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Authors: David A. Adler

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Players from both teams got close to the governor and the coach. The governor’s four guards got close, too.

“It is a joy for me to be here to honor Coach Jenkins,” Governor Zellner said. “I played for Coach. He is one of the finest men in our state. I was proud to wear a Hamilton orange and black uniform.”

People cheered.

Governor Zellner held up his hands again and they were quiet.

He turned to Coach Jenkins and told him, “I have a special gift for you.”

“This will be great,” Mr. Shelton said.

One of the governor’s assistants went outside. She came back carrying a large box.

“I bet it’s a car,” Diane said.

“No,” Donna told her. “A car wouldn’t fit in that box.”

“But car keys would,” Diane said.

The assistant gave the box to Governor Zellner. The governor opened it and took out a basketball.

“For the past year I have taken this basketball with me as I traveled throughout the state. It was signed by more than one hundred of your former players.”

The governor pointed to a spot on the ball. “Look here,” he said. “Matt Taylor, the famous actor, signed it.”

Coach Jenkins laughed. “He’s a great actor, but he wasn’t a very good basketball player.”

Governor Zellner said, “Toby Coleman, the great artist, signed it. He drew a little picture on it, too.”

Coach Jenkins looked at the picture and said, “Wow! It’s like his famous line and circle paintings.”

Governor Zellner smiled. “I signed it, too. I’m the governor and one day I hope to be president.”

Coach Jenkins smiled and said, “And you were a pretty good basketball player.”

People cheered.

A few people shouted, “Zellner for president!”

Coach Jenkins and Governor Zellner put the two basketballs on a bench at the edge of the court. Then they hugged.

People left their seats and surrounded the governor and the coach. The Hamilton Helper standing by Cam and Eric cut the two nets. Hundreds of balloons fell out. They fell onto the bleachers and onto the court.

Danny caught one of the balloons. “Just call me Buster,” Danny said. Then he stepped on the balloon.

Pop!

“Please,” Jordan Gold shouted into the microphone. “Please join us at the party. It’s in the cafeteria.”

Danny said, “I love parties.”

Children and their parents hurried through the door toward the cafeteria. Danny and his father started down the stands.

“Let’s go!” Donna said.

“No, let’s stay,” Diane said. “It’s so pretty looking at all the balloons.”

Diane looked out across the gym. Then she asked Cam, “Please, take a picture for me.”

Cam looked at all the people and the colorful balloons. She blinked her eyes and said,
“Click!”

“Now let me see it,” Diane said. “Let me see the picture.”

“You can’t,” Eric told her. “Only Cam can see the pictures in her head.”

“That’s not fair,” Diane said. Then she turned to her parents and said, “Let’s go.”

The Hamilton players followed their coach and Governor Zellner out of the gym. The Franklin players went the other way, into the locker room.

The Sheltons followed Danny down toward the gym floor. When Cam and Eric got to the bottom, Eric said, “Look! One of the governor’s assistants is looking around. I think something is missing.”

Cam closed her eyes. She said,
“Click!”

Cam looked at the picture she had in her head of the coach and governor. She looked at the pictures she had of the people in the gym, all the seats, and the benches.

Cam opened her eyes. “Look at that bench,” she told Eric. “There’s just one basketball on it. Was Coach Jenkins carrying one of the basketballs when he left the gym?”

“I don’t know,” Eric said.

Cam closed her eyes and said,
“Click!”
again.

“He wasn’t,” Cam said and opened her eyes. “He wasn’t carrying a basketball.”

“Then one of the signed basketballs is missing,” Eric said. “I bet it’s the one the governor brought, the one Matt Taylor signed. That’s why the governor’s assistant is looking around.”

Chapter Four

“The basketball signed by the governor, Matt Taylor, and that artist is real valuable,” Eric said. “I bet it was stolen.”

“Maybe not,” Cam told him. “It may have fallen off the bench. With all the balloons on the floor, it’s hard to tell. Or maybe one of the guards has it.”

One of the governor’s guards was standing by the side door. The governor’s assistant was looking around. Everyone else had left the gym.

Cam and Eric walked down to the floor of the gym. On their way, they kicked aside lots of balloons. They stopped by the bench at the edge of the court. Eric picked up the basketball. He looked at all the signatures.

“Matt Taylor’s name isn’t on here. There are no lines and circles,” Eric said. “This is the one signed by the team.”

“Put that down.”

Eric turned. The governor’s assistant was walking toward him. She was a tall woman with long red hair.

Eric put the ball on the bench.

Cam told the assistant, “The ball signed by Governor Zellner is missing.”

“Please, go to the cafeteria with the other children.”

Cam told her, “I don’t think Coach Jenkins had the other basketball when he left the gym. Does one of the guards have it?”

“You may be right,” the assistant said.

She wore an earpiece. Attached to it was a small speaker. “Max, Fred, Amy, Jane,” she said into the speaker. “Does one of you have a basketball?”

She put her hand to the earpiece. She waited for each of them to answer. Then she asked, “The one the governor brought is not here. If you don’t have it, where is it?”

She listened again and then said, “Yes, I’ll look for it and get back to you.” Then she told Cam and Eric, “You should go to the party. I’ll take care of this.”

Cam said, “It must have rolled off the bench. It’s got to be mixed in with all these balloons. My friend and I are good at finding things.”

Eric said, “We’ll stay out of your way.”

The assistant was not listening to Cam and Eric. She was busy kicking aside balloons and looking under the benches at the side of the court.

Cam said to Eric, “It might have rolled under the bleachers. Let’s look there.”

“I don’t think it rolled anywhere,” Eric whispered. “I think someone took it.”

Beneath the bleachers were long metal poles supporting the seats. Lots of balloons had fallen there. There were papers and candy wrappers, too.

Cam and Eric walked slowly between the metal poles.

“Look,” Eric said. He bent to pick up something. “I found a dime.”

Cam looked among the balloons. Eric searched through everything on the floor. They came out at the other end of the bleachers.

“Look what I found,” Eric said. He showed Cam a handful of coins. “Sixty-four cents. I’ll share it with you.”

“Thanks. But we didn’t find the basketball.”

Eric told Cam, “We each get thirty-two cents.”

The assistant had left the gym. The guard was still standing by the side door. Cam told him they had looked under the bleachers but did not find the basketball.

“Max, Amy, Jane,” the guard said into his speaker. “The ball is not under the bleachers. I don’t think it’s in here.”

He held his hand to the earpiece. He listened for a moment.

“Yes, Max,” he said. “I’ll watch the gym and the door. No one will leave here with that ball.”

The guard turned to Cam and Eric. “Why don’t you go to the cafeteria. It’s a real party with lots of ice cream and cake. Don’t worry. We’ll find that basketball.”

Cam and Eric walked toward the cafeteria.

“He’s wrong,” Eric whispered to Cam as they walked. “They won’t find that basketball. We will!”

Chapter Five