Hickory Creek, Inc.

It was one of those extremely hot summer days. The kind of day when you looked for any excuse to stay inside. Unfortunately, my parents were tired of my brother, Linus, and me sitting around the television. So, they sent us into the blistering heat. Someone alert DHS!

Since we didn't want to end up as human raisins, my brother and I set off for Hickory Creek, our neighborhood water hole. Every summer, kids would soak themselves in the refreshing waters. We had to be careful though. My buddy Tim forgot to let go of the rope last year.

Poor guy cracked his head on the branch when he swung too high. To be fair, he was trying to impress Lindsey. She's the prettiest girl in school. Everybody's always trying to wow her. You wouldn't believe the extent of these shenanigans.

Tim broke his arm after he missed the water. To his credit, Lindsey was the first to sign his cast when he got out of the hospital. Guy bragged about that all summer. We got him a plexiglass box and keep it on display in our office. Yes, two fourteen-year-old kids have an office.

Allow me to explain. Back in fifth grade, Linus and I solved a mystery that had baffled the neighborhood. Mrs. Edwards had complained that someone had stolen her mailbox. We found it in Mr. Teach's cornfield just outside of town.

Apparently, someone had been using it to trap crows. To put your minds at ease, the trap hadn't work. No birds were harmed in the duration of this experiment, so you can tell PETA to chill. Anyway, Mrs. Edwards gave us a whole ten bucks as a reward.

That's how Hickory Creek, Inc. was born! Now, my brother and I spend our free time solving crimes around the neighborhood. You would not believe the hijinks we see around here. Just last week, a powdered wig was stolen from Mrs. Dexter's salon.

We found Teddy Mercury with it. The dude was trying to pass himself off as an elderly man in the retirement home. What some people will do to get out of midterms. Teddy's always up to some mischief, which provides us plenty of business.

When my brother and I reached the watering hole, it was already packed to the brim with kids escaping the heat. We stopped at Lisa's Snack Stand before we hit the water. She's always selling popsicles and Coca-Cola. Linus got his trademark purple grape while I stuck with orange.

"That'll be three bucks," Lisa announced.

"Three bucks!" Linus exclaimed. "That's highway robbery!"

"I gotta account for inflation," Lisa insisted.

"Maybe, I'll just open my own stand and put you outta business!" Linus snapped.

"Just try it," Lisa challenged. "My stand's been here for years. People want someone they know." I pulled Linus away from his argument before the people in line behind us threw a tantrum. He complained about how unfair the prices were as he chomped on his popsicle.

The poor fellow couldn't even be cheered up with a frozen treat. Since the creek was so crowded, we decided to sneak back into the house and watch Seinfeld reruns. On our way back we were accosted by Millie Turner, who lives four houses down.

The girl's always earning prizes at the Science Fair. She's a genius. Though some kids think she's one tragic accident away from becoming a supervillain. Millie's got a crush on Linus, so she's always trying to impress him with her inventions.

"Eureka!" Millie cried excitedly. Linus tried to keep walking, but Millie's fast. "Hurry! Hurry!" she exclaimed. "Ya guys gotta see this!" She grabbed my brother's arm and practically dragged him toward her house. Some might call that kidnapping, but oh well.

Millie eagerly shoved my brother upstairs to the attic. I guess her parents felt safer putting her above the house in case something blew up. That way, they only had to replace the roof. Good thinking. Anyway, Millie got us up to her lab and shoved us onto the couch.

That thing is not comfortable. Springs poke out, and it sags. Millie hurried over to her latest project, which she had covered with a sheet. I honestly thought she was showing us a ghost for one horrifying minute. Millie threw back the cover and yelled Ta-Da!

"What is it?" Linus asked.

"It's a shrink ray," Millie explained. "I'm gonna win a Nobel Prize!" The future spokesperson of straight jackets for women dove into the scientific details of her contraption. Linus suggested she sell it to Dr. Doofenshmirtz, but Millie didn't know who that was. Poor deprived child.

Millie read all the techy details from her little black book. It's where she keeps all her notes for inventions and future global hostage negotiations. Sadly, I'm not kidding. Poor Linus shrunk into the couch as Millie babbled on and on about her latest accomplishment.

I zoned out, which is how I accidentally agreed to go to the Science Fair on Saturday. Millie was thrilled to have her friends come and support her. We didn't see her machine in action that day. Millie wanted to wow us at the Science Fair.

Linus whined and moaned the entire way there. In his defense, it was before noon during summer vacation. The Rec Center was packed with future engineers and mad scientists. We found Millie by her machine. She was crawling on her hands and knees under the table.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"My little black book's gone!" Millie wailed. "I can't patent this thing without my notes!" She looked so distraught that I couldn't help myself.

"We'll take the case," I announced.

"Oh thank you!" Millie exclaimed happily. "I'll name you as co-contributors as a reward!"

"That won't be necessary," I assured her. "Now, do you have any idea who might have stolen your book?"

"None," Millie admitted. "I've been here all morning. Well, I did leave for a minute to get some water. Teddy Mercury was nice enough to keep an eye on things."

"Oh no," Linus groaned.

"Do you think Ted stole my work?" Millie asked in dismay.

"One way to find out," I replied. "Is he still here?"

"I think he's by Shelly Thompson's table," Millie said. "She built her own cotton candy machine."

"Shelley's table, it is!" Linus exclaimed. Millie pointed us in the right direction, and we went in search of our only suspect. Shelly's table wasn't hard to find. It had a line of hyper kindergarteners that stretched out the door. We spotted Teddy as he relieved a kid from his spot in line.

"A moment of your time, Teddy," I called. The bully turned when he heard his name. His mouth was coated with pink sugar, and his eyes were wide. The guy looked like a sugar addict who had just escaped rehab. Teddy shifted his backpack to his other shoulder and glared at us.

"What do you nerds want?" he demanded.

"It's a question of a notebook," I answered. "Millie Turner requested we investigate its disappearance."

"That lab rat blamed me?" Teddy snapped. "I guarded her shrink ray with my life, and she's accusing me of stealing! The nerve!"

"So, you didn't take it?" Linus inquired.

"Look, I never even saw it," Teddy insisted. "Now, why don't you Sherlock Holmes wannabes take a hike? I've got a date with sugary goodness."

"Thank you for your time," I said. "Oh, could you keep an eye out for it?"

"Oh sure," Teddy answered sarcastically. "If I see a little black book, I'll let you geeks know."

"We never said it was black," I pointed out. Teddy froze. While he was searching for an explanation, Linus reached into the bully's open backpack. He pulled out the little black book. When Teddy objected, Linus opened it and showed him Millie's name etched inside.

With the evidence stacked against him, Teddy quickly backed off. Besides, he had reached the front of the line by then and wanted more cotton candy. Having reclaimed stolen property, we dutifully returned to Millie's table. She was elated to see us.

As we were leaving, two teachers approached us. Millie proudly powered up her machine and placed an apple in front of it. Before the teachers could object or dive for cover, Milly flipped the switch. Instantly, the apple shrunk to the size of a grape.

Millie spent the rest of the Science Fair explaining her work to teachers and several people from various science divisions. There was talk of patenting her work. Millie claimed someone even offered twenty thousand dollars for her machine and formulas.

I doubted that. Who gives a fourteen-year-old kid twenty grand? As it turns out, NASA does. Millie's parents were so proud of their daughter. She would be going to the best colleges around when she graduated. NASA would be providing scholarships and everything.

To celebrate another case solved, we all went to the watering hole. Lisa was just closing up shop when we got there. Once again, she and Linus got into an argument about prices. Millie offered to shrink them if we could wait for a moment.

When Lisa found out about the shrink ray, she gave us popsicles for free. Linus called Millie his favorite person, which made science girl extremely happy. We found a spot under the tree and enjoyed our complimentary frozen treats. It had been a good Saturday after all.

THE END