Page 72 - Girls’ World (January 2020)
P. 72
your case to solve
THE CASE OF THE
Snowy Slide
Can you figure out who pushed Ellie down the tallest,
scariest slide on the playground?
Ò ow, it’s really coming down!” Ellie’s best possible. It was tall and scary and spiraling. Plenty of kids
friend, Megan, exclaimed. They pressed their
would slide down it, not realizing how fast they’d go. Ellie
Wfaces against the windows of their fifth grade had watched a bunch of kids scream the whole way down.
classroom, watching a flurry of snowflakes make their way Some even flew off the end and landed on the ground, right
to the ground. on their butts.
“I know,” Ellie nodded her head in agreement. “I can But despite being so scary, the tall slide was pretty
barely see the jungle gym out there. The entire playground popular — which was great news for Ellie. That meant there
is covered with snow.” was always a long line of kids waiting to go down it, and her
“Well, there’s no way the school will let us go outside for friends never wanted to spend their recess in line. They’d
recess,” Megan sighed, turning away from the windows. She much rather spend their time on the swings or playing a
looked at Ellie and broke out into a smile. “But after school, game of tag.
the playground is all ours!” And on the days when the line was short and her friends
“Yeah! As soon as the dismissal bell rings, we should run did want to wait to go down it, Ellie had become a master
out there and build a snow fort,” Ellie said excitedly. at thinking up excuses. She’d quickly come up with a good
“No, I have a better idea,” Megan insisted. “Let’s pile up reason why she needed to head back inside or go see the
a ton of snow at the bottom of the slide. Then, we can all nurse. So far, she’d been successful and never once had
slide down it and land in a huge snow bed!” to tell her friends the real reason why she didn’t want to go
“Wait … do you mean the slide?” Ellie asked nervously. down the slide.
“Yes, the slide,” Megan grinned. “I think the tallest slide But this time, she didn’t know how she’d be able to get
on the playground would be the best pick. And the slippery out of it without looking like a scaredy-cat.
snow will help us get some serious speed as we slide down Throughout the rest of the school day, Ellie couldn’t focus.
it! Trust me, it’ll be so much fun.” Her mind kept returning to the slide. She shuddered every
“Please,” Jessica, a girl from their class, interrupted. “We time she thought of Megan’s plan. The slide is already fast
all know Ellie would never go down that slide. She’s too and scary enough, Ellie thought to herself. And now that it’s KPAULINA/SHUTTERSTOCK
chicken.” covered in snow, it’ll be even faster and scarier. There’s no
Ellie gulped while Megan defended her to Jessica. But way I can go down it.
Jessica was sort of right. To Ellie, Ellie’s thoughts were eventually interrupted by the
there was nothing “fun” about the dismissal bell. Her heart sank when she realized the school
tallest slide on the playground. In day was officially over, and Megan was hustling to pack up
fact, she tried to avoid it as much as her bookbag.
