shenanigans-in-rannice

[shenanigans-in-rannice]

SECRET OF THE DISAPPEARING HAT (short story)

It is well-known that many people love Halloween. People in Rannice were no exception.

Winstons put up decorations in Green Carnation at the beginning of October, then held a few costume parties in the following weeks. The best party was the one Winstons prepared in cooperation with Christine and Erin Carter. It was held at Ivy Farm. This only made some people more assured that Erin and Christine were witches, but they didn`t care.

The party was a spectacle. There were different Halloween-themed snacks (Bailey made around half of them). Erin and Christine were dressed as pirates. Some adults and older children were running around to ensure everybody felt welcomed. People were chatting, eating, and admiring each others costumes. The farm tour was finished, but some guests were still hanging out with the animals in the barn, supervised by Toni Morgan, one of the farm workers. Bailey and Winona (Fox`s oldest daughter and a professional foster parent) supervised the children to give their parents a break. Sherlock was lying under the table, hoping somebody would drop a few fries or a piece of a cookie. That dog was crazy about food, and this was a holiday for him as well.

Presently, Bailey had Winona`s daughter Emma up on his shoulders while he was trying to juggle the ball. He was usually able to do it, but carrying a five-year-old made it more difficult.

They set up a stage for the band and invited people to show off their skills while the band had a break. Right now, there was a woman making animals out of balloons, and a bunch of kids gathered close to receive them.

Hinton, James (her husband), Fox, and Elizabeth (his wife) were chatting with Olivier. It was a surprise that he was there since he usually avoided public gatherings. He was never really a people person and preferred to hand out with his lizards, chameleon Sprinkles, and bearded dragon Cucumber. Later, Bailey found out he only dropped by to bring some juice. A few moments later, voices rose in the crowd of children under the stage. A few adults hurried close to see what caused the commotion.

Christine got there first. She recognized the little girl who was the cause of the noise as one of the children who regularly attended the childcare program at Ivy Farm. “What`s wrong, Yasmine?” she asked.

The girl sobbed and pointed at her head. “Somebody took my hat!”

“Your witch hat?” Christine asked.

Yasmine nodded. “I cant do magic without it.”

“Did anybody see Yasmine`s hat?” Erin, who joined them, called out.

All of the kids shook their heads.

“Somebody stole it,” Yasmine insisted. “They didn't want me to do my magic, so they stole it!”

Erin looked at Bailey and gestured at him to come closer. “He`s a detective,” she explained. “He can help you find out what happened to your hat.”

Yasmine looked up at him. “You don't look like a detective.”

“Well, I can`t be too obvious. How would I solve mysteries if everybody knew I was a detective?” Bailey pointed to his Halloween-themed sweater and kneeled. “This is my party outfit. Do you remember when you last saw your hat?”

Yasmine looked around. “I had it when I went to get some snacks, and I still had it when I watched the balloon lady.”

“Not true,” another girl dressed as a detective joined the conversation. She was a few years older than Yasmine and was holding a younger boys hand. “You put it down to try on Penny`s crown. Right there, on the bench. Its gone now, though.”

“And what`s your name, Detective?” Bailey asked.

“Finley, and this is my brot- I mean, partner, Janez.”

“Okay,” he said and got up. “So, Finley, you say you saw the hat on that bench over there? Do you remember at what time that was?”

“Four hours ago!” Janez exclaimed.

Finley rolled her eyes. “Shush, J, you cant tell the time yet. It was around twenty minutes ago.”

“Good. Have any of you seen anybody acting suspiciously?” Bailey questioned.

“Mickey tried to take my hat away before,” Yasmine said. “Maybe he stole it.”

Bailey surveyed the crowd of kids. “Which one is Mickey?”

“He`s a ninja,” Janez explained.

Bailey looked at four ninjas waving their plastic weapons around. “Um, which one?”

“With the blue belt,” Yasmine elaborated.

“Well talk with him and ask if he saw your hat, okay?”

The three kids nodded and made their way to the cluster of ninjas.

“Mickey?” Bailey called, and the boy turned around. “Yasmine here is looking for her hat. Have you seen it?”

“Nope,” he said, shaking his head.

“You tried to take it!” Yasmine exclaimed.

“But I didn`t!”

“Hey, what if you and your ninja friends help us look for the hat?” Bailey suggested. The hat was probably just misplaced, and if he got more people looking for it, they were bound to find it sooner.

Finley tugged on his sleeve. “They aren`t detectives like us,” she whispered.

“I know. But there`s more of them and they can do the boring stuff while we look for the clues,” Bailey whispered back.

The ninjas spread out to question people while the detectives went to look for clues. After some inspection, Finley spotted a piece of the feather that used to be attached to the hat. They walked around the spot where they found a feather, but there were no other clues.

“Maybe Sherlock can find it!” Janez suggested.

They tried, but Sherlock attempted to eat the feather, so they gave up. Yasmine was on the verge of tears. Bailey consoled her with a cookie before they continued the search. Thankfully, ninjas rushed back to them.

“Somebody told us the hat went that way!” Mickey pointed to the barn. “

The hat went there?” Bailey questioned. “By itself?” One of the ninjas shrugged.

“Maybe it was the wind.”

They made their way toward the barn. Bailey and detectives went to the right, ninjas to the left.

Janez spotted another feather, and they hurried to catch it before the wind blew it away. The hat was still not visible. They walked around until Yasmine excitedly waved her arms. “

My hat!” She charged forward to get it, but as soon as she touched it, something hissed from the inside, and she ran back to Bailey. He went to pick up the hat. As he looked inside, he spotted one of the cats living on the Ivy Farm.

“Hi, little buddy,” he whispered, gently picking up the hat. “Little Watson decided to sleep inside,” he told the young detectives.

Janez took off to inform ninjas about this development. Watson seemed content in Baileys arms, and they returned to the rest of the people.

“We found a thief,” Bailey told his friends. “He admitted his guilt and promised to better himself."

Christine and Erin laughed and took a few photos.

Bailey took the cat out of the hat before handing the now-empty hat to Yasmine. She ran to her parents to tell them all about it.

“You have done very well today,” Bailey addressed little detectives and ninjas, and they, satisfied with the praise, returned to playing.

[shenanigans-in-rannice]

Rannice residents introduction: Cole

Gender: man Year of birth: 1985 Country of birth: Germany Body shape: below average height (171 cm), skinny Appearance: pale skin, blue eyes, freckles, dimples on his cheeks, short blond hair Favorite color: blue Likes: writing, reading, British crime TV shows, music Dislikes: rude people, Karl Baumann, bad beer, white chocolate

[shenanigans-in-rannice]

Gender: man Year of birth: 1977 Country of birth: Kenya Body shape: tall (182 cm), lean Appearance: black skin, dark brown eyes, short natural hair Favorite color: yellow Likes: dancing, especially ballet, cooking&baking, looking after children Dislikes: violence, prejudices, shopping, new clothes