At night, Principal Hopkins was dusting the picture frames at the Lititz Heights Public Library. "Not those new wave '80s tribute band," he growled. "I hate the '80s."
XxoxX
Outside, a new wave band known as Waving Shells was starting to play freaky electronic music in front of the library. The lead singer was a male with aqua hair, the keyboardist was a female with armpit length cerulean hair, the male was an African-American drummer with periwinkle hair, and the keytarist was a female Asian with an icy blue odango style, and all of them were wearing shell/'80s outfits.
"Stop this behavior this instance!" the librarian shouted. "The manager of the library let me dust off the painting frames so we can be ready for display."
"Like, sorry, ma'am," said the guitarist. "We, like, totally had to rehearse for our concert in Philadelphia."
Back inside, Principal Hopkins noticed that something was wrong, the new painting has been stolen.
XxoxX
The next day at the library, the Friendly Scouts were serving cookies to the patrons who are there for the unveiling of the new painting. They were greeted by a witch in purple with eye patterns, a gargoyle with pink hair and cute clothes, a werewolf in punk clothes, a ghost wearing 19th-century clothes, a hippie mummy, and a vampire with long red hair and fabulous clothes. They were Nathalia Clarivoya, Grogan Biteson, Abberan Delic, Skyler, Logan Goyle, and Janel Palekachi, otherwise known as the Freaky Six.
"We're here to sell cookies at the unveiling of the latest painting by Princess Skyler - 'Witchy Troubles'," explained Kaylin. "It's an oil, acrylic, and gouache mixed media painting.
"'Witchy Troubles'," Princess Skyler. "That's my painting."
"Alrighty, folks," Mayor Hess said. "Today we're displaying mixed media paintings made by monsters that isn't partially eaten. So without further adieu-"
"Stop!" shouted Principal Hopkins. "Sorry I'm late. My husband had a little plumping problem at his workplace and needed me to help."
"Needed to save money on plumping again?" asked Mayor Hess.
"I'm afraid so," answered Principal Hopkins. "Listen, 'Witchy Troubles' is gone."
"What?" asked the mayor in horror.
With an unveiling of the curtain, they saw that the painting was missing. Everyone was horrified by the missing painting. Paige turned her head to realize that Peter was missing. A man came out of the bathroom in annoyance declaring, "Four teenagers in there are flushing down some toilet paper for no apparent reason."
"Not again," Paige growled.
"You dealt with this before," asked Nathalia.
"Believe me," Paige replied. "They'd even flushed my homework down the toilet. My brother had to spend a week of detention for doing that back in middle school."
On the ground, Swinger and Kirby found a card that said "Tidal Wave Records." It only meant one thing for them: the culprit must've been someone working for that company.
Abberan decided to come along so Grogan won't eat their lunch money. In the men's room, Peter, Santiago, Maniac Mel, and Hoodster were flushing old magazines down the toilet. Grogan scared the quartet out so they can stop clogging the toilet. The boys unintentionally bumped into Skyler. With one look, Santiago developed a major crush on her.
"Hey," said Santiago. "Name's Santiago. Do you like the smell of fish heads?"
"I may be a mummy," Skyler replied, "but I don't like the smell of fish heads." As she was rushing out to avoid Santiago's rude behavior, Janel followed her, but Nathalia stopped her by stomping her foot in her hair.
"Thanks for stopping me," Janel replied. "Us vampires hate the sunlight."
Nathalia gave Janel a parasol to avoid being exposed to the Sun. She found Skyler by a bush, trying to get away from Santiago. "Hey, Skye," she said. "Still a bit shaken about Santiago?"
"He's gross," Skyler answered. "All I want to do is find my painting before it's too late."
"Is everything alright?" a British woman with 1980s apparel asked. "I've been hearing noises out here and I was petrified about the whole stolen painting business. Forgive me. Marley Hewitt, CEO of Tidal Wave Records."
"Right on," Grogan said. "Can I jam you a tune for a record deal?"
"No," answered Marley. "I only accept new wave bands, not punk rockers."
XxoxX
After Marley left, they went back inside to ask Principal Hopkins if she had any suspects. "I do have a few suspects in mind," he provided.
Suspects
Conch (Lead guitarist of Waving Shells) - It was his idea to practice in Lititz Heights.
Bivalve (Keyboardist of Waving Shells) - Wants a break from the music industry.
Moonshell (Drummer of Waving Shells) - Never seems to be interested in the music industry.
Sunrise Shell (Keytarist of Waving Shells) - A huge expert on mixed media art and created the logo for the band.
"Here's the plan," Leah said. "Nathalia, Abberan, Tania and I will talk to Conch, Grogan, Janel, Rylie, and Kaylin will handle Moonshell, Logan, Estrella, and Swinger will handle Sunrise Shell, and Paige, Tokkori, and Skyler will handle Bivalve."
"Before we begin," Janel replied, "Nat, a little costume change for the Klue Queens?"
"Sure thing," Nathalia answered as she changed the Klue Queens clothes into something FREAKY.
Leah, Kaylin, Estrella, Rylie, Tania, and Paige were all wearing clothes in the style of the Freaky 6, with stars on them. "I figure you could use a good mystery-solving outfit, Freaky 6 style," Janel explained.
"Thanks for giving us these beautiful outfits," Kaylin replied. "I feel so cute in them."
Leah and Nathalia were both looking for clues when they spotted a hamster. "G'day there," the hamster said in an Australian accent.
"Wow," Nathalia replied. "A talking hamster in Lititz Heights."
"You must be one of Kirby's friends, are you?" Leah asked.
The hamster nodded his head. "Name's Rick," said the hamster. "After your little act in Dreamland, I thought I could check out Earth for myself. King Zaire insisted I come to Lititz Heights to avoid freakouts."
Then Rick looked around, seeing there was no sign of Kirby, "Where's Kirby anyway?" Rick asked.
"Helping Kristi and Leelanee get apples from Mr. Acker's apple tree," explained Leah.
XxoxX
In front of a produce store, Leelannee, Kristi, and Kirby were carrying each other to get apples. Kirby ate one of them, then he picked up two for the others. As Kristi and Leelannee got down, he tossed the apples to the two girls and they ate them, "That Kirby" Rick replied, "Always helping people
"Kristi, honey" Chief Hess replied, "Those apples might have worms."
"Daddy," Kristi said, "Mw. Achey always checks the appwes befowe giving them outey"
"Mr. Acker owns an organic produce store, "Acker Apples" explained Leah, "He always gives away free apples from his apple tree upfront to attract customers."
XxoxX
Meanwhile, Grogan, Rylie, Janel, and Kaylin were at Symphony Sound Music Shop, where not only that people buy music supplies, where they also get music lessons. Kaylin remembered taking harp lessons there. They met Moonshell looking for drumsticks and asked what was he doing here, "Marley suggested I get new drumsticks for the pose I'm doing for the album," Moonshell explained, "She told us that the cover is a surprise."
On the store shelf, Grogan saw an obese boy, "That's my best bud, "Ralph" replied Moonshell, "He inspired me to get into special effects. The original drummer of Waving Shells, Snailshell was suffering from a terrible throat condition and he suggested that I should replace him as the drummer."
"So," Grogan asked, "Are you interested in the music buis or not"
"It's neutral" Moonshell replied, "Mostly I rather do the effects."
They were amazed by Moonshell's true talent.
XxoxX
Meanwhile, Estrella, Logan, and Swinger were at Zand Art for any clues when they spotted Sunrise Shell comparing colors. "Hello, Sunrise Shell," Estrella replied.
"Can I help you?" asked Sunrise Shell.
"We need to talk about designing the album cover," Logan said. "Did you want to draw it? Did ya, did ya, did ya?"
"Easy," replied Sunrise Shell. "I, Chica 'Sunrise Shell' Mizuhsima, have studied art for 24 years, since my birth. Whenever I make a new album cover, I always end up getting rejected."
"I'm sure someone would appreciate your albums," replied Estrella.
"You're right," Sunrise Smile said as she hugged Estrella.
"Even though we just met," replied Estrella, "this is kinda lovely."
"I'm a bit of a hugger," Sunrise Shell explained.
At the park, Paige, Tokkori, and Skyler found Bivalve doing some yoga. "Excuse me, Bivalve?" asked Paige.
"Please," Bivalve replied in a French accent. "I prefer you free-spirits call me by my real name - Cassandra."
"Cassandra?" asked Tokkori. "More like Cass sand to your eyes."
"I do not find that insult amusing," Cassandra replied.
Tokkori decided to nap in Paige's purse. Paige asked, "Can we talk about the whole break from the music industry?"
"Oui," replied Cassandra. "I was a choir star in Brittany, France. I wanted a break in the music, but no one accepted me. One day online, I found an ad in America for a new wave band in need of a keyboardist. I've always been talented on the piano, so maybe a new wave band would be a big gig. As I was on tour, I started missing France."
"Is that why you wanted a break?" asked Skyler. "Because you were homesick?"
"You have no idea what is like missing your homeland," replied Cassandra, "so I do yoga whenever I feel homesick."
Paige and Skyler decided to do it too, so they could learn some of her techniques. Little did they know was that a mysterious figure was spying on them, hoping to kidnap Cassandra. Tokkori woke up to find the kidnapper right behind them. "Look out, girlies!" he warned.
The three girls turned around to see the kidnapper but did a warrior pose to avoid capture. In the kidnapper's hair, Paige spotted a keytar hairpin. The kidnapper left without any other evidence.
"Thank you, Tokkori," Paige said as she got up. "You make a good birdwatcher."
"No prob," Tokkori replied. "Perhaps I could be rewarded with some gummy worms later."
XxoxX
Later, they arrived at the library to ask Waving Tides about the theft. "Dude," replied Conch, "we don't steal art. It's, like, copyright infringement."
"Besides," Sunrise Shell replied, "Marley couldn't accept other bands, because Tidal Waves Records only accepts new wave bands."
That's when Logan realized something. "Let's try the last place we would look," she said. "The tour bus."
At the tour bus, they found the backroom, which was where none of the Waving Shells ever went to. In the end, they found a painting with oil witches, an acrylic angry mob, and a gouache background. "This is 'Witchy Troubles'," asked Rylie. "It looks like a witch hunt."
"It *is* a witch hunt," answered Skyler.
"Witches were persecuted back in the old days," Nathalia explained. "My mom was considered a lady of Purple Magic. The Purple Magic is time magic us Clarivoyas get."
"What are you doing?!" shouted Marley from behind, "I told you not to go in the back, EVER!"
In her red hair, Paige found the same keytar hairpin as Bivalve's supposed kidnapper and exclaimed, "You're the thief!"
"Correct," Marley replied. "I needed to kidnap Bivalve in order to make a decoy painting so no one would suspect."
"Boss," Bivalve replied, "you forgot that Sunrise Shell is the artist. I'm the peacekeeper."
"Whatever," growled Marley as she grabbed a wrench.
On the makeup mirror, Leah found a mirror and got an idea, "Kirby," shouted Leah, "suck it up!"
With a gulp of the hand mirror, Kirby turned into Mirror Kirby. He made a bunch of clones of Marley to attack her. On top of the tour bus, Rick landed on her. "Get off," she said. "I hate rodents." When she got out of the tour bus, she landed in a hole that Rick rigged up.
The Klue Queens, the Freaky 6, and Waving Shells came out of the bus. "It's starting to make sense now," Nathalia said as she placed a shield over Marley. "The thief left behind a business card for Tidal Wave Records, where they only accept new wave bands. Then Paige, Tokkori, and Skyler found another clue where the mysterious figure had a keytar hairpin in its hair, the same one Marley had when we met her. Also, remember when Grogan, Rylie, Janel, and Kaylin were at Symphony Sound Music Shop, Moonshell said that Marley needed some alone time working on the cover for their next album. That's a sign that they couldn't know about the whole charade."
"And the band was a front so you can steal the painting?" guessed Leah.
"Boss," Conch said, "why on Earth would you make us go back to Lititz Heights for one simple painting?"
"I was a nobody in the music industry," explained Marley. "I tried out thousands and thousands of record companies to get into the music business, but nobody wanted me. That's when I decided to launch my own record company. I had a hard time finding the right band, but then I found Waving Shells at that night club in Willmington a year ago. We toured all over Pennsylvania and has made a smash hit with their first album, 'The Call In the Shell.' Now they needed a new cover, something relating to their songs about witchcraft. When I read online about the unveiling of a mixed media painting of persecuting witches, I knew I had my inspiration. I would've made a fortune out of the painting and I would become a star in the world of graphic design."
"Here's a plus one," replied Conch. "If you hadn't taken us to Lititz Heights, I wouldn't have brought back some old memories."
XxoxX
Later, Chief Hess and Deputy Downs took Marley to prison, where she wouldn't manage any more bands. "Thank heavens she's gone," Sunrise Shell sighed with relief.
Everyone was surprised by how Waving Shells felt about Marley. "What do you mean?" asked Rylie.
"We never liked Marley," Sunrise Shell confessed. "She never let us use our songs. She wrote all the songs herself and forced us to publish them as our own. She said that she wouldn't pay us if we didn't do it."
"After all we went through," Conch replied, "I think we should retire for a while and work at my parents' music shop for a living. Thanks to my main man, Blaine 'Moonshell' Killam, we get to be hometown boys again."
"Wait," asked Kaylin. "You're Ralph Kemp, but you look fat in the day."
"It's amazing what a diet of asparagus soup and apple juice and 45 minutes of dancing can do to you," answered Conch.
Tania picked up Rick with her hands. "Nice job, Rick" she replied. "Without you getting on Marley's head and digging that hole to trap her, she wouldn't be in jail by now."
"No prob," replied Rick. "Any mate of Kirby's is a mate of mine."
"We should give Rick a home," Leah suggested. "We know Little Miss Starlight and Masahiro would love to eat him, Rylie's family would just stuff you non-stop, and Swinger would just become jealous."
Then Tania remembered something. "Remember when we had our old hamster Sherlock?" she asked. "Maybe he can live there. We still have his cage in the attic."
"Mom told us that he ran away and joined the circus when we were 6 and 5," Leah recalled. "Three years later, Mom told the truth that he died. It was a shame to lose a little hamster."
XxoxX
Later that night, Leah and Tania were both decked out in their jammies while checking on Rick in his new hamster home. "How things with you, mate?" asked Tania as she faked an Aussie accent.
"Great, mate," answered Rick. "By the way, where did you learn to fake an Aussie accent?"
"Our cousins Clark and Eva are from Australia," Leah explained. "They've even taught us a little Aussie slang."
"So what's on the word on Waving Shells," asked Rick, "Besides them taking a break from touring and working at the music shop."
"Sunrise Shell is going to design the new album cover for their band," answered Tania. "Something that doesn't involve witch hunts."
Suddenly, they heard a bang in the kitchen. Ms. McBruce came along to just in case someone got hurt. By the kitchen, Kirby got out some leftover fettuccini. "What in koala bears is Kirby doing?" Rick asked.
"Late night snacking," Leah replied. "But that's just Kirby."
The End.
