Mystery of the Fat Cat

George a small second grade boy, with long locks of curly black hair was staring at the water. He was quite tired, albeit writing some notes in a small pad he had drawn from his book bag. The aurora’s colors from the horizon were painting the river a variegated mixture of blue, green, and orange. He was sitting there, heated from the blossoming sun, browsing through some written notes related to the Fat Cat that had unfortunately made a mess of this school trip. It had been a long night, his beady eyes had circles underneath them, and he was sporting a brown detectives hat he had gotten for his eleventh birthday. The boy moved aside his red glasses, wiped away some sweat, and proceeded to look through his notes.

The first person whom George had interviewed was Mary, she was his twin sister who he trusted with all his secrets. However much he loved her, he still had to question her with a detectives perspicacity. There were a few questions he asked each suspect, but in order to understand the investigation you must first understand the mysterious fat cat.

The fat cat, Mr. Lumps, was sometimes friendly, sometimes smart, sometimes mean, sometimes dumb, and sometimes a prankster. It was hard to understand this cat. But, as long as you were nice to it, it would usually just purr and move on. However, because of someone on this trip, it was now standing by the bus door, perched on its fat butt, sporting a menacing frown and scratching at anything that approached it. Unfortunately, the most notable feature of this cat was it always held grudges, and until George discovered who pissed it off, the kids were stuck from entering the the bus.

You may be wondering, why is a second grader investigating this mystery? Why aren’t the adults doing anything about this?

Unfortunately, the answer to this isn’t any better news than the perched cat. The teachers were all sleeping on the grass, suffering from a lack of coffee- in the world George lived in adults needed coffee- and the only supply was on that bus.

Back to the mystery.

Mary told him she simply pet the cat like she usually did- the cat was friendly to her- but George couldn’t help noticing his sister’s habit of pulling off grass and tossing it neatly into a pile when she finished speaking every sentence.

“Why are you so nervous Mary?” George inquired.

“You should know I get nervous when I get asked questions George, I am your twin sister. jeez” She retorted

“Just tell me if you saw anyone behaving weirdly with the cat” George requested.

“Billy the bullet head was teasing it with some string earlier, that is all I know.” She replied

He made a note of her contempt for Billy, she either wanted to pin the blame on the second grade bully hoping he would get in trouble, or that she was tired of waiting to go home.

He flipped over to his notes on Billy the Bullet head:

Billy the bullet head was known as such for the peculiar conical shape of his forehead. He hated his oddly shaped head so much that he eventually turned it into the ultimate bullies weapon, it was quite good at ramming into other children. In fact, if you so much pointed at his odd head you would find yourself charged at by Billy. If you had a red cape like a matador you might stand some chance; However, most students learned to get on his good side, it was definitely the norm.

Surprisingly, Billy the bullet head had a ton of respect for the head shorter detective George, he also wanted to go home. George asked him some basic questions relating to the fat cat, and looked for any evidence that might suggest fowl play.

"I only get mad at others, bully them, or whatever you want to call it, if they mess with me. George I love animals, my dad is a veterinarian. I wouldn't hurt that cat even if it scratched me."

"My sister Mary said you were teasing it with a string, did Mary lie?" George probed

"Why that Mary, she has hated me since kindergarten, you can't just trust anything a girl tells you can you George?"

"She is my sister Billy!" George snapped.

"Hey calm down little guy, alright I had a string, but I wasn't teasing it, the cat was clearly having fun playing with the string. I got a soft spot for animals. You know I was just trying to make it happy George." Billy replied. He gesticulated to get closer before whispering something into his ear.

"The cat was attacked by a red ball. If you find that ball you solve the mystery. I would help you look but it would ruin my reputation. Solve the mystery so we can go home George." Billy said

"Now get out of here you little jerk before I beat the hell out of you!" Billy screamed before pushing George away. Billy winked at George displaying an odd winsome smile. George had quickly wrote down to look for the red ball.

George noted that Billy seemed the perfect example of someone innocent, he even tried to help him solve the case. He was now down to the last two kids on his list(Everyone else was allergic to cats, and had stayed away from it during the trip). The two were his best friend, and his crush. He examined his notes on his best friend first.

His best friends name was Sam , it was a short, sweet, and to the point. His name was tantamount to his character, he was extremely curt with the way he spoke, sometimes even sending out terse remarks. He actually never spoke to the kid much, even though they hung out all the time. Sam would usually just go on little adventures with him, or they would play sports. The last lark they went on was to a confectionery store. Sam purchased George some candy and they wandered around on a treasure hunt for the rest of the afternoon. George really hoped that Sam didn't do it, but he had a feeling in his gut that his best friend was guilty of this crime.

"Do you like Mr. Lumps Sam?" George probed

"You know I don't." Sam replied

"Do you happen to own a red ball?" George asked

"I do." Sam replied

"When was the last time you used it?" George inquired.

"I haven't seen that ball in days. I don't know what happened to it. It went missing on the trip." Sam answered

Sam had been covering his neck when he answered. He looked uncomfortable

"You don't know what happened to it?" George persisted

"How about you go ask Billy, he might know." Sam suggested

"Why would Billy take the ball from you?"

"He hates that I am the pitcher of the team, I'm sure he took the red ball to get me in trouble." Sam sighed. "I really want that ball back."

"Do you suspect anyone else could have taken the ball?"

"That girl you have a crush on, whatever her name is, might have taken it. I think she likes me George, I'm sorry but you were asking for it."

George's face burst red in anger. "Don't you go any where near her Sam. She already has me!" He yelled.

At that moment, George couldn't help note that everyone stared at him funny. Including the girl he had a crush on. Her name was Mindy, and George was extremely embarrassed.

"I'll see you later Sam. I'll get us back onto the bus!" George then had walked over to Mindy.

His notes on her were as follows.

She was absolutely beautiful wearing a blue dress with her hazel eyes creating an amorous atmosphere that roused his detective spirits. She looked at me with only amity. However, underneath her eyes was a glint indicating a crush that George had noted in the book. She clearly likes me! He wrote before proceeding to the actual interview.

"Mindy, sorry to bother you, can you tell me what had happened between you and Mr. Lumps."

"That little annoying fat cat always picks on me. It is always trying to get in my way. It even tripped me! I have no desire to go anywhere near that fur ball ever again!" Mindy replied

"Why does it always pick on you Mindy. Have you ever done anything to it?" George questioned

"No, I hate cats. My mom has so many cats, and I only have peace in my room! I can't stand them George, I wish I was allergic to those furry beasts." Mindy answered

"Then why does Sam think you took the red ball Mindy? Where were you when we were on the trip?" George probed

He was well aware that Sam mentioned two suspects. However something about this girl told him that Sam might of been right. She just might have a crush on his best friend. Damn it all to hell! He couldn't let his emotions get the best of him.

Mindy remained silent and just stared at George, she was glowering at him.

"Mindy, listen I like you, but I need you to be honest with me. I'm sorry but I have to ask you if you took Sam's ball. He says someone took it on the trip." George explained

"Sam is such a jerk. I hate him!" Mindy continued. "Did you know your best friend confessed to me George, but I turned him down. He is probably still mad at me. Also, I saw him with the red ball through out the entire trip. He was playing with a few of the kids by the river." Mindy recounted

"Are you saying that Sam lied to me Mindy? Why would he do that?" George answered

"Maybe he doesn't want to get in trouble George. Duh. Your lucky your so cute George." Mindy chortled

George instantly walked away, and wrote down the rest of the notes. At this point, he had to review the final bits of evidence. Unfortunately, it looked like Sam was guilty.

There was some odds and ends he had to sort out before conferring with the entire class. He finally decided to spend time searching for the red ball. It was now time to approach Mr. Lumps. The cat had seem to get larger as the minutes went by, or perhaps it was the angle of the stairs. George walked up to the cat, took of his hat and bent down. He took out a few pellets of cat food he had in his pocket and tossed it over to the cat. It had a cute meow, and George couldn't help pet Mr. Lumps. He looked over the cat, on the bus and noticed the red ball sitting under the drivers side.

"You wouldn't happen to let me go on the bus if I give you some food. I'll get right off right after I promise. I'll even give you a can of meat after I get off." George begged

The cat surprisingly seemed to understand George. It turned its cute, chubby head to the side before looking up at him and nodding. Its paws held up two fingers before it nodded decisively.

"You want two cans. Your such a silly cat! You know I can't do that your on a diet." George replied

The cat hissed before raising its hands. It seemed to be saying two or no deal.

George nodded his head as the fat cat plopped over to the side. It turned its head indicating the boy could go on. George quickly ran up the stairs, and looked underneath the disgusting drivers seat. Clearly who ever was driving this bus didn't clean it for a long time. The red ball was trapped in a corner, and George had to fight with the drivers seat before dislodging it from an awkward juncture underneath the seat. He took out his handy magnifying glass, and examined the ball with his magnified eyes.

Ah hah! George said. He quickly fed the cat before running out by the river.

"I have found out who did it!" George waved everyone to sit down on the grass.

All of the class quickly gathered. Billy the Bullet head was sitting down by himself, the rest of the class was sitting in a circle. Notably, George was looking at their faces. Sam, Mindy, and Billy all seemed rather nervous. It was hard to tell who did it just by looking at the crowd, but George had now found out.

"It was Billy the Bullet head!" George yelled

The whole class gasped and turned towards Billy.

"How could you Billy?!" Mindy screamed

"You can't blame me it was that damn cat. I was trying to have fun with it and it scratched me. I love animals, but this damn cat couldn't take a hint. I even gave it extra food trying to get it to be nice to me. You know what that cat did! It bit my hand after placing down the food. I just threw a small ball on it, I had no ideas that would happen honest!" Billy confessed.

George sighed and walked over to Billy handed him a can. "You accidentally fed him the wrong food Billy. I found the bowl by the drivers seat with some orange fibers by it before finding the can. He hates it when he is fed chicken Billy. The teachers must have forgot to tell you." George consoled

"We don't blame you Billy, but please go ahead and make it right. Feed the cat so we can all get out of here."

Billy grabbed the can and pulled up his pants before walking up to Mr. Lumps. Surprisingly, the cat instantly ran up to his food bowl, and looked over with a cat's smile.