The Great Notebook Escape
It was 1:55 in Room 114 A. Ms. G's OGP class was almost over for the day. Ms. G (whose real name was Mrs. Pruneda) was helping her first graders learn to read special words.
"Time to practice our letters," said Ms. G with a big smile.
Alyssa raised her hand super high. "Ms. G! Ms. G! I can't find my pencil again!" Alyssa loved to talk. She got in trouble yesterday for writing on the wall because her classmate told her it was okay.
"Use your backup pencil, Alyssa," said Ms. G kindly. She knew Alyssa was a lefty and sometimes dropped things.
From across the room, Zurian (who everyone called Raul, even himself) made a funny face. "Maybe the pencil monsters ate it!" he said, wiggling his fingers like tiny monsters.
Everyone laughed. Raul always said the silliest things.
"Raul, please take out your notebook," said Ms. G.
Raul looked in his desk. He looked in his backpack. He looked under his chair. "It's gone!" he gasped. "My notebook ran away!"
"Not again," sighed Ms. G. This happened almost every day.
Under the reading table, three cats watched the children. Lola, the calico cat with attitude, swished her tail. She was four years old and thought everyone should serve her. Luna, the crazy three-year-old cat with extra toes on her front paws, batted at Pulguita, the skinny gray cat. Poor Pulguita gave a sad meow to Ms. G.
"Stop bothering Pulguita," Ms. G told Luna. But Luna just blinked her eyes like she didn't understand.
Raul pointed at Luna. "I love that cat! I want to take her home!"
"Focus, Raul. We need to find your notebook," said Ms. G.
Suddenly, Alyssa heard a tiny voice. "Psst! Alyssa!"
She looked down. Behind the bookshelf was a notebook! It was Raul's missing notebook!
"Why are you hiding?" whispered Alyssa.
"I'm tired of Raul losing me all the time!" the notebook whispered back. "He drops me, steps on me, and never puts me away properly. My pages are bent!"
Alyssa's eyes got big. "Notebooks can talk?"
"Only when we've had enough!" said the notebook. "And I've had ENOUGH!"
Alyssa nodded. "I'll tell Raul to be more careful."
She went to find Raul, who was looking inside the class pet tank. "Raul, your notebook is hiding because—"
But before she could finish, she heard another tiny voice. "Alyssa! Don't tell him about us!"
Alyssa turned around. It was HER notebook! And her pencil and eraser were with it!
"Why are YOU hiding?" asked Alyssa, confused.
"Because you write with your left hand and twist me all funny," complained her notebook. "My spine hurts! And you press too hard with your pencil."
"I can't help being left-handed!" said Alyssa.
"We know," said her pencil. "But you could be more gentle."
Meanwhile, Lola the cat strutted over to the hiding notebooks. "What's this? Secret meeting without my permission?" she meowed. She acted like she was the queen of the classroom.
Luna bounced over too, her extra toes making funny prints on the floor. "Let's play with the notebooks!" she meowed excitedly.
Pulguita just watched from a safe distance, giving a pitiful cry to Ms. G.
"Class, we have five minutes left," called Ms. G. "Please put away your materials."
"But we can't find our notebooks!" said Raul and Alyssa together.
Ms. G looked at the clock. "Well, that's strange. Maybe they'll turn up tomorrow."
After the children left, the notebooks came out of hiding. They met in the middle of the room with the three cats.
"Did it work?" asked Raul's notebook.
"I think so," said Alyssa's notebook. "Maybe they'll be more careful now."
Lola swished her tail. "This was MY idea, so I deserve credit."
Luna batted at the pencils, making them roll across the floor. "This is fun!"
Pulguita meowed softly, "Ms. G is coming back!"
The notebooks quickly hid again. The cats pretended to be sleeping.
Ms. G walked into the quiet classroom. "That's strange," she said, looking around. "I thought I heard voices."
She spotted something under her desk. She bent down and picked up both missing notebooks, the pencils, and the erasers.
"How did these get here?" she wondered.
Just then, she noticed something strange. There were tiny paw prints on the notebook covers. And was that... cat hair?
Ms. G looked at the three cats, who all stared back with innocent eyes.
"Well, well," said Ms. G with a smile. "I think I know who the real notebook thieves are!"
The next day, when Raul and Alyssa came to class, their notebooks were waiting on their desks. On top was a note that said: "Please take good care of your things. The cats can't help themselves!"
Raul laughed his big laugh. "The cats stole our stuff! I knew it was monsters!"
Alyssa smiled and carefully opened her notebook, being gentle with the spine. "I'll be more careful with you," she whispered.
And from under the reading table, three cats watched with twitching whiskers and knowing eyes.
THE END
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