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Authors: Dan Poblocki
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because he wouldn’t have had to distinguish himself from his son, who hadn’t even been born yet.
“All of a sudden, the situation just seemed really sketchy, so I put the comic book back and returned my parents’ money to my pocket.
“I left the comic book show empty-handed, but I still had a great time. I know that one day I’ll be able to find a real signed copy of McKenzie the Magnificent, and it will be totally awesome.”
“Wow,” said Viola. “You should have reported the vendor for trying to sell you fake merchandise.”
“Yeah, I thought about it,” Sylvester replied. “But I don’t know for sure if the guy who was trying to sell the book even knew it was junk. He might have been just as clueless as I’d been when I took out my money.”
“Hmm,” said Rosie. “You never know when people might be trying to trick you. Someone in my own family tried to put one over on me just last night!”
15
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING ASPARAGUS
(A ??? MYSTERY)
“Sunday dinners are a big deal at my house,” Rosie continued. “It’s the only time of the week that my parents make all my brothers and sisters and me sit down at the table for a meal together. Everyone has a job to do, whether it’s grocery shopping, or cooking, or setting the table, or doing the dishes. We usually switch off each chore.
“Yesterday, Greg and Keira did the shopping. My mom gave them a list and they went to the store in the afternoon. Mom and Stephen did most of the cooking, even though I helped chop the onions because I like to see how long I can last before the fumes make me start to cry. At the last minute, Dad came in from his office and set the table. After dinner, Grace and I planned on cleaning up.
“We sat down, ready to eat my mom’s famousmeat loaf when she shouted out, ‘Wait! We’re missing a dish! Where’s the roasted asparagus?’ Looking confused, my father said, ‘I set the table, but I didn’t see any asparagus dish.’
“I rushed to the kitchen to grab the extra plate, but the counter was empty. I called back to the dining room to let everyone know there was nothing else to serve. I started to wonder if we might have our own mystery on our hands.
“'I’m sure we put the asparagus on the ceramic blue serving tray,’ Mom said. Stephen agreed.
“I decided to stay in the kitchen to look for clues. First, I checked the oven, to see if the veggies were still in there. When I opened the door, a waft of warm air blew against my face, but the oven was empty. It had been on, but that didn’t prove anything, because the meat loaf had been baked.
“Next, I checked the refrigerator to make sure someone hadn’t accidentally put the tray in there to chill. But the asparagus were nowhere to be found. In the dishwasher, I noticed my mother’s ceramic blue serving tray, rinsed clean and tucked away at the rear. If the tray was now clean, I suddenly had a hunch where I’d find the asparagus.
“Where do you think I looked next?”
“I checked the garbage can. When I lifted the lid, I found a pile of steaming greens, freshly seasoned and looking completely unappetizing. I called to my mom, and when she came and saw the bin, she screamed.
“Mom went back into the dining room and claimed that one of my brothers or sisters must have sabotaged the dish because they never like to eat their vegetables. She went around the table asking each of us why we would do such a thing, but no one took responsibility. She said that if the guilty party didn’t fess up, she wouldn’t serve us dessert ever again. A most extreme threat, but still, no one said a word.
“My mother sat back down, shaken up by our betrayal. My dad, who hates any sort of drama, spoke up. He said, ‘It’s a real shame that someone would think to do such a thing, since the asparagus sauce looked so delicious and your mother worked so hard.’
I looked around the table, trying to see if I could figure out which of my siblings had done it
“All of a sudden, the situation just seemed really sketchy, so I put the comic book back and returned my parents’ money to my pocket.
“I left the comic book show empty-handed, but I still had a great time. I know that one day I’ll be able to find a real signed copy of McKenzie the Magnificent, and it will be totally awesome.”
“Wow,” said Viola. “You should have reported the vendor for trying to sell you fake merchandise.”
“Yeah, I thought about it,” Sylvester replied. “But I don’t know for sure if the guy who was trying to sell the book even knew it was junk. He might have been just as clueless as I’d been when I took out my money.”
“Hmm,” said Rosie. “You never know when people might be trying to trick you. Someone in my own family tried to put one over on me just last night!”
15
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING ASPARAGUS
(A ??? MYSTERY)
“Sunday dinners are a big deal at my house,” Rosie continued. “It’s the only time of the week that my parents make all my brothers and sisters and me sit down at the table for a meal together. Everyone has a job to do, whether it’s grocery shopping, or cooking, or setting the table, or doing the dishes. We usually switch off each chore.
“Yesterday, Greg and Keira did the shopping. My mom gave them a list and they went to the store in the afternoon. Mom and Stephen did most of the cooking, even though I helped chop the onions because I like to see how long I can last before the fumes make me start to cry. At the last minute, Dad came in from his office and set the table. After dinner, Grace and I planned on cleaning up.
“We sat down, ready to eat my mom’s famousmeat loaf when she shouted out, ‘Wait! We’re missing a dish! Where’s the roasted asparagus?’ Looking confused, my father said, ‘I set the table, but I didn’t see any asparagus dish.’
“I rushed to the kitchen to grab the extra plate, but the counter was empty. I called back to the dining room to let everyone know there was nothing else to serve. I started to wonder if we might have our own mystery on our hands.
“'I’m sure we put the asparagus on the ceramic blue serving tray,’ Mom said. Stephen agreed.
“I decided to stay in the kitchen to look for clues. First, I checked the oven, to see if the veggies were still in there. When I opened the door, a waft of warm air blew against my face, but the oven was empty. It had been on, but that didn’t prove anything, because the meat loaf had been baked.
“Next, I checked the refrigerator to make sure someone hadn’t accidentally put the tray in there to chill. But the asparagus were nowhere to be found. In the dishwasher, I noticed my mother’s ceramic blue serving tray, rinsed clean and tucked away at the rear. If the tray was now clean, I suddenly had a hunch where I’d find the asparagus.
“Where do you think I looked next?”
“I checked the garbage can. When I lifted the lid, I found a pile of steaming greens, freshly seasoned and looking completely unappetizing. I called to my mom, and when she came and saw the bin, she screamed.
“Mom went back into the dining room and claimed that one of my brothers or sisters must have sabotaged the dish because they never like to eat their vegetables. She went around the table asking each of us why we would do such a thing, but no one took responsibility. She said that if the guilty party didn’t fess up, she wouldn’t serve us dessert ever again. A most extreme threat, but still, no one said a word.
“My mother sat back down, shaken up by our betrayal. My dad, who hates any sort of drama, spoke up. He said, ‘It’s a real shame that someone would think to do such a thing, since the asparagus sauce looked so delicious and your mother worked so hard.’
I looked around the table, trying to see if I could figure out which of my siblings had done it
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