리틀팍스

Where are you going?" Sophia Mcferson asked. She stared at her twin sister, Angela Mcferson.

     Angela stoped in her tracks and spun around so quickly that she knocked over a lamp in the family kitchen.

     "What do you mean? I'm just walking to the living room. Why?" Angela said as she pulled the lamp back up.

     Sophia raised her eye-brows. "So, you're dating Danial these days? Danial will be pleased if I tell him that his girl friend is sneaking out to meet another boy." she said, tapping one finger on her arm.

     Angela shook her head. "Nope. We broke up so he won't care. I'm dating Edward now. Wait a minute... How did you know that I'm going out to meet Edward?"

     Sophia shrugged. "Some easy deduction," she raised one finger as she always did when she was solving a mystery. "First, look at your clothes. They are very clean and fresh like it just came out from the washing machine. You and Danial has been meeting for a long time, so I figured that you're meeting a new boy, not Danial. If you were meeting Danial, you would've wore your old T-shirt and jeans. But you're wearing your second best dress, which proves that my theory is right."

      Angela clapped. "Nice detective work."

      Sophia just shrugged. "Thanks, but I'm right now in the begining of my detective work, so please keep quiet," Sophia pointed her second finger and her third finger up.

      "Second, I noticed that you were smiling. I know that you two haven't been going so well after your last fight with Danial, so you would probably be frowning or making a fake smile. But you're smile is a pure smile, because you're cheeks has gone up and you're eyes became smaller. So I figured that you're not meeting Danial but someone else."

      Sophia cleared her throat and then continued. "Third, your behavior. You have been acting excited and has been in a good mood all day. You didn't even got angry on me even when I spilled my tooth paste on you're dress. And it's still right there, so you haven't cleaned the dress. You are usually very strict and careful, but you're going out with my tooth paste still on your dress. This means that you're in a hurry or is so excited that you didn't noticed it. Either reasons prove that you're really excited about something. But you didn't told me about it, which means it's related with boys. You always tells me your secrets or problems or very happy events, but you haven't ever told me about your boy problem. And you were sneaking out, which is a common way when you're meeting a new boy. In brief, you're going out to meet a boy, not Danial."

      Angela nodded her head and clapped vigurously. "Nice work! But you're wrong with the third idea."

      Sophia tapped her chin. She looked curious and confused. "What's wrong with it?"

      "I didn't get mad on you not because I was excited, but because I had spilled my tooth paste on your T-shirt while brushing my teeth. I was worried that if I say why you spilled your tooth paste on my dress, you might notice my tooth paste on your shirt too. So I just kept quiet like nothing was wrong. Anyway, the others are all right. As I said one minute before, nice detective work!"

       Sophia looked down and spoted the tooth paste and then laughed. "I think we got even on this! And to tell you the truth, I didn't even noticed any tooth paste on my T-shirt just before now!"

      Angela laughed along. The two laughed heartily until Angela looked at the clock and let out a small cry. "Oh no!" she exclaimed as she ran out the door. "I'm late!"

      Sohpia shook her head. Angela was her sister-actually, her identically same twin sister, but she couldn't understand why Angela spend so much time and effort on boys. Boys were just...boys! They meant nothing to Sophia, except the ones that came as her client.

      Sophia didn't knew it, but most of the boys that came as a client was usually boys who liked Sophia. She was the identical twin of Angela, which means she looks the same as Angela. Many boys like Angela because of her pretty face, which means these boys also like Sophia, the same looking twin sister of Angela. All the boys' faces are all lit with ideas to make Sophia his girl friend when they go into Sophia's detective stand, but many of them comes out upset or surprised. Once, a boy came out crying and that was the end of the boy parade in Sophia's private detective stand.

       Sophia is a detective. It was Angela's idea to make a detective stand. Angela was fond of Sherlock Holmes and suggested that Sophia make a detective stand. Sophia thought about it for a couple of days and finally agreed to the idea. She thought that making a detective stand would be a good experience to be a formal detective when she grew up.

      Though the cases that she got weren't really interesting like finding a lost book, searching for a lost bracelet, and advicing how to do this or that.

       It was different from what Sophia's idea of a detective, but she got her money and she decided to be satisfied with that.

       The next day was a rainy day. The rain beated on the living room irregularly, making it sound like a sad music. Angela was looking out the window moaning whenever Sophia mentioned yesterday's date. It was quite sure that the date didn't go well as Angela and Sophia expected it to be. In Angela's hurry, she had forgoten to clean off her dress and went to her first date with a tooth paste still on her dress. According to Angela, Edward was probably now thinking that Angela was a dirty, tardy, messy girl.

        It was hard to cheer up her twin because Sophia had never experienced a boy problem. Well... she had solved some mysteries for some girls and some boys and that was about like girl friend and boy friend problems, but this was different. Angela was her twin, her family. She wanted to solve this case with some serious thinking and think of a perfect idea.

        "Um... what about saying to Edward that you're not as tardy as he thinks?" Sophia suggested a minute after.

         Angela only returned with more groaning and moaning sounds.

         "Or... text him and say that you're willing to have another date?"

         More groans.

         "Okay. My last idea. Call him right now and tell him to break-up. Then you can meet with other boy!"

         This time, Angela looked up and gave Sophia a glare. "I know that you're trying to help me, but you're not helping this situation, one bit!" she said sourly.

          Sophia frowned. She was trying to help her twin and her twin was rejecting every single idea of hers and just kept groaning and moaning! If she had enough strength to moan and groan, she should use that strength to think of an idea, not just lay down and waste her precious energy.

          "Angela. I don't understand." Sophia said calmly. "You don't date boys for long. The longest record that you have made were 3 weeks. 3 weeks! Before that time, you or your date just kick one another and you find a new date for you. So what's the problem about kicking Edward? You'll probably kick him anyway."

           Angela groaned. "Edward is different! And you should keep you're nose out of other people's business."

           Sophia shrugged. "Well, sticking my nose in other people's business is what all the detectives do. Inclu-

ding me and Sherlock Holmes."

           Angela grimaced. Her look was saying, "I didn't intended to drag Sherlock Holmes into this conversa-tion! Now it's like I'm insulting him!"

           After 4 minutes, Angela finally opened her mouth. "Well.... oh, I don't know. Maybe you're right. I'll just have to kick him anyway if things doesn't turn out good."

           Sophia just shook her head. She was feeling sorry to this Edward guy. He's probably so happy that he had dated Angela, but he would never guessed that Angela would kick him after their first date togather.

           Just then, Sophia's phone buzzed. She checked her phone and an e-mail had arrived.

           She read it quickly. The e-mail was short, but it was written in bold letters.

           Infront of the detective stand. 

           Sophia hurried out the back door of the house as she said a quick good-bye to Angela. Angela only returned with more groaning sounds. Sophia just ignored her and began racing toward her detective stand.

           Her umbrella turned upside-down as she ran and rain poured on her head and shoulders. But she didn't care. She skidded to a stop infront of her detective stand. She went inside and found a boy standing there.

           "Oh...hi. Sorry that I'm late. So, what's your case?"

           The boy jumped, obiously startled by Sophia's sudden appearance.

           "Hi...So, you're Sophia?" he asked, staring dully at Sophia.

           Sophia nodded. "Yeah. I'm Sophia. What's your case?" she repeated again.

           The boy sighed. "It's my girl friend problem..."

           Sophia frowned. It was enough that Angela was having a problem with her boy friend. Why does she has to have the same problem on one day?

           The boy didn't seemed to notice Sophia's frown. He opened his mouth and the whole tale of he and his girl friend spilled out. "My girl friend is a popular girl who's very pretty. We've met recently; actually, we've met just yesterday. She's usually surrounded by boys and girls that I usually didn't dared to ask her to be my date. So I was very happy when I asked her if she had time this Saturday and she said yes. We had a splended time togather. But after our date, she doesn't get my phone calls or read any text massages that I sent her. I'm afraid that she might kick me...."

           Sophia listened quietly. This case sounded approximately like Angela's case, though Angela had ruined her date and this boy had succeed his date. If she solved this mystery, it might help her to solve Angela's problem. But there was only one problem...

          "Er...." Sophia hesitated. She could suggest the ideas that she had suggested to Angela, but Angela's behavior to those ideas weren't very good. She wished that she had her twin right next to her. Angela was an expert with boys. So maybe she might help this situation. "I...er...need to think. Just give me your phone number and I'll call you in two days."

          The boy shook his head. "I don't have a phone. I'll just give you my house phone number and you can call with that. Okay?"

          Sophia nodded. Many 8th graders have phones, but a few didn't have one. So probably this boy was one of the No-phone kids.

          Sophia gave him a paper and he scribbled on it and then handed it back to her. It said:

446-0291-4720

           Sophia nodded her head. "All right. I'll call you as fast as I solve your mystery."

           "Okay." The boy said. "Bye."

           Sophia waved as the boy left the detective stand. When the boy was out of sight, Sophia prepared to go home.

            When she reached her house, the lights were all dark and the house was quiet.

           "Angela is probably sleeping." Sophia murmured as she walked inside. As she predicted, Angela was in her bed, snoring peacefully under her warm bed covers. Sophia sliped inside the room and lay down and put the paper beside her bed. Then she pulled up her bed covers and floated to sleep...