The Mystery of the Blue Ring by Patricia Reilly Giff Page A

minutes.
    Emily would be sorry.
    Very sorry.

CHAPTER 2
    T HE NEXT MORNING , Dawn waited at the corner.
    She stamped up and down in her new cowgirl boots.
    Her grandmother had bought them for her.
    Noni bought her everything. Almost everything.
    “Hi,” Dawn called to Carmen, the crossing guard.
    Carmen didn’t call back. She was too busy. She waved her arms around. Dawn waved her arms around, too.
    She’d love to wear a blue hat and a badge.
    She’d love to tell people what to do.
    She’d tell the good kids to cross first.
    She’d make the bad kids cross last.
    She’d make Emily Arrow stand on the corner forever.
    Carmen held up her hand.
    A green car stopped. So did a white one.
    Dawn held up her hand, too.
    Nothing happened.
    Carmen smiled at her. “You can cross now.”
    Dawn started across the street.
    “What’s cooking, Cookie?” Carmen asked.
    Carmen said that every day.
    Dawn lifted one foot high in the air.
    “New tights?” Carmen asked.

    Dawn shook her head. Her tights were a hundred years old. They had a hole in the toe.
    “Cowgirl boots,” she said.
    “Nice.” Carmen held up her hand. “Have a good Friday.”
    Dawn marched into the Polk Street School. She went down the hall into Room 113.
    She hoped everyone could see her boots.
    She made believe they had a speck on them.
    She bent down to clean them off.
    Jason bumped into her. He nearly knocked her over.
    “Sorry,” he yelled. He slid out of her way.
    “Not so loud, Jason,” said Ms. Rooney.
    Dawn shook her head. Jason was loud. He was loud even when he whispered.
    Dawn sat in her seat, next to Emily Arrow.
    Emily was running her unicorn across the desk. She was making snorting noises.
    Dawn made herself say hello to Emily.
    Her father said to be friends with everyone.
    Emily didn’t say hello back.
    She snorted through her nose again.
    Dawn wanted to pop her in the face.
    Then she saw that Emily was crying.
    “What’s the matter?” she asked.
    Emily didn’t answer.
    Up in front, Ms. Rooney clapped her hands. “Settle down, everyone.”
    Beast slid into his seat. So did Jason and the rest of the class.
    Dawn sat up straight.
    “I have some serious news,” Ms. Rooney said.
    Ms. Rooney looked angry.
    No. Ms. Rooney looked sad.
    Dawn wondered why.
    She looked at Emily out of the corner of her eye.
    Emily was crying hard.
    “Something has happened,” Ms. Rooney said. “We have a mystery in Room 113.”
    Dawn took a breath.
    Terrific.
    “Something is missing,” Ms. Rooney said.
    Dawn looked around.
    Everything seemed the same to her.
    The flagpole was in the front of the room. The plants were on the windowsill.
    The picture of George Washington was hanging on the wall.
    Next to her, Emily Arrow was crying harder.
    “Matthew’s head is missing,” Beast said.
    Matthew started to laugh. “You never even had a head,” he told Beast.
    “This is not the time for fooling around,” said Ms. Rooney.
    “Shh,” Dawn said to help her out.
    Ms. Rooney frowned a little. “Emily Arrow’s ring is missing.”
    Dawn looked at Emily. Emily’s eyes were red. So was her nose.
    Dawn thought of her book, The Secret of the Old House .
    A ring was even better than an old house.
    She was sorry Emily’s ring was gone.
    She was glad, too.
    She couldn’t wait to solve the mystery.

CHAPTER 3
    “I T WAS MY BIRTHDAY RING,” said Emily.
    “The one with the blue stone?” Jason asked.
    Emily nodded.
    “The one with the crack in it?” Alex Walker asked.
    “It was only a little crack,” Emily said. “You couldn’t even see it.”
    “I could,” said Alex.
    Dawn thought for a minute.
    She knew she had seen that ring.
    Where was it?
    She closed her eyes.
    Then she remembered. Yesterday afternoon.
    It was on the art room sink. It was full of soap.
    Dawn put up her hand.
    Ms. Rooney looked at her.
    “May I get a drink of water?” Dawn asked.
    “Do it quickly,” said Ms. Rooney.
    Dawn started out the door.
    Ms. Rooney was saying, “Think