It's No Joke!

  Then Nancy saw what was worrying Bess. A small bright orange goldfish was swimming around in Mr. Daly’s water! The fish was plastic. Another practical joke!

  “Mr. Daly is going to be mad when he finds that,” Nancy whispered. “I bet he makes us all stay in school and miss the zoo.”

  Bess got a determined look on her face. “Then we can’t let him find it,” she whispered. “I’m not missing the flamingos because of some dumb fish.”

  Before Nancy could answer, Bess got out of her seat. She tiptoed toward Mr. Daly’s desk.

  Nancy held her breath. Bess was taking a big chance. Mr. Daly would be angry if he caught her out of her seat.

  Bess reached the teacher’s desk. She carefully picked up the glass of water.

  Nancy turned around. Mr. Daly was in the back of the classroom. He was looking at Brenda Carlton’s paper. Maybe—just maybe—he wouldn’t see what Bess was doing. Nancy crossed her fingers for good luck.

  Bess began carrying the water toward the sink.

  She’s almost there, Nancy thought.

  Bess got to the sink. She dumped out the water. She picked up the plastic fish.

  Nancy heard footsteps coming up the row of desks. She spun around. Mr. Daly was walking toward the sink. He was looking right at Bess. A big frown made his face look ugly.

  “Just what do you think you’re doing?” Mr. Daly demanded.

  4

  Grandma Ramirez

  I—” Bess’s eyes were wide. She looked terrified. Everyone in the classroom was staring at her.

  “Well, Miss Marvin?” Mr. Daly said. “What are you doing out of your seat?”

  “I was, um—” Bess looked confused.

  Nancy had to do something to help. She noticed the small drinking fountain that was attached to the side of the sink.

  “Bess was getting a drink of water,” Nancy told Mr. Daly. “Mrs. Reynolds lets us use the drinking fountain whenever we want.”

  Mr. Daly turned and looked at Nancy. Then he turned back to Bess. “Is that true, Miss Marvin?”

  “I—I guess so,” Bess said.

  “Then what is that in your hand?” Mr. Daly pointed at the plastic fish.

  Bess looked down at it. “Well, it’s a fish,” she told Mr. Daly.

  “A fish you were planning to put in my drinking glass!” Mr. Daly said loudly. “You were going to play another joke on me, weren’t you?”

  Bess shook her head.

  Mr. Daly didn’t seem to notice. “Class, Miss Marvin will also stay at school while we go to the zoo on Friday,” he announced. “As I said before, I don’t take jokers on field trips. Miss Marvin, you may sit down now.”

  Bess walked back to her desk. Nancy could see tears welling up in her friend’s eyes. She felt awful. Bess had only been trying to help. She didn’t deserve to miss the trip.

  Nancy felt sorry for herself, too. Going to the zoo wouldn’t be as much fun without Bess and George.

  Mr. Daly collected the handwriting exercise. He gave the class their spelling words. They were supposed to write a sentence with each one.

  Nancy was one of the first students to finish. Mr. Daly said she could have some free time.

  Great, Nancy thought. Now I can work on figuring out who the real joker is!

  Nancy pulled her detective notebook out of her desk. Her father had given it to her. The notebook’s shiny cover was Nancy’s favorite color—blue. Inside, she kept notes on all of her mysteries.

  Nancy turned to a clean page. Then she wrote: “The Case of the Practical Jokes.” Under that, she wrote: “Clues: Newspaper in Spanish.” She skipped a few lines and wrote: “Suspects.”

  Nancy tapped her pencil against her notebook. She couldn’t think of any suspects. As far as she knew, nobody in her class spoke Spanish. That was going to make solving this mystery difficult.

  • • •

  “The joker could be anyone in our class,” Nancy told George and Bess after school. “We don’t have any real suspects.”

  “But we do have a new clue,” Bess said. “The fish.”

  “The fish?” George asked.

  Bess nodded. “I think the School Bell sells plastic fish like the one I found in Mr. Daly’s water,” she said. “Maybe Mr. Pitt can remember if anyone in our class bought one.”

  “Good thinking!” Nancy said.

  The School Bell was a shop near the school. Charlie Pitt was the shop’s owner. He’d opened the School Bell way back when Nancy’s father went to Carl Sandburg Elementary. The shop was crammed full of candy, notebooks, pencils, and other supplies. Nancy loved the place.

  Bess led the way into the store. The bell attached to the door jangled. Mr. Pitt looked up and smiled. He had light brown hair and blue eyes. He wore glasses.

  “Good afternoon, girls,” he said. “How was school today?”

  “Rotten,” Nancy said. “We have a substitute teacher.”

  “And he thinks I played a practical joke on him,” Bess added.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Mr. Pitt said.

  “You guys—look!” George said with a gasp. She pointed at a bowl next to the cash register. The bowl was filled with plastic fish. Every one of them looked just like the fish from Mr. Daly’s water.

  “Mr. Pitt,” Nancy said, “we have to know the name of everyone who bought one of these fish. If we don’t find out, Bess and George won’t be able to go on our field trip to the zoo.”

  “That sounds important,” Mr. Pitt said. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Let me think. Lots of kids have bought those. They’re really great in water.”

  “We need names,” Nancy said.

  Mr. Pitt laughed. “Well, I can’t remember them all. I’ve sold about a hundred of those fish.”

  “A hundred?” Nancy groaned. Having no suspects was bad. Having a hundred suspects would be even worse!

  “Can you remember if any of the kids in our class bought one?” Nancy asked.

  “Maybe,” Mr. Pitt said. “You’re in Mrs. Apple’s class, right?”

  “No,” George said. “Mrs. Reynolds’s.”

  “Oh. Right.” Mr. Pitt screwed up his face and thought hard. “I’m pretty sure that Danielle Margolies bought one of those.”

  “Danielle isn’t in our class,” Bess said.

  Mr. Pitt sighed. “Sorry, kids. I don’t think I can help you.”

  George and Bess looked sad.

  “I guess we’re not going to the zoo now,” George said.

  “Don’t give up,” Nancy said. “We still have one more clue. Let’s go over to Rebecca’s. We can show her grandmother the newspaper.”

  Before leaving the store, the girls each bought a lollipop. Nancy’s tasted like strawberries. They walked over to Rebecca’s house and rang the bell.

  Rebecca answered the door. “Where have you guys been?” she asked. “My abuela and I have been waiting for hours!”

  Nancy laughed. “School has only been out for about twenty minutes,” she said.

  “Well, it seemed like hours,” Rebecca told her. “I can’t wait to see what the newspaper says. Come in. Abuela is in the kitchen.”

  Rebecca’s grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a cookbook. She was a tiny woman. Her gray hair was cut in a pretty, short style. She had dark, intelligent eyes.

  “Abuela, these are the friends I told you about,” Rebecca said.

  “Hello, girls,” Mrs. Ramirez said. “I understand you want me to read something for you.”

  “Yes, please,” George said. She got the newspaper out of her lunchbox.

  Rebecca’s grandmother smoothed the paper out on the kitchen table. She leaned close and studied it. Then she leaned back with a surprised look on her face.

  “What does it say?” Nancy asked.

  “I don’t know,” Rebecca’s grandmother told them. “This isn’t written in Spanish!”

  5

  Missing Permission Slip

  Nancy and her friends exchanged surprised looks
.

  “If it’s not Spanish, then what is it?” George asked.

  Rebecca’s grandmother frowned at the newspaper. Then she slowly shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she said. “But it may be Portuguese.”

  “Are you sure you can’t read it?” Nancy asked. “Even just a few words might help us.”

  Rebecca’s grandmother studied the paper for another moment. “I think I see the word for ‘blue.’”

  Blue? Nancy thought. That wasn’t much of a clue.

  “Anything else?” George asked Rebecca’s grandmother.

  Mrs. Ramirez pointed at the paper. “This word might mean ‘tired.’”

  “Tired and blue,” Bess said. “That doesn’t give us much to go on.”

  Rebecca’s grandmother sighed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help more.”

  George’s shoulders slumped. “Thanks for trying,” she told Rebecca’s grandmother. She took the piece of newspaper, folded it up, and put it back in her lunchbox.

  “Good luck, girls,” Rebecca’s grandmother said. She turned back to her cookbook.

  Rebecca walked with Nancy, Bess, and George to the door. “What are you going to do now?” she asked.

  “Give up,” George said sadly. “I’m sure we won’t figure out who the joker is before Friday morning. And after that, it won’t really matter.”

  “I’m not giving up,” Nancy said firmly. “I’m going to keep looking until I find out who’s behind the jokes.”

  Bess shrugged. “Forget it, Nancy,” she said. “Just go to the zoo and have some fun for us.”

  “No,” Nancy said. “I want us all to go to the zoo together. We can solve this mystery if we all work together. Please don’t give up now.”

  “Well . . . okay,” George said.

  Bess shrugged and nodded.

  “Great,” Nancy said. She hated to give up.

  The girls said goodbye. George and Bess headed home. Nancy walked to her own house.

  Hannah Gruen was waiting for her. Hannah had lived with the Drews ever since Nancy’s mother died, five years earlier. She seemed like part of the family now.

  Hannah made Nancy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. While she ate, Nancy studied her detective notebook. She still couldn’t think of any suspects.

  “Do you have a new case?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes,” Nancy said. “And I only have one more day to solve it!”

  “Why is that?” Hannah screwed the top back on the peanut butter.

  Nancy told her about the joker. She explained how George and Bess were in trouble with Mr. Daly.

  “I don’t understand why the joker doesn’t stop,” Nancy said. “Mr. Daly is thinking about calling off the trip!”

  “Maybe that’s what the joker wants,” Hannah said.

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Nancy told her. “Everyone wants to go to the zoo. At least, I think they do.”

  • • •

  “I’m still missing two permission slips,” Mr. Daly said the next morning. “Miss Santos and Mr. Leoni, did you bring yours today?”

  “I have mine!” Andrew announced. He waved the paper over his head.

  “Sorry,” Julia said quietly. “I forgot again.”

  Nancy shot her buddy a worried look. The field trip was tomorrow! How could Julia keep forgetting her permission slip? Everyone else in the class had remembered.

  “I’ll bring it tomorrow,” Julia told Mr. Daly. “I promise.” She gave Nancy a reassuring smile.

  “Okay, Miss Santos,” Mr. Daly said. “But if you forget, I’ll have to leave you at school. Do you understand?”

  Julia nodded.

  Nancy sighed as she opened her math book. It was bad enough that George and Bess were missing the field trip. Now it was beginning to look as if Julia wouldn’t be coming either. That meant Nancy wouldn’t have a buddy.

  “What are you going to do if Julia forgets again tomorrow?” Bess whispered to Nancy.

  Nancy shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Bess’s eyes widened. “What if you have to be Mr. Daly’s buddy?” she asked.

  Nancy made a face. Compared to that, staying at school sounded almost fun. Unless she could find the real joker, this was going to be the worst field trip ever.

  • • •

  That afternoon Nancy brought her detective notebook to lunch with her. “Think!” she told George and Bess. “There must be some clue we’ve missed.”

  The girls were quiet for a moment. Nancy stared across the lunchroom. Julia was eating with Emily Reeves and Phoebe Archer a few tables away. They were laughing.

  “Maybe we can find someone who reads Portuguese,” George suggested.

  “That’s a good idea,” Nancy said. “Like who?”

  George shrugged. “Maybe my mom or dad knows someone.”

  “Okay,” Nancy said. “Why don’t you ask them after school?”

  “Sure,” George agreed.

  “I’ll ask my dad, too,” Nancy said.

  Emily suddenly jumped out of her chair. Julia got up, too. The two girls raced toward the milk line.

  “Walk!” called Mrs. Apple. She was on lunchroom duty.

  Emily and Julia immediately slowed down.

  Phoebe was still sitting at their table. Nancy turned to smile at her. That was when she noticed Julia’s lunchbox. Nobody else in the whole school had a lunchbox like Julia’s. It was bright pink with an orange handle.

  Julia’s lunchbox was sitting open on the table. Nancy could see a piece of paper sticking out. Something about that paper was very familiar.

  Nancy got up and started walking toward Julia’s table.

  “Where are you going?” Bess called.

  “I think I just found an important clue,” Nancy said. She walked up to Julia’s lunchbox and pulled out the paper.

  “Hey!” Phoebe said. “What are you doing?”

  Bess and George came up behind Nancy. “What did you find?” Bess asked.

  Nancy held the paper out to her friends. “Julia’s permission slip. And it’s already been signed!”

  6

  Against the Rules

  I don’t get it,” George said. “Why didn’t Julia turn in her permission slip?”

  “Maybe she forgot it was in her lunchbox,” Bess suggested.

  Nancy put the permission slip back where she’d found it. “I don’t think Julia forgot,” she said. “She would have seen the slip just now when she got her lunch out.”

  “Then why didn’t she give the slip to Mr. Daly?” Phoebe asked. “He told her she couldn’t go to the zoo unless he had it.”

  “I’m not sure,” Nancy said. “But I think she was hiding it.”

  “But hiding the slip doesn’t make any sense,” George said.

  “It might,” Nancy said, “if you don’t want to go to the zoo.”

  “But Julia does want to go,” Bess said. “She told us she wanted to see the polar bears.”

  “And she told me she wanted to see the zebras,” George added.

  “I don’t understand it either,” Nancy said. “But I’m sure Julia will explain.”

  Emily came back to the table. Julia wasn’t with her.

  “Where’s Julia?” Nancy asked.

  “She went to the bathroom,” Emily said.

  Nancy looked at the clock. Lunch would end in fifteen minutes. “Come on, you guys,” she said to Bess and George. “We have to find Julia.”

  “Where are we going?” George asked.

  “To the bathroom,” Nancy said.

  The girls hurried to the bathroom. Julia wasn’t there. They went back to the lunchroom. But Phoebe and Emily and Julia’s table was empty. Nancy, Bess, and George went out to the playground. But Julia wasn’t playing hopscotch or dodgeball.

  “Julia disappeared!” Bess said.

  “Now what?” George asked.

  Nancy thought for a minute. “We have to go to the classroom right away,” she said.

  “But that’s against the rules,?
?? Bess said. “’Stay Out of the Classroom During Lunch Period’ was rule number four on the list Mr. Daly made us copy.”

  “We have to go,” Nancy said. “It’s the only way we can solve the mystery before the field trip.”

  “Let’s go,” George said.

  Bess groaned. “Oh, all right,” she agreed.

  Nancy led the way. George and Bess were right behind her. The hallway was empty. The three girls walked quickly to the classroom.

  George tried the door. “It’s open,” she whispered.

  The girls walked inside. The room was empty. Mr. Daly had turned the lights out. Nancy felt funny sneaking around in the dark.

  “Let’s do this fast and get out of here,” Nancy whispered.

  “Do what?” George whispered.

  “Look something up in the big dictionary,” Nancy said. She hurried back to the classroom library.

  Bess groaned. “We’re breaking the rules for that?” she asked. “You could have used the dictionary when we got back to class.”

  “If Mr. Daly let me,” Nancy said. “And if he didn’t, I would have had to wait and use the dictionary at home. By then it would have been too late to solve the mystery before the field trip. I didn’t want to take that chance.”

  George nodded. “We’ve got to solve this mystery now.”

  The classroom dictionary stood in the back of the room. The enormous book had its own wooden stand. Nancy opened the dictionary to the P’s. She began flipping through the pages.

  “What are you looking for?” George asked.

  “The word Portuguese,” Nancy said. “And here it is.” She read silently for a moment. “Listen to this! ‘Portuguese. A person who was born in or is a citizen of Portugal.’”

  “So what?” George asked. “Nobody in our class is Portuguese. That doesn’t help us at all.”

  “Wait,” Nancy said. “There’s another definition. ‘Portuguese. The language of Portugal or Brazil.’”

  “They speak Portuguese in Brazil?” Bess asked.

  Nancy nodded.

  “Julia’s mom is from Brazil,” George said.

  “I know,” Nancy said. “And I bet that newspaper belonged to her. Now I’m sure Julia is the joker.”