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

microphone. Dr. Prell waited there and watched as Mr. Day told the teachers where their classes should stand.
    Danny whispered to Eric, “You still didn’t tell me what’s yellow and green.”
    “Shh,” Eric said.
    Mr. Day waved to Ms. Benson, who led her class to the right of the flagpole.
    “A moldy chicken,” Danny whispered. “That’s what’s yellow and green.”
    “That’s not even funny,” Eric told him. “And we should be quiet.”
    “Good morning,” Dr. Prell said. “This is a great day for our school. It’s a green day, and we’re a green school. I am proud to raise this flag.”
    Dr. Prell pulled a rope and raised a large green flag. Children cheered as it moved up the flagpole. It stopped just beneath the red, white, and blue American flag.

    “We’re a green school because we care about the environment.”
    Children cheered.
    “I have an award for the four students who brought in the most soda cans and bottles. They are Ashanti Stevens, Michael Teller, Jennifer Jansen, and Eric Shelton. Please step forward.”
    Cam, Eric, and the other two children stood by the flagpole. Dr. Prell pinned a large gold-and-green button on each of the children’s shirts.
    “And now,” Dr. Prell said, “Mr. Day will wheel out all those dimes and tell us how much money we raised.”
    Mr. Day walked into the school.
    Dr. Prell smiled. “We raised a lot,” she said. “We have enough dimes to help pay for two skylights and a recycling bin.”
    Children cheered.
    “I hope you will continue to bring cans and bottles for recycling. The money we raise now will be used to buy solar panels.”
    Mr. Day came back outside, pulling a wagon toward the flagpole. On the wagon was the large wooden box. Mr. Day and another teacher lifted the box onto the table.
    “Let’s see those dimes,” Dr. Prell said.
    Mr. Day took the lid off the box and looked in. He seemed surprised.
    “Look,” he whispered to Dr. Prell.
    Dr. Prell looked in the box. Cam and Eric looked in, too. Several bricks were in the box. But the dimes were gone.

Chapter Three
    “What happened?” Dr. Prell whispered.
    Mr. Day shook his head. He didn’t know.
    “I put all the rolls of dimes in the box,” Mr. Day said. “I put on the lid. Then I came out here to tell the children where to stand.”
    Dr. Prell looked in the box again. There were still just several bricks in it.
    “What do I do now?” Mr. Day asked.
    “Please,” Dr. Prell whispered, “tell the children how much money they raised.”
    “But there’s nothing in there,” Mr. Day whispered. “All the money is gone.”
    “Don’t tell them that! The children were great. They collected lots of bottles and cans. They should know how well they did.”
    Mr. Day stepped up to the microphone.
    “You brought in thousands of bottles and cans. Every day after school, I took them to the recycling center where I got thousands of dimes, which I put into rolls.”
    Dr. Prell leaned close to Mr. Day and whispered, “They want to know how much money was raised.”

    “In all, there were one hundred and eighty rolls of dimes.”
    The children waited.
    “That’s nine hundred dollars.”
    The children and teachers cheered.
    Cam whispered to Eric, “That’s how much was stolen.”
    “But you’ll find all those dimes,” Eric whispered. “They were here this morning. What happened to them is a mystery, and you’ll solve it.”
    “I’m not so sure,” Cam said, and shook her head.
    Dr. Prell thanked Mr. Day. Then she thanked all the children.
    “Congratulations. You did a great job. Keep bringing in bottles and cans. There’s lots more we can do to help our environment. Now please wait for Mr. Day to call your class. Then return to your rooms.”
    The four children who had won gold-and-green buttons were told not to talk about the missing dimes. Two of the winners, Ashanti Stevens and Michael Teller, returned to their teachers. Cam and Eric didn’t. They stepped back and stood by the