Here's the next episode of this series, which is going to be 'Benchwarmer', which is going to be more of a 'different episode', as this takes place AFTER the episode aired. How will this work out? You'll see! Anyway, enjoy!

Inside my house on the suburbs, I was busy looking over all the photos from school to add for the school yearbook. I became a member of the yearbook committee recently, well, one in training, and I was assigned to match each picture to their respective places.

"All right... sports." I said as I looked over all the sport pictures I had of all my fellow third graders. I quickly looked around for most of the photos as I found a familiar picture... our PS 118 third grade basketball team, Arnold was in the center of the picture. I smiled a bit, remembering the good times I had as a cheerleader for that basketball team. Yeah, the team basically sucked throughout the whole season, and they only got good on their final game, but you can't blame the coach, really...

Wait, actually, yes, we can blame the coach. Throughout this season, he was making out his son, who was also on Arnold's team, to be this AWESOME basketball player, which he is in a way, but focusing on one team member... sheesh, the coach learned the hard way of the phrase 'There is no 'I' in 'Team'.'

His son... I believe he was named Tucker... yes, I recall that, because during one of my cheerleading sections in one game, I overheard a few gaming techniques from the players and the coach about something like "No matter what, throw the ball to Tucker, even if you have the ball, throw it to Tucker."

I sighed a bit as I had the urge to just tear this picture apart... but at the same time, you can't help but feel bad for the kid. Tucker just wants to impress his father, after all. Poor guy was recently part of a divorce, his mother left him to do something else, his father was taking it the hardest. Tucker had to live with his dad for a while... come to think of it, after the season, I've never seen Tucker again.

Odd and peculiar... maybe I should ask Arnold should I run into him again... as I do every day...

"Who?" Phoebe asked me as I was walking with her and Nadine to school the next day.

"Tucker? The kid that was on Arnold's basketball team this season." I asked.

The two still looked at me confused.

I sighed. "Coach Wittenberg's son."

"Oh, that's right." Nadine laughed. "The guy who always gets the ball passed to him in every game."

"By his rule, yes." I nodded. "I want to know what happened to that kid, because I've never seen him recently."

"You don't think he went back to his mother's, do you?" Phoebe asked.

"I doubt it, because doesn't his mother and his father live in basically the same neighborhood?" I asked. "Something strange is going on..."

All of a sudden, as if from out of nowhere, that bi-polar geek, who TOTALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL, BUT DIDN'T BECAUSE HE GOT OFF THE HOOK SO EASILY... I'm rambling again. Anyway, CURLY, wearing his regular clothes, but this time, wearing a necklace with a cross and a small hat, showed up behind us, making us yelp as he said, "You've noticed too? Stuff goes missing all the time in this world... everyone pretends this never happens, or they remain unaware of what has happened, but I say... it's a conspiracy!"

Curly smiled as he pointed to his hat. "That's why I got my lucky hat and my necklace of Solara on... TO STOP THEM FROM ERASING MY MEMORY AND FORGETTING WHAT WAS TAKEN FROM ME!"

"Oh, so it's fashionable AND useful." I rolled my eyes. Here goes Curly again, making up some sort of crazy religion... honestly, Curly would always often go on that his religion consisting of two little girls at religious war since the 1920s... it just sounds silly and ridiculous. It's so "Curly" of him.

"What did you lose, Curly?" Nadine asked.

"Please say it's your marbles." I smirked.

"No..." Curly sighed. "I have lost my favorite friend in the whole world... my sister."

I rolled my eyes. "Curly, you don't HAVE a sister."

"You never even mentioned relatives of any kind except for your mom and dad." Phoebe said. "How can you have a sister?"

"Even if you DID have a sister, with all due respect, how do you know your parents didn't just send your sister AWAY to a boarding school or something?" Nadine frowned.

"You know, because of your haircut, your weird personality and..." I started before doing a whistle in which I waved my finger around.

Curly then let out a crazy laugh as he said, "My sister would NEVER be sent away by my parents."

Curly then started to walk off as the three of us just watched him go. Curly then turned around and ran back as he suddenly whispered to us, "Look for what's NOT there, look for what doesn't make sense!"

"...I...think we're looking at it right now." I said, nearly freaked.

Curly then turned around to walk off. We almost sighed in relief... then yelped as Curly ran back and yelled, "And get some crosses of Solara or Marcie while you're at it!"

Curly then walked off as the three of us just looked at each other and just decided to walk to school.

"That was just... strange." I said.

"I know." Phoebe said as we continued to walk.

At school, as we were all at our lockers, Nadine paused as she said, "You know, now that I look around, I have a feeling something is missing too."

"What's that?" I asked. "I mean, besides Tucker."

"Wasn't Tucker's locker in between Gerald and Arnold's?" Nadine said. "Because I just passed by them, and I remember Tucker's locker used to be in between Gerald and Arnold's. Now they're next to each other's."

I paused as I looked over to see Gerald and Arnold talking to each other. I flashed back to a previous time...

I was talking with Nadine and Phoebe as I noticed Arnold and Gerald putting their books away... one locker separate.

"Hi, Arnold, hey Gerald." I waved.

The two waved back as Tucker came by with his bookbag and came by the locker in between Arnold and Gerald's...

I gasped as I ran over to Gerald and Arnold's locker as soon as they left. I looked at the numbers.

55... 57... 58... 59...

There was no locker 56. It was like... the locker Tucker had didn't EXIST...

"You may be right." I said as I turned to Nadine and Phoebe. "But we can't just assume the locker is just... gone. Maybe it might have been infected and they had to take it out..."

"There might have been workers there." Phoebe said. "And they'd probably know."

"Maybe they took it out during our Christmas break?" I guessed.

"No, then Gerald and Arnold would have known..." Nadine said. "The locker is gone... just gone."

I paused.

We were later sitting at Arnold and Gerald at lunch as we decided to talk about Tucker.

"You mean Coach Wittenberg's son that used to be part of our basketball team?" Gerald asked as he chewed on his tuna sandwich. "Of course we remember him."

"Great." I said. "Do you know where he is and what happened to the locker in between yours?"

Arnold and Gerald looked at each other in confusion as Arnold said, "We figured Coach Wittenberg sent him to boarding school or back to his mother's... and what do you mean 'locker in between ours'? We always were next to each other."

"Maybe your mind is slipping." Gerald said.

"No, I'm sure there was another locker. Your locker is 55, right, Arnold?" I asked.

"Yes." Arnold nodded.

"What's your number, Gerald?" Phoebe asked.

"57." Gerald said.

"Tucker's locker number?" Nadine asked.

"We don't honestly know that." Gerald said.

"Of course you do. 56. That's the locker Tucker had." I said.

Arnold frowned. "There is no locker 56, Rhonda. There never has been. Are you sure you're all right?"

I paused in sudden shock as I looked between Phoebe and Nadine who just shook their heads... as I sighed, "You're right, I guess I went a little crazy. Sorry about that."

"It's all right..." Arnold smiled. "Come on, let's enjoy the rest of our day..."

"There is no way Curly is right." I frowned as me and Nadine walked off.

"It could just be a coincidence..." Phoebe said.

"Right... but for now, we KNOW and we REMEMBER a locker 56!" I said.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do for right now. We'll have to wait for something else to happen before we get started on this mystery." Nadine said.

I sighed and nodded. Nadine was right. Tucker's disappearance should be nothing to worry about for now...

But I'm going to keep an eye out for clues... just in case...

And there is the ninth episode! How do you like it? Yep, even though this episode is the main focus, I decided to focus on something completely different... and hopefully introduce the main mystery of this fic! They'll be more clues to the disappearance of Tucker and... perhaps more... as the time goes along! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!