Chapter 5
The Detective, the Carpet, and the Forest
Oliver rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So chasing that parrot after it snatched your I.D. card led you to some secret, underground chamber where you found a magic flying broom that turned into a bracelet."
It was after lessons and everyone was gathered around a round, stone table at a plaza where Lily explained to Oliver and Eddie how she got the magic broomstick.
"I see, I see," the older, black boy continued, nodding his head. "If I hadn't seen you fly around on that thing myself, I'd think that story was all crazy talk. But then again, there have been rumors and local legends going around for years that the school was built on top of a witch's lair. Maybe they were true after all."
"There are legends about witches here? I did not know that," said Lily.
"Forget about that," Eddie cut in. "What I want to know more about is that ghost lady and that warning of hers."
"Yes, that part's got me really concerned too," said Oliver. "If there's any truth to what she said, then this school and everyone in it is in trouble. And we're the only ones who can do anything about it. I wonder if that parrot's spontaneous growth spurt had anything to do with that."
"Speaking about that parrot,' said Lily, "I'm really sorry I couldn't get that card case back, Eddie."
"That's okay, Lily," said Eddie, although he didn't look okay. "At least you tried."
"But it's really important to you, right?"
Eddie nodded and softly replied, "Yeah."
"Then all the more reason for us to work together to get it back," said Oliver.
"I see a lot of problems with that," said Viv. "First up, where? We have no idea where that parrot took the case. Second, how? You saw that parrot. It was HUGE. Like Kaiju huge. Finally, I know you said something about working together, but what's in it for you? We only just met."
"First, allow me to explain what's in it for me," said Oliver. "I said before that my hobby is helping people and solving mysteries, didn't I?"
The others nodded and said, "Yeah."
"In other words, I am a detective! A lot of my classmates got stuff stolen by that parrot," Oliver explained, "and they enlisted my help getting it all back. And with that said, I believe I know where the parrot took the case as well as all the other stuff."
"Really? Where?" Lily asked.
With a proud grin, Oliver replied, "Based on witness testimony and what I saw with my own eyes, the parrot likely has its nest somewhere in the northern forest. Well, everyone calls it a forest, but lucky for us, it's more like just a small patch of trees. Considering how much stuff it stole, even if the parrot was back to its normal size and it's night time, we should have no problem finding it or its nest there."
Lily blinked incredulously and cried out, "Wait, are you suggesting we sneak out of the school to explore the woods at night?"
"I know what you're thinking," said Oliver. "Sneaking out at night is against the rules, and as an ally of justice, I don't like breaking the rules either. But I don't think we have a choice. If that parrot really is related to that ghost lady's warning, we're probably the only ones who can handle it. Well, only the person with the sapphire bracelet, anyway. Which means, only you, Lily, can put an end to that parrot's reign of terror and get back what was stolen."
So only I can get back Eddie's card case and that picture of his mom, Lily thought, giving Eddie a glance. She clenched her hand in determination.
"That still leaves the how, though," said Viv. "If we're headed for that parrot's nest, it's sure to be there too. We won't be able to get our stuff back without getting past that parrot."
"About that," said Lily, "I remember hearing the parrot say something about a challenge. I'm wondering if maybe I'm supposed to play a game with it to win back the stuff."
Viv scoffed. "What? You mean like in those shows on TV?"
"I know it sounds crazy," said Lily. "But the parrot definitely said that if I wanted the card case back, I needed to challenge it."
"It's definitely worth a shot," said Oliver.
"That just leaves one more problem," said Eddie. "How the heck are we supposed to sneak outside of the school?"
"Oh, I think I know a way," said Oliver, looking at Lily. The twins did too, looking like they understood what he was thinking.
Lily, however, blinked back at them and went, "What?"
**********
Late into the night, when the sky was black and everyone should be asleep, Oliver was in his room, flipping the pages of a book beneath the light of a lamp dragged closer to his bed when he heard light tapping on the window. He quickly closed shut his book, a leather-bound, hardcover copy of a complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, swung out of bed and drew back the curtains to look outside.
"About time," he said after opening the window to the three younger students outside.
"Sorry, sorry," Lily said. "We had a hard time finding your window."
Both the window and Oliver's room, by the way, were on the fifth floor.
To sneak out of the school, Oliver had come up with the brilliant idea to simply fly out. But since the broomstick was too small to carry all four of the gang, Lily switched it out for a magic flying carpet instead. The one she conjured and now sat on with the Waller twins was a blue oriental rug with diamond-shaped patterns with tassels hanging off the corners.
Oliver climbed out the window and gingerly stepped onto the carpet. After straightening up, he took a look around and nodded his head, going, "Hmm, nice."
"I still can't believe we're sneaking out of the school at night," Lily said. "This is crazy."
"Not as crazy as flying on a magic carpet about to do battle with a kaiju-sized bird," Viv pointed out.
"Does that bird count as a kaiju?" asked Eddie. "You'd think a kaiju would be bigger than that."
In case you don't know, a kaiju is a giant monster big enough to smash a whole city.
"Ahem! Ahem!"
All eyes turned to Oliver.
"I like talking about kaijus as much as the next guy," he said, "but we're burning moonlight. If we're doing this, we have to go now."
Lily glanced at her watch which she could see with light spilling from Oliver's room.
Oliver was right, of course. It was really late and they were really short on time. They needed to find the bird's nest, defeat it and get back all the stuff it stole before they get caught and get into trouble for being out after curfew.
"Right, then," she said. "This is your captain, speaking. Everyone please keep your hands and feet inside the flying magic carpet at all times. I hope you enjoy flying on Lily Airlines. Next stop, the north forest! Let's go!"
She pointed the way and the carpet flew off at top speed. They soared high over buildings while the moon shined bright above them. And then -
"Wrong way, Lily!" Oliver cried. "Wrong way! North's the other way!"
Lily stopped the carpet, made it turn around and had it fly the other way, the correct way.
The carpet cut across the school via the air. While flying to the forest, Lily risked a peek down to see what the ground was like, now and then spotting the hat of a security guard under the light of a lamppost. None of the guards bothered to look up and never noticed the blue flying carpet.
After passing the stone wall that marked the perimeter of the school, the carpet made its way to the edge of the forest where it touched down and disappeared, leaving Lily and the gang to explore on foot.
"So where do we go from here?" asked Eddie. "Do you know, Mr. Detective?"
Oliver rubbed his chin thoughtfully and went, "Hmm."
He pulled out his phone, turned on its flashlight, shined the light around the ground, and then took a few steps forward before stopping to pick something up.
Everyone gathered around him to get a good look at what he found.
Pinched between Oliver's fingers was a big, blue feather. He looked over the feather and pointed the light at the ground again, finding more feathers ahead.
"Methinks the parrot is that-a-way," he said.
"That's a little too easy, don't you think?" Lily asked, looking at the trail of feathers leading deeper into the forest.
"Oh, definitely," said Oliver. "That parrot's waiting for us."
"Do you think it's a trap?" asked Viv.
Eddie stated determinedly, "Even if it is, I'm going. I want to get that card case back. More importantly, I want to get that picture of my mom back!"
"Don't worry," said Lily. "We will!"
And so, with great determination and bravery, our heroes embarked on their first ever adventure together, diving headfirst into the forest while following a trail of ginormous, discard feathers. But after a few minutes marching down the path, many of them started to feel their bravery slip away.
Except for the light from Oliver's smartphone, it was pitch black in the forest. A strong, chilling wind sent shivers down Lily's spine and caused the tree leaves to rustle around them while eerie chirping filled her ears. Despite all that noise, there was a sense of quiet in the forest that made her legs kind of jelly-like.
"Now that I think about it, this forest is really creepy at night, isn't it?" she said.
"Well, yeah," said Oliver. "It's a forest. At night. What'd you expect?"
"You seem find with it," said Viv, huddled very close to Lily. "How come?"
Oliver replied smugly, "Of course, it's because I am a detective! To solve mysteries, one must be able to dive headfirst into all things dark and creepy without so much as flinching. So I could do that, I trained myself by watching the worst possible horror movies I could find."
"And how'd that work out?" asked Eddie.
"I had to go to therapy for seven years."
"Were the movies that bad?" Eddie asked.
Oliver replied, "They were banned in twelve countries for giving people long-term nightmares. But my dad, a really big movie nerd, got his hands on DVD copies before the ban took effect. Mom was REALLY ticked when she found out about them, and that I watched them."
Suddenly he stopped and raised his hand by his head for the others to do the same.
"Look alive, gang," he said. "Looks like we're here."
Lily and the others looked past him, eyes following the road as it expanded into a big, round clearing. Up ahead at the end was a ginormous tree, about as tall as a ten-floor building. At the base of the tree was a large hollow with all kinds of different stuff in it that the gang could see when Oliver shined his light over.
"Those are all the things the parrot stole!" he exclaimed. "Smartphones, diaries, bracelets, rings, necklaces, textbooks, wallets, you name it! Wow, I knew the bird stole a lot, but I didn't think it was this much. It's like looking at a dragon's treasure hoard. I'm surprised that bird managed to steal so many in just a few days."
"Speaking of that bird, where is it?" Viv asked.
No sooner did she ask, a familiar chorus of deep voices made its presence known.
"So you have come at last, Hero of the Sapphire Bracelet. I have been waiting for you."
Lily looked up. Several feet above the treasure-filled hollow was a second one from which the blue parrot glared down at her in all its super giant glory.
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