You know the rules: fill this out before reading the story.

(So what if I’m making you do the majority of the writing on this column? Senioritis, AMIRITE?!)

1. (adjective) ____________________
2. (present tense verb) ____________
3. (adjective) ____________________
4. (plural body part) ______________
5. (noun) ________________________
6. (required class at Marlborough)

_________________________________

7. (adjective) ____________________

8. (plural body part)  ______________

9. (BBC show) ____________________

10. (adjective) ___________________
11. (location at School) ___________

12. (teacher) ____________________

13. (adverb) ____________________

14. (plural noun) _________________

15. (plural noun) _________________

16. (location at School) ___________

17. (adverb) _____________________

18. (type of school) ______________
19. (adjective) ___________________

20. (classroom number) __________

21. (person who teaches in #20’s room)

_________________________________

22. (container) _________________

23. (noun) _______________________

24. (past tense verb) ______________

25. (number) ____________________

26. (noun) _______________________

27. (Preposition) _________________

You arrive on campus, and you immediately realize something __________ (1) is going on. You see a circle forming in front of Café M, so you __________ (2) your way to the center where you witness the most __________ (3) spectacle you’ve ever laid your __________ (4) on. Sally the Mustang’s body is “lying on the cold, hard __________ (5)” à la Taylor Swift in an overly dramatic music video, and her head is nowhere to be found. Recalling the Mascot First Aid you learned in __________ (6), you remember if Sally’s body is separated from her head, she might as well be presumed __________ (7). The chaos builds amongst the student body, so you decide to take this mystery into your own __________ (8) From all your time spent watching __________ (9), you have the perfect tools needed to solve this mystery.

You bend down and, realizing the body is still __________ (10), deduce that the crime must have happened this morning. You collect a witness account from Head of School Barbara Wagner, who describes a masked hooligan running around the __________ (11) with a concealed bundle under his/her arm. You know the only person who can help you with this job is __________ (12), who is the best of the best when it comes to __________ (13) solving __________ (14). Together you search in __________ (15) and along the hallways for clues. After hours of fruitless work, as __________ (12 again) is ready to give up, you spot a purple bow beside __________ (16). Your teacher sidekick asks in amazement, “How on earth did you see that?!” and you __________ (17) respond, “__________ (18) my dear Watson.” The bow is unfurled leaving a trail of purple thread snaking around the School. Oh, these School criminals are so __________ (19), you think to yourself. You follow the thread up the stairs, turn the corner, and open the door to ___________ (20), where you find __________ (21) shoving Sally’s head into a __________ (22). Shocked, you call Wagner, who decides that the criminal must wear a sign around his/her neck reading: “I’m a __________ (23) because I __________ (24) Sally” for the next __________ (25) years as punishment. You restore Sally to her rightful __________ (26) and, thanks to you, Marlborough lived happily ever __________ (27).