Free The Green School Mystery by David A. Adler Page A

said. “I looked at you and your clothes. Today’s lunch is not on your clothes.”
    Danny laughed. “It will be,” he said. “We’re having sloppy Joes. Before I’m done, tomato sauce will be everywhere.”
    “Well, I know what color your shirt is,” Eric said. “It’s green.”
    “How many buttons does it have?”
    Eric thought for a moment. Then he shook his head and said, “I don’t know.”
    “I know,” Cam said. “There are six buttons down the front of your shirt and one on the pocket. You also have button-down collars, so that’s two more. Altogether, your shirt has nine buttons.”
    “Yeah,” Danny said. “Nine.”
    Cam’s real name is Jennifer, but when people found out about her amazing memory, they called her “The Camera.” Soon “The Camera” became just “Cam.”
    “Go on,” Eric said. “Ask us something else.”
    Cam and Eric waited, but Danny didn’t ask another question.
    “Go on, Danny,” Eric said again. “I know what color your pants and your sneakers are. And you’re not carrying your book bag.”
    Cam and Eric waited, but Danny still didn’t ask another question.
    Cam opened her eyes and turned around.
    “Hey,” Cam said. “Danny is gone! I’ll bet he went into school. It’s late. We’d better hurry.”

Chapter Two
    Cam and Eric hurried into school. Their classroom was near the end of the hall, close to the gym and the cafeteria.
    “Look,” Eric said as they walked down the hall. “Mr. Day is taking out the dimes.”
    The display case near the gym was open. Mr. Day was putting the rolls of dimes into a large wooden box.
    Eric told Mr. Day, “I brought in six more cans. Cam brought in four.”
    “Great!” Mr. Day said. “That’s fifty cents.”
    Cam asked, “How much money did we raise?”

    “Take a look,” Mr. Day said. “Every roll has fifty dimes. That’s five dollars.”
    Lots of rolls were neatly lined up in the box.
    “There’s enough here to help pay for the skylights,” Mr. Day said. “At the assembly, I’ll announce how much we raised. Later today, I’ll take all the dimes to the bank.”
    Cam and Eric went to their classroom. The shades were up. The lights were off. Their teacher, Ms. Benson, was using sunlight instead of electric light.
    Cam and Eric gave Ms. Benson their soda cans. Then they went to their seats.
    Green Hints: What you can do to help the environment was written on the board.
     
    “Copy the Green Hints into your notebooks,” Ms. Benson said. “And please use both sides of the paper. Saving paper is saving the environment.”
    Eric opened his notebook. He started to copy Ms. Benson’s Green Hints.
    During the day, use sunlight instead of lightbulbs.
    Whenever you can, walk don’t ride.
    Don’t waste water.
    Whenever you can, use cold water instead of hot water.
    Cam didn’t copy the hints. She just looked at the board, blinked her eyes, an said, “Click!

    “I’m saving paper,” she whispered to Eric. “I can remember the hints without writing them.”
    “I can’t,” Eric said, and he continued to copy from the board.
    Recycle bottles, cans, and newspapers.
    Don’t waste food. Take only as much as you think you can eat.
    Plant a tree.
    “Please close your notebooks,” Ms. Benson told the class. “It’s time to go outside.”
    The children followed Ms. Benson.
    The hall was crowded. Every class in the school was on its way to the assembly.
    “Hey,” Danny asked, “who knows what’s yellow and green?”
    Eric looked at Danny’s green shirt, pants, and sneakers and answered, “You eating a banana.”
    “Hey, that’s good,” Danny said. “But it’s wrong.”
    Ms. Benson turned and faced her class. “Please,” she called to the children, “stay in a straight line and walk quietly.”
    The children followed Ms. Benson. When they reached the front door of the school, Ms. Benson held up her hand and the children stopped.
    Outside, next to the flagpole, were a table, a few chairs, and a