Story by A
The Mystery Behind the Mossy Green Statue
Posted on by A.
Excursion Chapter 1 The alarm clock went off and Jane rolled of her bed. It was her excursion to the museum that had been closed for four years because of some sort of mysterious secret that has been promised to be kept. Jane snatched her bag from her parents hands and ran out of the door slamming it behind her. She crawled between a forest of legs and made her way to her teacher. “ Finally, you’re here Jane.” Came the disapproving voice of Ms Camouflage. Jane rushed through her well packed bag and took out a pair of binoculars she tied around her neck. She eyed Ms camouflage ticking off her name and smiled heading towards the back of the bus. Jane stared outside the glass window and some new student sat by her side. The girl waved at Jane and patted her seat checking if anything was beneath her. “ Hello” replied Jane with a wave. After chattering away in the bus Jane had asked Lucy if she was excited to go on this excursion to the museum. Lucy sighed and revealed her journal. She placed a finger on her mouth and whispered “ Don’t tell anyone.” Jane nodded and investigated the journal. “ This isn’t yours, is it?” She asked bewildered. Lucy shakes her head and took back the journal flipping to a certain page. She had used a highlighter to outline a sentence and pointed it out to Jane. Ariana Camouflage making her way through the secret exit in the mysterious museum. Jane scratched her head and turned back to the window. Was this really the reason Ms Camouflage had decided to take us to the museum? Lucy could see Jane was struggling and she tapped her lightly on the shoulder. “Maybe we should solve this mystery” She said calmly. Jane nodded reluctantly and observed the journal from the corner of her eye. Lucy took out her bag from under the seat and started re-organizing her backpack. Jane sat there puzzled staring into the deep of the empty pocket. Lucy carelessly threw her belongings into the bag and looked at Jane waiting for Jane to ask a question. “How do you know this is the right museum and Ms Camouflage’s first name is Ariana? “Firstly, her name is written on her folder and when I have been signed up for her class they told me her name. Secondly, This is the only museum around this area.” Jane sighed deeply and the bus halted to a stop. When Ms Camouflage pushed everyone out of the bus she looked around the bus and picked up a scrunched piece of paper, unfolded it and stuffed it into her back pocket. Then she headed out of the bus thanking the driver for the lift. Then she stared suspiciously at Lucy and muttered some words no one could understand. She then led the way to the front of the museum and stopped in front of the stairs. When she tapped a tablet with her ticket the doors opened ajar and she stormed in proudly bringing attention to the tourists who went around with cameras which flashed as they found some odd and unique object. The disappearance Chapter 2 “Wait here children and behave until I return...” said Ms Camouflage looking unconvinced that the class would behave. Lucy nudged Jane and looked around the room which Ms Camouflage had abandoned. Jane bit her lip and stood outside the line checking if that would bring attention to her classmates. No one noticed Jane as they had been too busy chattering away to each other. Lucy put her thumbs up and smiled, then looked around the room searching for an exit. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Jane as if she noticed something suspicious in the room. Jane gulped and stammered. “W...what..is it.” Lucy pointed trying not to bring any attention from her classmates. Jane frowned as she stared at the wooden and rusty door hidden between two cabinets. Lucy crept up on her tippy toes and turned the door knob, she was followed by Jane who seemed to be able to read her mind and that made her feel comfortable. Jane thought: where was Ms Camouflage? Lucy hid behind the cabinet and closed her mouth with the palm of her pale hand. Jane peaked and saw Ms Camouflage talking to what seemed like a waitress in disguise. She heard strict orders been given to the trembling woman who rushed up the stairs and a few moments later came tumbling down them again but this time in a complete different outfit and with some object that looked harmful. Then came the evil cackle of Ms Camouflage who pushed the woman into some hallway. Jane slowly closed the door and returned to the two neat lines with Lucy limping behind her. “How did she appear to be there when she went through the other door? Asked Jane in a low voice. Lucy shrugged and took out her journal. “Through a Passageway” she read out loud but in a low voice in case anyone heard her. Then as Lucy stuffed the journal into the empty pocket the door knob turned and Ms Camouflage re-appeared through the door she had used to leave the room. “ Sorry if I took a long time. I was speaking to the manager he’s a great guy.” She lied. Jane remembered the fairytale Pinocchio and imagined her nose starting to grow. She giggled and quickly sat down when she had realized boots were screeching and everyone had sat down. Lucy carefully unzipped her backpack and wrote in her diary. She took out the journal and a highlighter and copied a sentence into her diary. Ms Camouflage made her way around the room and gave everyone a guide book. Jane opened the book in the very middle and the staple drew blood on her finger tip. She gulped and flipped the page over taking looks at beautiful pictures the guide book showed of the museum. Lucy shook her head and made Jane pay attention to what she has discovered. “Page number 4... and then missing pages ripped out then comes the page 15.” She said in a low voice. Jane nodded and threw a glance at Ms Camouflage who had been staring at Lucy since she had left the bus. Missing Chapter 3 Lucy and Jane heard loud voices echoing in the hallway, people arguing. “You took them haven’t you!” Exclaimed one voice. The other voice replied. “No sir, I have not but I know who did...” and before they heard anymore Ms Camouflage had left the room jogging along the corridors. Jane saw that Lucy was about to burst and track down Ms Camouflage but she held her back and tried to distract her. Lucy rolled her eyes,then stood up. Faces stared at her looking very inquisitive as to why she stood up. Lucy gulped then explained to everyone as to why she stood up. Classmates looked at each other and then someone gave a suggestion. “ We should eavesdrop!” Lucy beckoned the boy to keep going but he had nothing else to say. She smiled and nodded asking everyone if they agreed. Someone raised their hand and soon everyone imitated him. Everyone partnered up and it was planned to meet back at 1:30. Jane and Lucy had tracked down muddy foot prints and leaned against a door, again they heard voices but this time everyone in that room were speaking softly. “Why did you bring children aboard with you.” Said one, the other replied. “I had no choice but to bring them along.” It was obvious that Ms Camouflage was speaking to someone but who? Jane and Lucy heard their classmates but for some reason they were together. Two boys flapped their hands and told Jane and Lucy to join them and so they did. “We found this letter left behind a statue.” Jane and Lucy faced each other and turned back to their classmates looking very confused. But first they pointed to the door which had been locked and the students approached it trying to eavesdrop on the conversation that was going on in there. The kids left something on the door knob to make sure they remembered what door they had been leaning on. They returned to the statue which had green moss covering it and they read the letter: Who ever finds this first remember that this is a secret which has been hidden for four years and this isn’t complete you will have to find clues yourself and then get out of this museum as soon as possible before things get suspicious. It seemed like everyone understood and then someone exclaimed “come here!” Luckily it seemed like no one heard him and everyone headed towards where the boy was standing. He pointed to a bunch of letters engraved on a rock. The letters spelt out the word key and when three boys had rolled over the heavy rock the Children saw a golden key shimmering in the light. It had become 1:30 and someone’s watch had gone off. The girl quickly stopped it from beeping and Lucy led everyone to where they had first been. Jane took the key with her and zipped open her empty, small pocket hiding the key in the very depth of it. Just then when everyone settled Ms Camouflage stepped into the room. “ I am so sorry we haven’t even started yet something went missing and I had to be part of this boring conversation.” She said honestly that time. Jane and Lucy smiled. They had a very adventurous and mysterious time meanwhile she was locked in a room. The Return to the mossy statue Chapter 4 “I am very sorry to say that you will have to stay here while we resolve a very serious matter.” Lucy nudged Jane and whispered. “WE” two boys turned round to face Lucy and grinned mischievously they passed her a letter and it read : “we have something planned.” Jane had her face light up and she slid across the floor towards the boys. When Ms Camouflage left the room everyone in the room gathered up and the boys revealed their plan. Lucy closed her eyes and Jane shook her awake. The boys jogged to the mossy statue and opened the scroll which had been drooping down of the statues head. The girls gasped in delight as they saw the beautiful pictures skim through one by one as the scrolled unrolled till it was touching the ground. Lucy shook her head and stood aghast on what has happened. It would take ages to roll the scroll back together and even if they rolled it to the top they would have no time to complete the mystery. Jane picked up the scroll the boys threw, terrified on behalf of what they had done. Jane comforted everyone and looked at the pictures the scroll had. At the bottom of each picture were numbers and those numbers were the numbers missing fro the guide book. Lucy understood that and so did everyone else in the hall. Jane skimmed through the pictures and stopped at one with a door that had a lock on it she smiled and reached into the pocket picking out the golden key she was willing to use. “It’s the perfect combination!” She exclaimed. Lucy nodded and they checked the surroundings of the door. There was moss in the picture and there was someone’s skirt which had been the one Ms Camouflage was wearing on the day of the excursion. “Moss...” said Lucy “And the skirt Ms Camouflage was wearing today” continued Jane. They smiled and looked around the room they could see no door. “Wait, the door is as tall as Ms Camouflages waist” said a boy. Jane observed a creak in the cupboard and pushed a door aside. They were satisfied to see two mugs and an ancient vase filled with milk which went off. Jane scrubbed the vase and poured out the milk. Lucy went around the back door they had discovered and tried eavesdropping on the conversation which involved Ms Camouflage. “I better return to the children before they are up to something naughty” she said searching for an excuse to get out of the enclosed room. “Very well” answered the commander. Lucy rushed everyone out of the room hearing distant foot steps coming closer and closer. Jane silently turned the door knob and everyone sat where they were before. “Aha!” Screeched Ms Camouflage, imagining us scurrying on the floor which we were not. “Oh never mind, but I will need to see one student.” Lucy stood up knowing it was her because Ms Camouflage was staring at her all along the excursion. “You guessed it!” She said with a bit of humor and then turning back into her strict self. The discussion Chapter 5 Ms Camouflage flew out of the room dragging the poor Lucy out with her. “There’s something you’re hiding and I know that.” She said calmly. The only reason she had spoken like that is to find out the secret Lucy has been keeping from her. “Well, go on.” “Well umm there is no important secret I’ve been hiding from you...” began Lucy. Ms Camouflage quickly over took her and exclaimed. “ Not important then tell me you foolish child!” Lucy flinched as the aggressive Ms Camouflage raised her arm to lash at Lucy. Ms Camouflage stopped her arm and laughed unrealistically. Lucy snaked her head and frowned at Ms Camouflage who was towering over Lucy with her hands crossed and her eyes narrowed. Lucy sneaked a stuffed animal shaped like a rat she placed it down near her heels while trying to get up to face the ridiculous Ms Camouflage. “Oh isn’t that a cute mouse!” Exclaimed Lucy. Ms Camouflage jumped up, her skirts ballooning. Lucy giggled covering her mouth Incase the furious Ms Camouflage would notice. Ms Camouflage sprinted out of the room and locked the door with Lucy there all alone. Lucy heard a screech of something sharp and she could hear Ms Camouflage’s footsteps getting louder. Lucy panicked and hid behind a knight in shining armor. She then eyed a secret passage behind the cupboard the Knight was guarding. Lucy squeezed through the narrow space and pushed herself into the secret passageway. It was dark and all Lucy kept recalling the discussion. What was that sharp utensil she had used? Why did she lash at me? Why had she locked me in a room? Surely she was trapping me. Lucy stared hard at the lonely passageway taking the tiniest steps towards what seemed like the entry to a new passageway. “I know you’re in this room...” Ms Camouflage began pretending to be able to read Lucy’s mind. Lucy was about to answer and burst out but she held herself back and continued down the passage as slowly and as rigorously as she could. Lucy could hear the door shut close and other sounds of something breaking. She took a big breath and a sigh of relief and completely forgot where she was. She stepped on a stick and it broke in two. Lucy quivered and she could sense something else moving in what seemed like an abandoned passageway. The way out Chapter 6 Spiders the size of Lucy’s palm were crawling towards her. She ran. She could see the sun glowing on a faraway rock and so she sprinted trampling the rocks and twigs with her strong shoes. She was not far away from the sunlight which meant she was getting closer but then she froze. The clinging and clanging of strong armor seemed to be following her. She raced along the sand which was slowing her down and then she was there standing below the great rock. How was she supposed to climb up that boulder? she didn’t know but she fought for her courage when she heard the approaching sounds which were stalking her all the way. Lucy felt her shoes tingle she pounced onto the rock shaking the coal black spiders which were crawling up her hairy leg. The spiders held a firm grip until she slapped them with her hand, they went tumbling down. She was about to stop for a break but she had realized the spiders had not given up just yet. They began crawling up the stone boulder which Lucy had difficulties on but it seemed to be an ease for them. Lucy struggled to climb up but she lifted her body and when it seemed like she was close enough she pounced to the top like a stray cat having no other choice but to jump. She sped through the grass and there they were standing and greeting her. Her classmates had escaped some sort of dungeon and they had revealed the mystery. Lucy’s eyes blurred. They found out the mystery! The answer to the mystery. Chapter 7 “Yes?...” questioned Lucy asking them to reveal the mystery to her. The two boys in the front smiled and said. “ Everything’s safe.” Lucy beckoned them to keep going. The answer to the mystery kept for four years was actually pretty simple to understand and the boys made an outstanding effort explaining to Lucy. The mossy statue had spoken. “It was a fright at first but then we understood him” they explained. The statue was a magical object in the museum and that’s why it was ripped out of the guide book. But little did Ms Camouflage know the secret behind it. The clues were hidden in every place that had been illustrated on the scroll and ripped out of the guide book and when the children had searched thoroughly in every corner of the room they had found all 11 clues. When they had brought all the clues together each were numbered 5-14 and when they had placed them in chronological order the statue had begun to speak.It told the students that he will give something and before he even finished the sentence 11 letters rolled out. He then said that it will form two words and with that he froze again. The letters were: S,S,M,S,O,Y,U,T,T,A,E. After a long time of deciding what the mixed up letters represented they all agreed on the words MOSSY STATUE and when they had gathered all the letters and spelt the two words out the green statue itself had become to come alive. The children had stood their astonished and the man had explained that their teacher, Ms Camouflage had deliberately turned him into a statue after he had said he didn’t have an interest in her. He had been standing, frozen in the museum for four years and he had turned green and mossy. He hugged and thanked the kids before calling the police with what he called a convenient gadget that the two twins got for their birthday. The gadget was interesting and it only allowed the children to call home and the police which was very useful for this adventure. Goodbye Ms Camouflage Chapter 8 The police arrived at the scene and had coincidentally bumped into the rushed Ms Camouflage who was planning to escape after hearing in on the conversation that the man and children had discussed. “Well, Well , Well” said the policeman rapidly using his tone. Ms Camouflage froze and excused herself trying to go past the steady policeman. It took the policeman only one finger to push back Ms Camouflage whose teeth shattered. She agreed to stay and said that all of this was a misunderstanding caused by the children. She pointed to the children with her index finger not caring about her behaviour towards them. The policeman in the back made annoying sounds with his lips and slurped on his hot coffee. The policemen didn’t want to hear any more of what they called “Rubbish.” And they pushed the stubborn Ms Camouflage into the back of the van. The last of what the children heard were pleads and excuses but soon everything became silent. Later on the museum had transformed into something completely different than what it was before. It had shining walls and multicoloured carpets that extended into the distance and most importantly it recognised the man whose name was Albert Scornfull and the children who had solved the mystery to help Albert. The museum had artworks of all different shapes and sizes and of course everyone was enjoying the new museum. New teacher Chapter 9 The students had a very exciting morning at school. They had turned the page and studied very hard, in other words they came to the resolution of their story. A new teacher walked in the room. She pushed her golden curls aside and introduced herself. “ I am Luna Strathfield, and I am welcoming you to a new beginning.” She said proudly. Everyone applauded her and made her feel welcome at her new school she was to teach at. The children opened up their novel and read. Lucy and Jane faced each other and winked. “A new beginning.” Whispered Jane. Lucy nodded. They smiled and observed the cover of the most exciting novel which covered many adventures some of which they had experienced.