The Dance of Romance: A Valentine's Day Mystery

"What does it say? Is it about the Valentine's Day dance this weekend?" said Lizzy to one of her best friends, Em – whose real name was Emma - over the noisy chatter in the lunch room.

"C'mon, read it out loud." said Charlotte, Emma’s other bff who went by the nickname Charlie. 

"Sheesh! Give me a second to unfold it.” Em giggled. “You'd think it was a marriage proposal or something."

They were all eager to find out what was inside the note that had been left on Em’s desk just before lunch that Monday

prior to Valentine's Day. The handwriting on the outside of the folded paper wasn’t recognizable, so the girls were hoping they’d be able to identify the author by the words written inside.

As Em worked on de-origami-ing the letter, Lizzy and Charlie looked around the room and tried to figure out which guy

looked the guiltiest. Out of the twelve "suspects" at Cornell

Elementary School, eight could be ruled out because they already had dates to the dance. The four boys left were Barton Jamison, easily the richest kid in school; Michael Rochet, whose family had moved from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina; Simon Stine, so smart the class called him Ein-Stine; and Carter

Smith, a stocky, shy farm kid and star of the wrestling team.

"Well, what does it say?" urged Lizzy. "Read it! Read it!"

Charlie groaned when she saw the note had been written on a typewriter. Em cleared her throat and read:

Even if I had no money,

I'd feel rich if you were my honey.

P.S. Will you be my date for the Valentine's

dance?

Charlie, hoping for a mystery, was clearly disappointed that the clue was so easy.

"Obviously it's Barton." said Charlie. "Helloooo! EVEN IF I had no money? Get it?"

"I don't know," said Em, "do you think he'd really be that obvious?"

Lizzy and Charlie chimed in together, "Barton? Uhhh... yes! He's always letting everyone know how wealthy is father is."

Emma wasn't convinced and said, "Well, I’m not going to jump to conclusions. If I went up to Barton and said I’d love to go to the dance with him and it wasn’t him, I’d be so embarrassed. Maybe I’ll get another note tomorrow or something. Meanwhile, keep your mouths closed, okay?”

The girls agreed, but all afternoon they each stole glances at the four boys who might have asked Em to the dance.

Charlie noticed that Barton kept glancing back toward Em and that Ein-Stine was taking more notes than usual.

Lizzy saw Carter look over at Em and then blush. Or was he just warm? They’d just come from PE.

Em thought she saw Michael smile when the teacher paired them up to work on a math problem. Emma really liked Michael

because he was so exotic. First of all, he pronounced his name Me-shell instead of My-cull. Second of all, he had the cutest accent, which she thought for sure was French. 

By the end of the day, though, the girls still didn't know for sure who had sent the note to Em.

Tuesday before class, one of Emma’s bffs got another clue to the mystery. She had overheard Barton whisper to his friend, Jason, that he was going to ask Em to the dance and that he was going to leave a note in her desk before lunch.

At lunch time, Charlie reported what she'd heard to Emma and Lizzy and said, "See, I told you it was Barton! So, what does the note say, Em?"

"I didn't get a note." said Em.

"Didn't get a note?  But I'm sure I heard him say he was leaving a note before lunch." said Charlie. 

Puzzled, the girls looked around the lunchroom again, still trying to solve the mystery of who had been leaving the notes. Who could it be? Ein-Stine was playing a hand-held video game, Barton was talking to Melissa, Carter was rough-housing with his wrestling buddies, and Michael had his nose in a book. No clues there.

The lunch bell rang, and it seemed like a year instead of just a couple hours before the school day ended for Emma, Charlie, and Lizzy.

But it was after school that the next clue showed up. Em ran to her friends, who were getting ready to get on their bus home. She was excitedly waving a sheet of paper in the air. "I

got another note!" she said breathlessly, and then read it aloud.

If I could spend amore time with thee,

then you and me could become oui.

P.S. Will you be my date for the Valentine's

Day dance?

"Oh, now the clues - I mean notes- make sense." said Charlie, who, after seeing the movie, Charlie's Angels, decided she had a natural proclivity for solving mysteries. "It's Michael! All that business about not having money and we think his accent is French. It's definitely Michael."

"I still say it's Barton." said Lizzy. "His parents take him to France every summer, so he could easily know some French. Besides, he told Jason he was going to ask Em to the dance, remember?"

"No sense arguing about it right now.” Em replied. “You guys have to get on the bus and I need to get home. We'll just have to wait and see. Keep your eyes and ears open for more clues tomorrow."

Emma could hardly wait for lunch break on Wednesday. There had been a note in her desk first thing that morning, and she was dying to share it with her friends. But Lizzy had news to share, too, and told the story in practically one breath.

“YouareNOTgoingtobelievetheconversationIhadwithMichaelthismorning…"

“Slow down! I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” said Charlie.

“I said,” exclaimed Lizzy, still talking almost too quickly to be understood, “that I had a conversation with Michael this morning. I heard him mumbling to himself, so I asked him what he was saying and he said he was working on his history report and then I asked him what language he was speaking and he said it was French. French, just like we thought! And then I asked him if he was going to the dance and he said he wanted to, so I asked him if he was going alone and he said he hoped not and that there was someone he was interested in asking but he wasn't sure if she even knew he existed, so I told him I thought she DID know he existed and then I suggested he write another note, but before he could say anything else the bell rang and we were almost late for class. Michael is definitely sending you the notes."

Em waited for Lizzy to finish her monologue before she said, "Uh, I doubt it. See that? Michael's over there flirting with Carmen."

The girls looked over just in time to see Michael and Carmen walk out of the lunchroom together with their heads bent close, smiling and talking as they left.

"Maybe they're working on a class project together or something." said Lizzy, not wanting to admit defeat.

"I don't know. But I do know this: I have another note. I got it first thing this morning." Emma pulled out the note and read the next clue.

If E = Em and C = Me then we should square off immediately.

It's beauty and brawn at the Valentine's dance.

To sum it all up this might be your big chance.

P.S. Will you be my date for the Valentine's Day dance?

"I've got it!" said Charlie. "E=MC2! SUM it up? It's a math problem, which means..."

Together the girls squealed, "Ein-Stine!"

Of course it had to be him, they all thought. Barton had the looks but not necessarily the brains. Michael was smart enough, but he probably wasn't a genius like Ein-Stine. There was just one nagging thought running through Em's head. Ein-Stine was smart in every subject, not just math, and Tuesday's note had a grammatical error.  When she mentioned this to her friends, Charlie said, "Maybe he used improper grammar so it would rhyme right."

"Maybe," said Em, "but I think we should keep on looking and listening…and waiting for more notes."

That afternoon was so busy in class they all forgot about looking for more clues. And Wednesday night was church youth

group. There had been no time to talk – or even think about - the Valentine’s Day Dance mystery.

On Thursday, Em was sure she'd get another note and be able to figure out who her secret admirer was. She was thinking so hard

about all the clues as she walked up the school steps that she almost knocked down Carter, who had been waiting for her by the front door.

"Oh! Carter! I'm so sorry!" said Em as she helped Carter pick up the books and papers that had been knocked to the floor. "My mind was somewhere else."

"Like maybe the dance this Saturday?" asked Carter.

Em was only half listening. Her focus was on Barton and Melissa standing in the hallway a few feet away. Did Barton just call Melissa ma Cherie?

Em cleared her thoughts and noticed Carter looking at her quizzically. "What did you say?" Em asked.

Discouraged, Carter replied, "Nothing. Uh, never mind. See ya." and walked away thinking to himself that Em probably wouldn't go to the dance with him anyway. Not when it seemed she had

her sights set on Barton. And who wouldn’t? Why was it so hard to ask a girl to a dance, he wondered to himself? All my buddies already have dates.

Just before lunch, Em found another note in her desk. That made a total of four, and she was positive she'd be able to piece the mystery together with her friends' help.

"So, what does this note say?" asked Lizzy when the girls were settled at the lunch table.

Some guys are rich, others are smart,

some are exotic, and some guys have heart.

Which guy am I? Tomorrow you'll see.

Let's meet after school by the big, old oak tree.

P.S. Will you be my date for the Valentine's Day dance?

"A lot of help this note is," said Em to her friends disappointedly. "Have you two seen or heard anything else that might be a clue? Anything at all?”

"Nothing I can think of right now," said Lizzy. I guess you'll just have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to see who it is."

Charlie added, “The only problem with that is you’ll only have Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to figure out what to

wear.”

“Always looking on the bright side, aren’t you, Charlie?” said Lizzy a bit too sarcastically.

Charlie looked at Emma and said, “What I meant was that if you wanted any help, I’d be happy to come over to your house and

help you.” Then Charlie gave Lizzy a snotty look and walked away.

Emma wondered if those two friends of hers actually liked bickering.

“Come on, Lizzy,” said Emma. “Let’s walk home the long way, which was her way of saying she wanted to stop and get a Cherry Coke at the old-time soda fountain in the corner drug

store.  “I got my allowance last night, so I’ll buy.”

At lunch on Friday, Charlie pulled a sheet of paper from her notebook and said, "Okay, you guys, we're going to figure out

this mystery once and for all. We'll write down the reasons why each boy could or could not be the one who has written the notes."

Charlie was always writing something in her notebook, and Emma and Lizzy had learned to accept that it was her way of processing information, even though they thought it was totally weird.

“Okay, we’ll start with Barton,” said Charlie. “Let’s think this through, logically. Give me some reasons why Barton could have written all those notes and might be the guy.”

Em and Lizzy offered their ideas while Charlie wrote.

Why Barton could have written the notes

1. "Even IF I had no money…"

2. Might speak French

3. Said he was going to ask Em to dance

“Now,” continued Charlie, “reasons why he could not have written the notes.”

Again, Em and Lizzy gave their suggestions while Charlie wrote.

Why Barton couldn't have written the notes

1. Flirts with Melissa

2. Probably doesn't know what E=MC2 means

3. Not brawny

“How about Simon Stine?” asked Charlie.

Why Ein-Stein could have written the notes

1. Smart about math

2. Always writing something

3. Doesn't have a date to the dance yet

Why Ein-Stine couldn't have written the notes

1. Grammatical mistake

2. Not brawny

"Oh, I overheard Ein-Stine tell someone that he and his parents were going out of town on Saturday." said Lizzy.

Charlie added the last bit of info to Ein-Stine's list.

3. Might not be here for the dance

“Let’s do Carter next.” said Charlie.

Why Carter could have written the notes

1. "If I had no money..."

2. Brawny

3. If E = Em and C = Me (Carter)

Why Carter couldn't have written the notes

1. Doesn't speak French (probably)

2. Doesn't know what E=MC2 means (maybe)

3. Doesn't seem interested in going to the dance

“And finally, Michael.” Charlie said.

Why Michael could have written the notes

1. Speaks French

2. Good in math

3. Brawny

4. Writes a lot

5. Comes in early, stays late, could have left note

Why Michael couldn't have written the note

1. Might have a crush on Carmen

"It looks like Michael is the guy," said Em. “Five reasons why he could have written the note and only one reason he couldn’t. But I guess I'll find out for sure this afternoon."

Emma was almost sad at the thought. She had really had fun trying to figure out the mystery with her friends. It had made the week fly by. Plus, it was sort of exciting. Part of her, though, was a little bit nervous. She liked all four of the boys well enough, but a date to the dance? This was her first dance.  She hadn’t really stopped to think about that yet. 

Em mumbled to herself, “It’s too late now. Besides, I guess I can always say no.”

When the final bell rang at the end of the day, Em didn't want to appear too eager so she took a few extra minutes to gather her homework before heading out the door. Lizzy and Charlie were waiting for her out front. As the girls walked down the school steps, they saw Michael and Carmen standing off to the side, talking and laughing...and holding hands!

"I guess that rules out Michael." said Charlie.

"Looks like Barton's out, too," said Lizzy, as she pointed to Barton helping Melissa into the limo that picked him up from school every day.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Barton told Jason he was going to ask Em... Hey, wait a minute! Was Barton talking in

code to Jason? He said Em, but did he mean Em as in Emma, or did he mean the letter M for Melissa?”

"I’m guessing M as in Melissa. So, that leaves Ein-Stine and Carter." said Em. "By the way, do you guys mind if I go alone? It's weird enough without the two of you tagging along."

Lizzy and Charlie headed off in the opposite direction, waving goodbye and wishing Em good luck. Emma approached the oak tree and saw two boys in conversation. It was Ein-Stine and Carter, just as she had suspected. When the boys saw Em coming, one of them waved at her, picked up his books, and walked away.

"So, it was you who left me those notes, huh?" said Em to the remaining boy.

"Yep. Disappointed?" asked Em's secret admirer.

"No way! But I am surprised. I had no idea you were a whiz at math." said Em.

"I'm not. I asked Ein-Stine to help me with that clue. Em, will you please go to the Valentine's Day dance with me tomorrow night?" said the good looking, brawny, guy standing next to

her. "I was going to ask you the other day, but..."

Em interrupted and said, "I'd love to go to the dance with you, Carter. I'm glad you asked. By the way, may I ask you a question?"

"What’s that?" replied Carter.

"Parlez-vous Francais?" asked Em, practicing her French.

"Oui, mon amour." replied Carter gallantly. "Now let me walk you home."