The Missing Piece [Discontinued]

Chapter Eleven

            “Oh my gosh,” Joy whispered, reading the note.

‘mystery of the Hastings Manor.’

            “What? What the heck does that mean?” Skittles grunted, grabbing the note. “Whatever, It’s garbage.”

            “No!” Joy and Bird shouted at the same time, snatching the note back.

            “You have to keep this!” Bird exclaimed, and Skittles’ brow furrowed.

            “Keep it? It’s weird!” she protested.

            “Joy, let’s get the other notes,” Bird suggested. Joy nodded, and they both pulled out their pieces of the note, holding the three together.

            “Don’t you see?” Bird asked Skittles, gesturing to the notes, “you found the last piece.” Skittles read what the note as a whole:

Faith and Joy connect with the third, Adian, to solve the mystery of the Hastings Manor.

            “The Hastings Manor?” Skittles asked. “This is a joke. Ha, ha very funny. Which one of our idiot classmates made this one up?”

            “A joke? No, this is real!” Joy insisted frantically.

            “Do you have proof that this isn’t a joke?” Skittles asked, putting her hands on her hips

            “Well, no, but--,” Bird began, but cut off by Skittles.

            “Exactly. No! You don’t! This is a joke! A prank! Something to make fun of us outcasts!”

            “But, what if it’s not?” Joy asked. Skittles shook her head.

            “It’s a joke. Give me the notes,” Skittles demanded, holding out her hand.

            “No way!” Bird grabbed all the note pieces, shoving them in his pocket. “This is real, Skittles, and you better believe it.”

            “I can’t. This is all too weird to be true.”

            “If we can convince you, will you help us solve the mystery?” Bird asked.

            “Ha!” Skittles laughed, “If you can convince me, then sure.” Skittles rolled her eyes.

            Bird and Joy exchanged a glance, each thinking the same thing:

How are we going to do this?

*****

            “Excuse me,” Joy tapped the librarian’s desk, her cheeks still rosy-red from the brisk wind outside. She shivered in her fuzzy coat, glad to be inside the library and away from the cold. The rest of the school day had seemed to drag on after she talked to Skittles about the note. How was she ever going to convince Skittles to believe that the note is real? Right after school let out, Joy had rushed over to the closest library, in hope to find information about the Hastings Manor.

            “Yes young lady?” the librarian said, looking down at Joy.

            “I was wondering if you had any newspapers about the Hastings house?” she asked. Joy figured that if there was a mystery to the Hastings house, it would be in the newspapers.

            “Let me check, please wait right here for a moment.”

Joy chewed her lip nervously, hoping that the library has newspaper articles on the subject. She didn’t know where else she could look.