The Adventures of the Holmes Club

Chapter 15: Missing

***Louis***

I sat down at lunch on Monday and immediately knew something was wrong.

"What's up?" I asked, "Where's Penny?"

Sophie looked up, "That's what's wrong. We don't know where Penny is, and we haven't seen or heard from her since Friday at the game."

"But we don't have time to worry about Penny." Nadia interrupted, "We have to forge ahead, and try to figure out how to save our teacher. If Penny is actually missing, then it's probably the same person. Just focus, and the chances are pretty good that Penny will show up. Our goal right now is getting to Northern Oregon."

"Well, who was the last one of us to see Penny?" Alina asked, "I only saw her at the beginning of the game, when she walked past where we were sitting."

"I didn't see her at all." Nadia said.

"Sophie and I saw her last right before we went to get food at the end of the first half." I said.

"So I must have seen her last." Max said.

"Was she okay?" Alina asked, sounding worried.

"She was fine, I think."

"So, how are we getting to Oregon? And what's the deadline?" Nadia asked, trying to keep the group on topic.

"We don't know and we don't know." Alina replied.

"Fine, so, how can we get to Oregon?" Nadia asked.

"Plane, car, walking." Max offered.

Sophie slapped him, "Walk? Yeah right. The farthest I walk is from my locker to the cafe to get a cinnamon roll."

"If I give you a cinnamon roll, will you shut up?" Max asked.

Sophie shook her head and laughed, "I doubt it. But you can try."

"I need a guarantee before I put money down." Max replied.

"Guys!" I shouted, "Focus, please."

Sophie breathed out heavily, "Fine, I think going on a plane is our best shot."

"But plane tickets are expensive." Alina argued.

"Yeah, but we don't have to go very far, it's only about a thousand miles." Nadia countered.

"Maybe so, but where are we going to get the money?" Alina asked.

"Where are we going to get a car and a valid driver's license?"

"Fine, plane it is. How are we going to convince our parents to take us there?"

"We could set up a fake high school merit scholarship award contest there." Max offered.

Sophie's eyes got wide, "Too many big words, please explain."

Max rolled his eyes, "We tell Mamma and Dada that we get money if we smart in Oregon." He said in a baby voice.

Sophie looked half bewildered, half annoyed, "Don't talk to me like I'm a child, Max. How do we get our parents to believe that?"

"The Internet. Duh." Max said.

I looked at him, "Set up a website and a fake background for the competition?" 

Max nodded, "All we'd need is a few days to put it all together."

I leaned back, which was dangerous on our benches, "We're going to Oregon!"