Chapter Text
The last day of school was the best day of all, even better than the first day, thought Nancy Drew. The sun shone its brightest, painting golden stripes on the classroom floor, and a happy hum vibrated through Mrs. Steven's second-grade class. No more math worksheets, no more spelling tests, just a whole summer stretching out like a long, lazy cat in the sun! But the very best part of the last day? Prize Day!
Nancy, with her shiny red hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, bounced a little in her seat. Her best friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne, sat on either side of her, practically wiggling out of their skin with excitement. Bess, with her curly blonde hair and dimpled smile, hugged herself, dreaming of princesses. George, with her short, practical haircut and bright, curious eyes, kept tapping her foot, ready for action.
All year long, they had earned points by taking tests on the books they had read, and then they had turned those points in for a special prize. Nancy couldn't wait to get her detective kit.
Mrs. Steven clapped her hands, a gentle sound that made everyone jump a little, even though they were expecting it. "Alright, second graders!" she announced, her smile as bright as the sunshine streaming in. "It's time for Prize Day!"
She walked over to the art supply cupboard, opened it, and pulled out a large pink box, "Bess Marvin!" She called out.
Bess clapped her hand, "Oh, my Princess tea set!"
Bess practically floated to the front of the room, her blonde curls bouncing. Mrs. Steven handed her the pink box, which she held up to reveal tiny teacups with gold rims and a teapot shaped like a castle tower.
One by one Ms. Steven pulled a prize out of the cupboard and handed it to its owner.
Nancy waited eagerly for her name to be called, everyone else had gotten theirs. Only Ms. Stevens was closing the cupboard. What happened to her detective kit?
Nancy’s heart did a little jolt, like when she heard a loud thunderclap. "Mrs. Steven?" she asked, her voice a tiny squeak. "You didn't call my name yet."
Mrs. Steven turned, her smile a little less bright now. She looked back at the cupboard, which was now completely empty except for a few stray crayons. She even peeked inside again, just to make sure. "Oh, dear," she said, tapping her chin with a thoughtful finger. "That's very odd, Nancy. All the prizes should have been here."
Bess and George leaned closer, their eyes wide. "Her detective kit was really cool," Bess whispered to George. "It had a magnifying glass and a secret notebook!"
"It was the best prize!" George added, already looking around the room as if the kit might have just walked away on its own.
Nancy felt a wobble in her stomach. No detective kit? On the very last day of school? This was a puzzle, and it wasn’t math homework. This was a mystery.
"But I had enough points, didn't I?" Nancy asked, trying to sound brave, like a real detective.
"Of course, you did, sweetie," Mrs. Steven said, giving Nancy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You read more books than anyone else in class! Your detective kit was definitely ordered and put aside." She frowned, looking at the now-empty cupboard one last time. "It seems... someone took it."
A gasp went through the room. Taken? But who would take a prize? And why would they take Nancy's prize?
Nancy’s eyes, usually sparkling with fun, now shone with a determined glint. No more wiggling! This wasn’t just about getting her prize anymore; it was about solving her very first real mystery. She already had a case, and she already had a suspect: someone. Now she just needed to find out who and why. Her adventure had just begun, even without her official kit, "It's a mystery!" She announced.
"How are you going to solve it without your detective kit?"
Nancy frowned, her bottom lip trembled slightly, "I... I don't know," she confessed.
Nancy frowned, her bottom lip trembled slightly, "I... I don't know," she confessed. The golden stripes on the floor seemed to blur. How could she be a detective without a magnifying glass or a secret notebook?
Bess quickly wrapped an arm around Nancy. "Don't worry, Nancy! You're super smart! You don't need a kit to be a detective. You just need your brain!"
George nodded, already tapping her foot again, but this time with purpose. "And your eyes! And maybe our eyes too! We can be your detective team!"
Mrs. Steven smiled, her bright gaze reassuring Nancy. "That's right, girls! A real detective uses their brain more than any tool. And they pay very close attention to details. Let's think, what's the first thing a detective does?"
Nancy took a deep breath. "They look for clues!" Her eyes, though still a little wobbly, began to sparkle with that familiar determination. She didn't have a magnifying glass, but she had her own keen eyes! "Let's start with the cupboard!"
The three friends, now a tiny detective agency, carefully tiptoed to the empty art supply cupboard. George, being the most practical, bent down first. "It's super empty," she declared, peering into the darkest corners.
Bess, with her love for all things pretty, gasped. "Look!" she whispered, pointing just inside the cupboard door, near the bottom hinge. A tiny, iridescent feather, shimmering with all the colors of a rainbow, lay nestled in a dust bunny. "It's so beautiful!"
Nancy carefully picked up the feather. It was soft and sparkly. "This wasn't here before," she murmured, turning it over in her fingers. "Who has feathers like this?"
Mrs. Steven had overheard. "Hmm," she mused, walking over. "That looks like it could be from Penelope's craft box. She brought in a whole bag of decorative feathers last week for our art project."
Penelope Periwinkle sat three rows over, her blonde pigtails bouncing as she fiddled with a sparkly sticker on her desk. She was usually very quiet. Nancy looked at Bess and George, a silent question passing between them. Could quiet Penelope have taken the kit? It didn't seem right.
"Let's check Penelope's area," Nancy whispered, leading the way. They walked by Penelope's desk. Penelope looked up, her blue eyes wide, and then quickly looked away, hunching over her desk a little.
As they walked past, George, with her sharp eyes, noticed something. "Wait!" she whispered, tugging on Nancy's sleeve. "Look!"
Jammed right between Penelope's desk and the one next to it, was a corner of a familiar-looking box. It wasn't pink like Bess's tea set. It was a sturdy, dark blue box, just the right size for a detective kit. And peeking out from under a pile of papers on Penelope's desk was a small, plastic magnifying glass!
Nancy's heart did a happy flip-flop. "It's my kit!" she exclaimed, a little louder than she intended.
Penelope jumped, shaking her head violently, "No it's not," she insisted, "This is my detective kit. I ordered one too."
Mrs. Steven, sensing the tension, came over. "Now, girls, let's calm down a moment," she said gently. Her smile was back, full and warm. "Every prize has the name of the child who earned it. We keep a list, and the boxes are always labeled. Let's check."
She carefully pulled the blue box fully out from between Penelope’s desk and the one next to it. It was indeed a sturdy, dark blue box, just as Nancy remembered her chosen prize looking. On the side, near the brightly colored picture of a magnifying glass and a fingerprint kit, was a small white sticker. Mrs. Steven read it aloud: "Penelope Periwinkle."
"See," Penelope announced, "I told you it was mine. I need it for when I go to Camp Sleuth this summer."
Ms. Steven checked her clipboard, "It looks like you and Penelope ordered the same kit. This is Penelope's kit. In mysteries this is called a red herring. Who knows how long those feathers could have been in the cupboard."
Nancy felt a fresh wave of disappointment wash over her, heavier than before. Her shoulders slumped. A red herring? That meant they were back to square one, and her kit was still gone. George patted her arm. "Don't worry, Nan," she said, ever practical. "Red herrings just mean we have to look harder, right?"
"Exactly!" Mrs. Steven chimed in, bending down to Nancy's eye level. "Sometimes the best detectives have to start over. Let's think, Nancy. Where else could it be? When was the last time anyone saw it?"
Nancy shrugged, "I don't know," she confessed, "When did you put the prizes in the cupboard?"
"Last night," Ms. Steven confessed, "I picked up the prizes after dinner last night. I know I had yours then because that's when I put your name tag on it... "
"Where was this?" George asked, eagerly.
"Mr. Tots Toy Store," Ms. Steven explained, "That's where all of our prizes come from."