by Ida Siegal
TITLE PAGE
CHAPTER ONE: Snow Tag, So Mad!
CHAPTER TWO: Mysterious Riddle
CHAPTER THREE: A Princess in a Tower??
CHAPTER FOUR: Find the Princess, Find the Tower
CHAPTER FIVE: The Jefferson Market Library
CHAPTER SIX: My Enemy Is My Friend
CHAPTER SEVEN: Nellie Bly
CHAPTER EIGHT: Undercover
CHAPTER NINE: What Are You Doing Here?
CHAPTER TEN: S.O.S.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Adrian’s Pink Pen
CHAPTER TWELVE: Time to Save the Princess
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Uh-Oh
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Found Her!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Emma to the Rescue
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: One More Interview
EMMA’S TIPS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
THIS is Emma and I’m on the air!” I said into my camera phone as I stood in the school yard. “Time for the weather!”
It was so windy, my pudding Slinky curls were flying in the air behind me.
“It is really cold outside. Well, duh, you probably know that if you’ve been out of the house today. But here’s how I know for sure …”
I tilted the camera down to show my glove.
“Look … My Freezy glove changed color! The flower turned from yellow to hot pink. And the rainbow isn’t gray anymore—it has all the colors. The rainbow only gets its colors when it’s super cold out.”
This was my first weather report because I decided I could do all kinds of news on my show. Not every story has to be a mystery investigation. Of course, mysteries are the most fun! Like when my news team found the missing tambora drum or when we found Sophia’s stolen Lion costume. Even when we figured out how the worm got in Javier’s wormburger, we had to do an investigation. We had to do interviews, find clues, and solve problems. Then we put it all in our news reports. Those were cool, but you know what? People also needed to know about things like the weather!
“Yes, it’s definitely a cold one today,” I said into my camera phone. “Freezy gloves don’t lie!”
“And look—it’s snowing!” Javier suddenly screamed, dashing behind me. He was right. Snow flurries started to fall all around us. I pointed the camera phone up to the sky to show the snow. Then I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.
“Tag—you’re it!” shouted Adrian. He let out a sneaky laugh and ran off.
“Snow tag!” yelled Javier. Everyone started running around like crazy. I quickly pressed the send button on my phone. Just like that, my weather report went straight to the Internet. Papi taught me how to do that. He even gets a special alert when there’s a new “Emma Is On the Air” story online.
I put my phone in my backpack and plopped it down next to the playground fence. Then I took off after Adrian. I couldn’t let him snow-tag me and get away with it.
I ran as fast as I could to the other side of the school yard to catch up with him. Snow flurries were crashing into my face as I zoomed across. Adrian was too quick. His dirty-blond hair looked like a whizzing bumblebee, always out of reach. I saw Sophia hiding behind the tree to my right, so I decided to run after her instead.
“You’re it, Sophia!!” I yelled as I tagged her elbow.
She laughed and screamed and then started running after Lizzie. Then Lizzie tagged Shakira, and Shakira tagged Molly, and Molly tagged Melissa G. Ugh. I didn’t know Melissa G. was playing. I sped up to get away from Melissa G. I definitely didn’t want her to catch me. Then she would spend the whole day talking about how fast she can run. She’s so annoying.
I was zooming so fast to get away from Melissa, I finally caught up to Adrian. He smiled at me and then took off even faster. That made me run faster, too. We started to race. I never knew how speedy I could be! We zigzagged across the school yard together as the snowflakes got bigger and bigger. It was so fun I started laughing uncontrollably—I even snorted. Ha! That’s why I didn’t notice when Melissa G. caught up to Adrian.
“Got ya, Adrian! You’re it!” she yelled.
Then Adrian started chasing after Melissa. Suddenly I wasn’t laughing anymore. I stopped running. I was feeling, well, just really mad. I was playing with Adrian. Why did Melissa have to tag him? Couldn’t she tag someone else? Just then, Adrian ran over a small icy patch on the ground. He slipped and fell.
“Oww!!!” Adrian shrieked from the cold ground. He wrapped his arms around his knee. Ouch. That looked painful. I ran over to help. Except instead of helping … I just started to yell.
“Look what you did!” I yelled at Melissa. “Now Adrian is hurt all because of you!”
“That wasn’t my fault!” Melissa yelled back. She looked angry and sad at the same time.
“Adrian, are you okay?” I asked. But before he could answer, I turned back to Melissa and said, “You ruined everything. We didn’t even want to play tag with you anyway.”
After I said that, my stomach felt weird. Like there was a big rock sitting in it. Like maybe I had gone too far. Maybe I said something too mean. But I wasn’t sure what to do next. I looked up and noticed everyone was crowded around us. Staring. Melissa G. looked like she was going to cry.
“Um, Emma, that wasn’t very nice,” Sophia finally said.
“Yeah, and it’s not true,” added Molly. “I wanted Melissa G. to play.”
It felt like everyone was against me. Even Adrian wasn’t on my side.
“Yeah, it’s cool, Emma. Look, I’m fine now,” he said as he started to get up from the ground.
But Geraldine the lunch lady didn’t think it was cool. She marched over to us.
“What’s going on over here? Why is everyone standing around? Why was Adrian on the ground?” Geraldine said in her disapproving voice, with her hands on her hips.
“It’s okay, I’m fine,” said Adrian. Geraldine noticed the patch of ice next to him.
“Uh-oh. Icy already. This winter is a doozy. You sure you’re okay, Adrian?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, I swear,” he repeated.
Geraldine blew her whistle. “Everyone line up! The rest of recess will be indoors. It’s too icy and dangerous. Everyone line up to go inside.”
Our group headed toward the cafeteria door. I walked over to pick up my backpack by the fence. I was still feeling angry and a little nervous. What just happened? Why did they all take Melissa’s side? I mean, it was her fault! She’s the one who made Adrian fall. Right?
I reached inside my purple sparkle backpack to make sure all my reporter tools were there. Everything was in place, so I put my backpack on and turned around to head back to the cafeteria with everyone else. But they were all gone. I was all alone in the school yard. I felt like a tiny pinecone in a big, empty forest. A little teardrop started to peek out of my eye. I ran inside before it could travel down my cheek.
THE next morning, I was afraid to go to school. What if everyone was still mad at me?
Luna jumped on my lap at the kitchen table like always—but not even my soft chocolate-pudding kitty could cheer me up. I scratched her chin and stared at my cereal, wondering if I should tell my mom I wasn’t feeling well. Yeah, maybe I was getting sick and should stay home from school today.
“Emma, you haven’t touched your breakfast. The bus will be here soon. Let’s boogie,” Mom said from the other side of the kitchen as she put plates in the dishwasher. My little sister, Mia, was “helping” her. Every time Mom put a plate in, baby Mia took a cup out.
“But, Mom, how can I eat this cereal? It’s gross! Besides, I’m not hungry anyway,” I said, sulking.
“Okay. Then don’t eat it. How about some fruit?” she offered.
“Fruit? You want me to eat fruit? Ugh!” I yelled back. I felt so frustrated! But I w
asn’t sure why. Suddenly my mom had that look like maybe she was concerned.
“Hey, hey … ¿Qué pasa, mija?” Papi said, walking into the kitchen. “What’s going on? Why are you speaking to your mother like that?”
“Forget it, Papi. You wouldn’t understand,” I replied. I put my head down in my arms on the table. I just wanted to be left alone.
“I’m your papi—try me.”
“Well, this cereal is bad,” I explained with my head still down. “And I hate fruit.” I lifted my head up and put my hand on my forehead. “And I think I’m getting sick. And I don’t want to go to school. Besides everyone hates me anyway.”
“Okay, slow down, mija,” Papi said as Mom put her hand on my forehead to feel my temperature.
“You don’t feel warm,” she said. “What happened at school?”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell Mom and Papi what happened. But Papi gave me that look like I didn’t have a choice. So I told them all about what Melissa G. did in the school yard and how I yelled at her. And then how everybody got mad at me instead of her.
“Yes, that would make me upset, too,” said Papi after I finished. “It doesn’t feel good when we hurt other people, does it?”
“No,” I replied, looking at the floor.
“There’s an easy solution,” Mom said. “Just apologize to Melissa G. You’ll feel much better.”
“Apologize?? But she’s the one who made Adrian slip … and she’s the one who—”
Papi interrupted me. “We know, Emma. But you said some hurtful things. You owe her an apology. That’s all.”
“Fine,” I said.
“I know you can do it. You are brave. You are kind. And your friends love you. Don’t worry,” Mom added.
“Okay,” I said, still sulking. I wasn’t sure if they were right about this.
“Looks like we missed the school bus,” Papi said as he stood up. “Grab a granola bar, and I’ll drive you to school.”
By the time I got to school, our class was lining up. We had library first thing that morning. I looked for my friends in line, and I saw Adrian and Melissa G. paired together. They were talking about something. It must have been something hilarious because they were both laughing. Behind them, I saw Sophia and Javier, and they were laughing, too. What was so funny?
I started to feel mad all over again. They were probably all laughing at me. Or maybe they were making plans to play at recess without me. I walked past them all and stood in the back of the line by myself. We walked down the hall to the school library, and I was still feeling mad. And sad. And also just so … so … mad. It wasn’t fair.
“Come inside, everyone,” said Mrs. Myrtle, the school librarian. “This week we’re going to look for books about sea animals. I know you’re studying the ocean in science. I’ve set aside some books on the back table that will work well, but you’re welcome to browse on your own.”
Everyone walked over to the back table to find a book about the ocean. I walked slowly behind them and then ducked into another aisle in the library. I wanted to be alone. I walked to the back corner near a window and started scanning the shelves. It felt like a good hiding place.
I decided to get down on my knees to inspect the books on the very bottom shelf. I bet no one ever paid attention to the books at the bottom. I felt bad for them. They must be lonely down there.
Kneeling close to the floor like that, I noticed something shiny. The light from the window was reflecting off it and shining in my eye. I moved some books aside so I could see clearly. I saw what looked like an old book stuck behind the shelf, under the radiator. The sunlight was reflecting off the gleaming, round award label on the cover. I stuck my arm behind the shelf until I could feel the book in my hand. I grabbed it and pulled it out, rescuing it from that cramped prison under the radiator.
The book was old and sticky and dusty. My hands felt grimy holding it. I could tell no one had touched this book in a really long time. It must have fallen down there ages ago. How could people just forget about a book and leave it all alone? That’s not nice. I decided I would take care of it since no one else had.
The title on the cover said Bridge to Terabithia. I’d never heard of that book before, but it looked like it might be famous. I traced my fingers over that shiny award seal on the cover. When I opened the cover, it made a creaking noise. I had to use my hand to wave away the dust cloud that floated up into my face.
On the inside was a pocket for the library checkout card. I pulled the card out and looked at it. Just like I thought: The last time this book was checked out was October 17, 2000.
I did the math in my head. That was more than fifteen years ago. Who read it? How did it get stuck behind the shelf? Next to the checkout date on the card was the name Sarah O. Spellman. Who was she? What was she like?
I tried to put the card back in the pocket, but it didn’t fit. Something was blocking it. I looked inside the slot and realized there was a folded-up piece of paper there. I pulled the paper out and opened it up. It was a riddle.
SARAH Spellman was the girl from the checkout card. She was the last person to read this book, and she left this note. But it said she lived in Seattle. Why would someone who lived in Seattle check out a book in New York City? And why did she leave this riddle? What was she talking about? What princess? What tower? It was all very strange. I figured it probably wasn’t true. Princesses don’t get locked in towers anymore. Not in real life. Right? But something told me I needed to figure out what it was all about.
“Emma?” called Mrs. Myrtle. She spotted me sitting on the floor and started walking toward me. I stood up with the book in my hand. I was about to explain what I discovered, but then it occurred to me—this might be an interesting news story. People might want to know about a lost book with a weird riddle.
“What are you doing here?” Mrs. Myrtle asked once she made it down the aisle. “I don’t think there are any books about the ocean back here.”
“I know. I’m sorry. But … I’m actually … working on a news story. Can I interview you?”
“Oh,” she replied. “I guess so. So long as you choose an ocean book when we’re done.”
“I will,” I promised.
“Okay, come to the other side of the room so I can keep an eye on the rest of the class.”
We walked up to the front desk together. I noticed Javier and Sophia look up from their table. They probably wondered what I was doing. I ignored them.
I pulled out my camera phone and Emma microphone and pressed record.
“Mrs. Myrtle,” I began, “I want to show you this book I found.” I put my microphone under my arm so I could hand her the book. Then I grabbed it again and continued. “I noticed it in the back behind the shelf. It looks like it fell back there and was forgotten about. See the checkout card?”
Mrs. Myrtle opened the book, and another cloud of dust floated up. She scrunched up her nose and waved it away.
“Look at that, this book has been missing for quite some time. It looks like it was last checked out in 2000.”
“Do you know who Sarah Spellman is?” I didn’t want to tell Mrs. Myrtle about the riddle Sarah left. She might think it was silly and throw it away or something.
“You know what—I do remember a Sarah Spellman. That was a long time ago. I’d just started working here at P.S. 387. I remember Sarah because she spent a lot of time in the library. She would sit here for hours reading books, almost always by herself. I worried she wasn’t making friends. And then after fourth grade, her parents decided to move to Seattle. I never saw her again. I wonder what ever happened to her?”
“Sarah never made a lot of friends? That’s really sad …” I said, thinking out loud.
“Yes, I tried to help her, but she said she just preferred to stay here and read by herself.” Mrs. Myrtle looked down at the book again. “I don’t remember her reading Bridge to Terabithia … although it makes sense. A book about two kids imagining a life away from the real w
orld was just up her alley.”
“Mrs. Myrtle, one more question.” I held the microphone a bit closer to my mouth so I could whisper. I didn’t want anyone else to hear. “Did Sarah ever talk to you about a princess locked up in a tower?”
“Um, not that I can recall. That’s an odd question.”
“Oh, never mind. Thanks, Mrs. Myrtle.”
“Anytime, dear.”
“Do you mind if I hang on to this book for a while? I think I might need it for my news story.”
“I don’t see why not. I still have to go into the computer and make a record that it’s been found after all these years. But make sure you take good care of it.”
“I will. Thanks, Mrs. Myrtle.”
“Now go get your ocean book.”
“Okay.”
I pressed stop on my phone and grabbed a book about the ocean from the back table. I was thinking about Sarah and how she had no friends. I kind of knew how that felt. Sarah must have written that riddle because she needed help and she didn’t have any friends to talk to. It seemed a little silly to need help saving a princess in a tower. I couldn’t help but feel like there was something more. She was trying to send a message—and no one got it because the book went missing.
But I got the message! I decided that I would be Sarah’s friend. I would help her save the princess in the tower! Or whatever it was that needed saving.
I was about to form a plan when I noticed Javier, Sophia, and Shakira walk over to my table.
“Hey, Emma,” Shakira began, “how come you haven’t said hi to us today?”
“What’s wrong?” asked Sophia.
“Yeah, you’re acting strange,” Javier added. “And if I think you’re acting strange … then something really is wrong.” He smirked.
I wasn’t sure what to say. But they didn’t seem mad at me anymore.
“I just didn’t see you guys,” I lied. “Everything’s fine. Actually, I’m glad I found you—we have a new case!”
I decided not to tell them why I had been upset. I thought maybe it was a good idea to pretend like nothing happened. Instead I told them all about Sarah and the princess in the tower.
