotion
inside when she knocked. The door swung
open, and a small, ginger-haired kid in
sweatpants peered up at her.
“Hi . . . um, are you Dale?”
“I’m Frankie. Dale’s my big brother.”
“Hi, Frankie. Is Brooklyn around?”
“BROOKLYN!!!” the kid bellowed.
A woman appeared behind Frankie. She
looked