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Authors: Donna Jo Napoli

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I stared. “What now?”

“Soccer shoes.” Melody put her backpack on the bench beside her. “Beat-up ones. They smell.”

“Well, at least this proves you aren't losing your mind,” I said.

“Who would put smelly old soccer shoes in my cubby?”

Disappearing ballet slippers. Disappearing swim fins.And now magically appearing soccer shoes.

They all had to do with feet.

“Who cares about your feet, Melody? Besides you, I mean.”

“My daddy does. He tickles them.”

“Other than him?”

“No one.”

“Let's be logical about this. Someone took away your ballet slippers, so you couldn't have a good lesson.”

Melody nodded.

“And someone took away your swim fins, so you couldn't have a good practice.”

Melody nodded.

“Someone doesn't want you dancing or swimming. But someone wants you playing soccer.”

“I don't like soccer,” said Melody. “I'll just throw them away.”

She opened her pack and I saw the shoes inside.

“Those aren't for soccer. The spikes are metal. Those are for baseball.” I turned a cleat over. Written in red crayon on the bottom was the number 2. I recognized red crayon numbers. “Eat, Melody. And when Jack sits down with us, don't leave, no matter what he says.”

“What makes you so sure Jack will sit with us again?”

Just then Kate came over. She looked me up and down. “It doesn't matter if you're short.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Cheerleading.You can do it,” said Kate.

Jack jumped out at all of us.

“You're good at jumping,” said Kate. “You'd make a good cheerleader.”

“I'm a guy,” said Jack.

“Guys can be cheerleaders,” said Kate. “I'm putting together a squad.We're going to jump high.”

“You better not jump higher than me,” said Jack. “I'm tired of people doing things better than me.”

Suddenly a memory came. A while back Melody had told Jack she kicked better than him. That cinched it. “What else did you get at Goodwill yesterday, Jack?”

“How did you know I was there?”

“Join the cheerleading squad,” said Kate. She can be very persistent.

“You bought these.” I put the smelly baseball cleats on the table.

“That's disgusting,” said Kate. She left.

“You're the one who took Melody's ballet slippers.”

“I gave them back,” said Jack.

“And you took her swim fins.”

“I gave them back too,” said Jack.

“And you left these cleats in her cubby.”

“And they smell,” said Melody.

“There's no rule against that,” said Jack.

“There is a rule against stealing,” said Melody.

“It's not stealing if you give it back,” said Jack. “It's a prank.”

I pointed to the red crayon number. “You paid two dollars. And you never have extra money. Why was it so important to mess up Melody's ballet lesson?”

“I didn't really mess it up. My cousin told me.”

“What did your cousin say?” said Melody.

“That you're the best in the class.”

“Really?” said Melody. She smiled shyly at Jack.

She was supposed to be mad at him.

“You messed up her swimming practice,” I said firmly.

Jack looked ashamed.

“I hate swimming anyway,” said Melody.

Jack looked surprised.

Melody smiled again. “Why'd you give me those shoes?”

“Ask Sly,” said Jack. “She thinks she has it all figured out.”

“He wanted you to go out for baseball. That way you wouldn't go out for the spring soccer league. You can't do two sports at once.”

“I'm not going out for soccer,” said Melody.

“Really?” said Jack.

“I never even thought about it,” said Melody. “Not really.”

They were so chummy, it made me sick.

This time I was the one to leave them sitting in the lunchroom.

Good Feelings

Jack really was sorry that his pranks got out of hand. And Melody was sorry she'd hurt Jack's feelings. She told me all about how they apologized to each other.

Melody promised never to brag about her kicks again. But Jack decided to do extra work on his kicks anyway. He joined the swim team.

The ballet recital was this evening. Melody was terrific. I told her that. So did Jack. He came because his cousin was in it.

Kate complimented Melody too. She came because she was scouting for people for her cheerleading squad. She went around telling the best dancers to “join us.” When I asked her who “us” was, she admitted it was just her so far. Poor Kate. If I liked that sort of thing, I'd have joined just to keep her company. It's okay, though, because Melody finally joined.

The case of the Kick Craze is over. And even though Melody had already paid in advance, with those two baseball cards, she gave me a bottle of nail polish too.

So I'm going to bed happy tonight. But first I'm going outside to say good night to Taxi. She's in her cooler, snug and warm, with one paw hanging out the door. This afternoon I told Brian my mother was rightâthe cooler was a brilliant idea. He beamed. Jealousy is nasty. Good riddance.

Yup, I sure am going to bed happy tonight.

Case # 3:

Sly and the Basketball Blues

The Captain

The cheerleading squad met after school.

On Monday we met at Kate's house. That's because the whole idea of the squad was Kate's.

We skipped Tuesday because Melody has ballet lessons on Tuesday.

On Wednesday we met at Melody's house.That's because Melody was the first person besides Kate to join the squad. Kate had promised Melody that Pong could be mascot if she joined.

On Thursday we met at Princess's house. That's because Princess was the next to join Kate's squad. She's new in school. Anyone can push her around. Especially with a name like Princess. Her father gave her that nickname and it stuck. Poor kid. Her big sister is called Angel. It's a good thing there aren't any more girls in the family.

On Friday we met at my house. I didn't want to be on the cheerleading squad. I hated the whole idea. But Melody is my best friend. And when Kate roped Melody into it, Melody begged me to join too.

My latest case began that first Friday, in our driveway. I didn't know it was beginning, though. Here's how it went.

“Line up,” said Kate.

Melody and Princess lined up. Brian lined up too. I didn't line up.

“Line up,” said Kate, looking at me.

“It's my house,” I said. “I'll do what I want.”

“I'm the captain,” said Kate. “You'll do what I say.”

“She's the captain,” said Brian. “Oh, my. Hurry, Sly.”

“She's only the captain of the cheerleading squad,” I told Brian. “She can't hurt us.” But I got in line anyway.

“You,” said Kate, pointing at Brian. “Get out of line.You can't be a cheerleader.”

Too Little

Brian cried.

I put my arm around his shoulders. “Why can't he be a cheerleader?”

“He's too little,” said Kate.

“It doesn't matter if you're short.” I pulled Brian closer. “You said so yourself.”

“It does if you're that short.”

“We could carry him,” said Melody.

“Yeah,” said Brian.

“How can we cheerlead if we're carrying him?” said Kate.

“Not in our arms,” said Melody. “On our backs. We can take turns.”

This was a bad idea. Brian is heavy. But Melody was just trying to be nice. And it's important to stand up to Kate. “Okay, Brian.” I got down on one knee. “Climb on my back.”

Brian climbed on. He clamped his legs around my waist. He locked his arms around my throat. I couldn't breathe.