The Case of the Missing Valentine Candy

The Case of Luke’s Missing Valentine Candy
by Colby, 3rd grade

Luke was sitting at his desk before lunch when his box of colored pencils fell to the floor. The teacher told everyone, “Line up.” She turned the lights off, but he was still on floor picking up his pencils.

Luke started to get up when he saw a huge box of candy on his desk. He said, “Who could have done this? Whoever did, I really like them.” He left the box of candy on the desk when he went to lunch.

One of Luke's classmates, Robby, was at the back of the line. Things had gone missing when Robby was around. Luke was afraid that Robby might steal the candy, so he followed Rob.

Lunch was the same as always - good ol' lunch. At five minutes before cleanup, Robby ran ahead of Luke and the teacher to recess. Luke couldn’t find Robby, so he went to the classroom. The candy box was still on his desk. He went back out to recess, but he still couldn’t find Robby.

Just before time to return to class, Robby came out of his mom’s car in the parking lot. He was first one in line to go back to the room. Then, as the line walked down the hall, Robby ran so that he was the first in the room. Everyone else hurried into the room, but the candy was gone.

“Luke, your candy’s gone!” Josh exclaimed.

Luke said, “Whoever took it, please tell me. If you do, you won’t get into as much trouble.”

No hands were raised. The teacher and Luke checked the desks. Then they looked in the cubbies, which were the storage areas that students used. No candy.

Luke said, “If you’re wearing a coat, take it off, please.”

Robby took his off, and there was the candy.

The teacher said, "Robby, go to the principal's office. I'll be there in a minute, and you will be calling your mother. We do not allow stealing here." When Robby left, she turned to the class. "I will ask the music teacher to stay here while I'm gone. I want you to write me a paragraph explaining why stealing is wrong. That will be your assignment for English today."

After the teacher left, Luke stared at the paper in front of him. He frowned as he thought, "Why is stealing wrong?" He picked up his pencil and wrote, "Stealing is wrong because it causes people not to trust other people. Stealing gets people in trouble. I would like to have friends that I can trust."

The mystery was solved, but everyone was sad.