Tommy's Attitude Adjustment Chapter 56
by Chadlad

copyright 2007 by Chadlad, all rights reserved
chadlad3@yahoo.com

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This story is intended for ADULTS ONLY It contains explicit depictions of sexual activity involving minors. If you are not of a legal age in your locality to view such material or if such material does not appeal to you, do not read further, and do not save this story.
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Chapter 56: Whodunnit?

Tommy had continued to trudge silently to school with his head down as he pondered his problem. He had a bright red dick and bright red balls, and his sister had ordered him to display his entire crimson package to both a boy and a girl, and prove he'd done so by taking pictures of them looking at him. That meant he'd have to expose himself to at least two kids, and risk their reaction and the possibility of them betraying his trust and spreading his misfortune all over school. If he didn't pick right, he'd have kids from every grade trying to pull off his pants and look at his boy parts! But who could he approach? It wasn't like finding a boy to do it would be any easier than finding a girl. Jimmy Chen, who probably would have been the easiest way to go, had been specifically ruled out by Beth, and so had any of Chad's other friends, including Alan, who'd probably have been most sympathetic and understanding of any boy. (Or maybe not – Tommy hadn't been exactly nice to Alan when he was being punished along with Chad, had he?) And the only girl he could think of who might not make him a laughingstock, and who he might be able to lower his pants in front of without dying of embarrassment was Chad's friend Cynthia, and she'd been ruled out, too.

But the alternative was worse – having his genitals switched – actually switched with a thin switch cut from the back yard tree. Tommy shuddered with fear every time he even considered the possibility of Beth switching his dick and balls – no, he'd have to find a boy and a girl, and lower his pants for them, at least in front, and suffer their reaction to seeing his freakishly painted genitals, that's all. And he'd have to find a place to take the pictures that was clearly on school grounds but not get caught by teachers, because getting caught would be even more unthinkable! Getting caught by a teacher would certainly mean a bare-bottomed spanking or paddling in front of his class, and then everyone, everyone would see his red package! He could just imagine the nicknames he'd earn in that case – Chief Red Balls, The Crimson Weenie – there was no end of possibilities.

He hadn't even noticed they'd arrived at school until Dakota prodded him and said, "Come on, show me where our class is and let's get on with it!" Right – as if he didn't have enough troubles, Dakota was now in his class. The girl cousin who'd seen his bare butt and genitals and even his butt hole, who'd spanked him unmercifully and encouraged her brother to paddle him until he was thoroughly blistered, the girl who'd mashed his balls to the point they were still sore was going to be in his class. A girl who could, if she chose, simply announce to everyone that he had red genitals. He realized with a start that Chad and Gabriel were already gone, heading down the hall to where Gabriel's new class was. To Tommy's annoyance, Chad was taking care of his new cousin with the kind of concern he'd never shown Tommy. He swallowed down his mild anger – after all, he had other things to worry about. His butt was still throbbing dully from his many spankings over the last two days and his rectum still burning from his spell on the peg chair. Tommy nodded to their classroom door. "This way," he said hoarsely, trying to walk normally and not like someone who'd just recently had peg up his ass.

As the door neared, he realized now was the only time he'd have to ask. "Dakota," he said tentatively, stopping in the hall. She took another step and then, realizing he'd stopped, stopped too. She looked at him impatiently.

"What now?" she asked. "Not that I'm eager to start going to this screwy school of yours, asshole, but I don't want to be in trouble on my first day. I hear they spank kids here for the slightest little thing. Sometimes even on the bare in front of the class."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Tommy said. "Really, I really am! I never meant to hurt your brother – it was Jesse I was mad at. And I'm sorry for that, too!" He glanced around to make sure no one was near them. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You won't tell anyone, will you? About, you know, about what I did? And getting punished, and all that? Please? I'd – I'd have to kill myself if you did."

Dakota burst out laughing. "Oh, don't be so melodramatic! Kill yourself! Just because I saw your little pipi and your little cajones and whipped you on your fat little nalgas? Big deal – who really cares? If you've seen one boy, you've pretty much seen them all – you all have stinky butts, floppy little weenies, and wrinkled sacks. You all stand to pee and sit to poop. And you all cry when you're spanked like little babies. And you all grow into disgusting perverts who want to hump anything that even resembles a cunt, and to hell with its owner! Tell someone? Why would anyone care?"

She paused. Tommy blinked at the vehemence of her utterance. She glared at him in return. "I won't tell anyone," she finally said. "I hate what you did to my brother, but I don't blab family stuff to strangers, or even friends. I deal with my problems privately, like I did with you last night." She flashed him a triumphant grin. "Boy did you howl! I might just do the same thing tonight. In fact, I might squeeze the juice out of your cajones every night this week. Or I might do something worse." Seeing two other kids approaching, she turned her back on Tommy and opened the classroom door. Tommy, his thoughts a mixture of relief at her promise not to tell and apprehension at her continuing threat to his boyhood, followed her in.

Meanwhile, Chad led a somewhat apprehensive Gabriel into the door of the fifth grade, looking for the teacher in the swarm of children only slightly smaller than him but not spotting her initially. A boy talking to some others near the door looked up. "Hey, it's Chad!" he said loudly. Other heads twisted around. "Hey, Chad!" "Chad, my man!" "Hey, Chaddie-boy!" came calls from nearby boys, all of whom seemed genuinely happy to see him. The boy standing nearest held a hand in the air. "Gimme 5!" he called, and Chad slapped his hand. "How's it hanging," the boy next to that one called.

"Hi, fellows," Chad said. "This is my cousin Gabriel. He's going to be in your class from now on. He's a good guy, so treat him good."

Gabriel looked at Chad, puzzled. "How come they all know you?" he asked.

Chad blushed, trying to think of a graceful way to escape. Comprehension dawned on Gabriel. "Oh," he said. "When you got punished by all the classes."

"He was kinda the center of attention," a girl piped up, smirking.

"Where's your teacher?" Chad asked, hoping to divert Gabriel.

"Oh," Gabriel said refusing to drop the subject. "What'd you have to do in this one?"

"More!" another boy chimed in.

"And his gets really big," the first boy said admiringly.

"And then they put him on this machine that goes up your butt," the third boy said. "And you have to wank or it hurts a lot! But Chad just kept jerking off, faster and faster, and he came a whole bunch more times!"

"I never could do it more than 3 times in a row!" the first boy said unashamedly. "And he kept doing it even when his weenie got all red! And he didn't stop cumming! He's like Superman!"

"Superdick!" the second boy muttered, glancing across the room. Chad looked that way and realized the teacher was on the far side of the room, pulling books out of a bookshelf.

"What's the big deal? I could do that," Gabriel said.

Quentin, shorter even than Gabriel, held his knuckles up, and Chad absently met them with his own in the salute that was popular at that moment in the 5th grade.

"Chad, my man!" Quentin said at the same time. "Still ringed, right? You didn't give up and quit wearing it?"

Chad nodded absently, trying to hand Gabriel off and get away from the 5th graders' fascination with his past punishments.

"Cool," Quentin said. "I wish my mom would let me get one! I asked her, but she said I'd let it get infected. I told her Chad's didn't get infected, but she didn't listen." He looked up at Chad hopefully. "Maybe you could show her yours?" he suggested.

"You couldn't get a ring, anyway," the first kid jeered. "You'd cry when they went to make the hole! And you'd probably get an infected dick, and then it'd swell up and fall off."

"I could take it," Quentin said indignantly. "I'm as tough as Chad!"

"You didn't sound so tough when you were getting your fat little butt spanked a few weeks ago," said a blond-haired girl who suddenly joined the group.

"It hurt!" Quentin said indignantly. Then he turned and took in the source of the comment.

"Hey, don't sneak up on us like that!" Quentin protested. "We were talking about boy stuff!"

"Yeah, well we've all already seen your boy stuff," the girl retorted. "Not that big a deal, really."

Chad almost laughed at the girl talking about Quentin's "plump little butt." Quentin had the smallest butt he'd ever seen on any boy, a butt that made Gabriel's muscular little butt look fat by comparison.

Quentin opened his mouth to retort, then noticed the teacher approaching the group and thought better of it, clamping his mouth shut again. "Why, I do believe it's Chad Henson," the teacher exclaimed.

"Yes, Ma'am," Chad said. "This is my cousin Gabriel. He lives with us now."

"I know," she replied. She looked at the group of boys and one girl. "Shouldn't you be getting into your seats and preparing for class?" she asked pointedly. "I haven't spanked anyone in a couple of weeks – perhaps we're about due?"

Boys fell over each other getting to their seats. She took Gabriel by the shoulders and pulled him closer to her, looking him over. "Your cousin had some difficulties a few weeks ago with controlling his temper," she said firmly. "I assume Chad has filled you in on our no-nonsense discipline policies here," she said firmly.

"Yes, ma'am," Gabriel said.

"Glad to hear it," she said. She turned toward Quentin. "Quentin, given that my last lesson for you should still be on you mind, you're going to be Gabriel's buddy for a few days. I'm sure Quentin would be glad to fill you in on what happens to miscreants in this class."

Quentin looked only slightly abashed. "They get spanked naked," he said. "In front of everyone. It hurts."

"And how do you avoid being the next boy in her to get a naked bottom spanking?" the teacher asked.

"Don't talk back. Do your homework. Follow the rules," Quentin recited, rolling his eyes to one side and screwing his face up in concentration. "Don't -- don't –" he faltered. He looked panicked a moment. "I know it means don't bother the girls, but I can't remember the word."

"The word is 'harass,' Quentin," the teacher said. "And you're half way to a spanking. What's the other thing you didn't remember?"

Quentin unconsciously grasped his little butt with both hands, squeezing his own buns softly through his pants as if that would protect him. He screwed his face up some more. "Oh, yeah," he finally said, his face showing relief. "And remember that I'm nothing but a boy, and boys are weak creatures driven by crude desires, who must be allow themselves to be guided by and obey women." The last came out as a chant, obviously something the teacher had made the boys memorize. The recitation chilled Chad – he'd not had this particular teacher two years ago – she was new, and obviously not at all keen on boys.

"Excellent, Quentin," the teacher said. "But you'd best review your copy again – you were this close to another trip over my lap." She turned to Gabriel. "You're at the desk on the left in the front, right in front of my desk where I can keep an eye on you. You'll find your copy of the rules on top of it. Memorize them." She turned to Chad. "Off you go, now, Chad. You've shown admirable progress since you performed in front of us – it was obviously just what you needed. But just remember, there are other, even more humiliating and painful things we could have you do if the need arises." Taking the cue, Chad fled the room and headed to his own building, leaving Gabriel in her tender clutches and hoping his cousin would be okay. Hurrying, he raced to his classroom at a fast walk (running not being permitted on school grounds), and slipped into his own classroom.

Jimmy Chen was standing by his desk with Cynthia, the two of them whispering in hushed tones. Chad looked around, noticing that the rest of the classroom was abnormally quiet, too, with other groups of children also whispering cautiously together or sitting upright in their seats looking apprehensive. Surprisingly, Mrs. Rose was already seated at her desk, glaring into a box in front of her. "What's the deal?" he whispered to Jimmy. "Mrs. Rose never comes in until the bell rings."

"Something's up," Jimmy said. "She came in with that box, glared at all of us, and sat down."

"She's got that, 'someone's butt is getting paddled face on,'" Cynthia added, stealing a sidelong look at Mrs. Rose. "A boy's butt, obviously," she added needlessly.

"Not mine, I hope," Jimmy whispered softly, his sober face revealing that he was apprehensive about this possibility despite his light words. "I think she likes looking at my dick. And Chad – well, who knows why she likes looking at you, but she must – she's sure had you naked enough."

"Stop it," Cynthia whispered back. "Chad's cuter than you naked. Besides, you didn't do anything."

"S. F. didn't do anything, either, according to him," Chad reminded them. "Neither did Randy."

"Besides," Cynthia reminded them. "If it is one of you guys who's going to get it, it won't be the Nose beating your butt, it'll be little Miss Bitch or Lamesy."

Mrs. Rose's eyes raised suddenly and drilled into Chad and Jimmy. Jimmy flinched visibly and ducked into his seat. Chad's blood froze as she met his eyes – her face radiated anger – more anger than she'd shown when he'd peed on her, more anger than she'd shown when he'd accidentally knocked out that girl's tooth. Mrs. Rose was more pissed than he'd ever seen her – Jimmy was right, someone was getting it but good today, and soon. He gulped, hoping it wouldn't be him, and slipped into his seat just as the bell rang. The class quieted like magic, and everyone turned their eyes to Mrs. Rose. Emily Git, in her seat in the front, turned around and smirked at Chad, looking positively gleeful, then turned back and assumed her "butter wouldn't melt in my mouth" expression for Mrs. Rose. Randy Martinez raised his hand.

"Mrs. Rose," he said loudly. "I've got another copy of my report, and note from my mother saying I definitely had my report when I came to school."

"Not now, Mr. Martinez," Mrs. Rose said impatiently.

"But…"Randy said.

"I said not now!" she snapped back. "Unless you'd like to start the day with a good old fashioned bare-bottomed paddling!"

Randy dropped like a stone back in his chair. Mrs. Rose turned to glare at the classroom, as if expecting another challenge. When everyone froze, she stalked to the center of the room, all eyes upon her. "The PTA money," she intoned., "has been found. And the culprit has been identified beyond the shadow of a doubt. All that remains is to show all of you the evidence of the culprit's guilt, and decide upon the that despicable human being's punishment."

There was silence in the room as all the students looked at Mrs. Rose. Emily Gitt and a couple of her friends appeared giddy with excitement, but everyone else looked apprehensive except Lindsay Kirk, who looked bored, and Joey Turpin, who looked aloof as usual. Mrs. Rose cleared her throat.

"As I mentioned on Friday, the theft of the PTA funds is a serious matter. Any student of mine who would steal from his fellow students the money we need for our school activities has to be the most selfish, despicable kind of person imaginable. There is nothing worse than betraying the trust of your teachers and your fellow students. My investigation of the loss of these funds on Friday began with the search of your persons and your packs as you left the room, which turned up nothing. After you left the room, I systematically searched each of your desks." She looked down her rather large nose at the class. "And one of you knows what I found." Chad looked at Emily, who was now grinning at him openly, licking her lips. What was with that girl? Cynthia was looking at Chad, too, with growing apprehension in her eyes. Chad was puzzled. What was going on here? Emily couldn't be thinking that he….

"I found this," Mrs. Rose said, startling Chad out of his thought as she spoke much more loudly than she'd been speaking. She held up a small pocketbook, looking like Raymond Burr on the old Perry Mason reruns he had watched last summer as he sealed the real criminal's doom. "I found it in your desk, Mr. Henson!"

Chad stared at her, stunned. "I-, I-, I-," he said, unable to stop stuttering. Mrs. Rose stalked over to his desk and took him by the upper arm.

"Come with me," she said firmly, dragging him to the front of the class. Chad's knees went weak, and he could barely walk.

How could it have been in his desk? Mrs. Rose stood Chad on the tape line. She spoke to the class. "Now how do you suppose this ended up in your desk, Mr. Henson?" she asked.

Chad found himself unable to speak. His bowels were like water, threatening to burst forth and soil his pants. His bladder, which unfortunately wasn't empty because he hadn't had time to go before class, threatened to give way as well. His eyes race wildly around the room like a trapped animal, and he caught sight of Emily, triumph written all over her face. All of a sudden it dawned on him. It was Emily, of course! It had to be! He was overcome by rage – Emily was trying to frame him!.

"It wasn't me!" he blurted. "I didn't do it! It was – "

"Be silent, Mr. Henson. I wasn't talking to you, and if you say one more word at the moment, I'll strip you naked and paddle you this instant!"

Chad bit his lip to stop his protests. His urinary sphincter was barely holding on, his legs felt weak, and he was on the verge of total loss of bowel control and the days of diapers that would entail. Emily continued to smirk at him. Mrs. Rose was addressing the class again.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by Mr. Henson, one has to ask how this got into Mr. Henson's desk." Mrs. Rose continued. "Yes, Emily?" she said, acknowledging Emily's triumphantly waving hand.

"It's obvious, Mrs. Rose. Chad stole it from your desk and put it in his own, hoping to slip it out in his backpack when we left for the day. But when you discovered it was missing before we left, he had to leave it in his desk, and then he had not chance to hide it again and got caught." She smirked at Chad. "He's not all that clever," she added. "It's not a very good plan."

"Indeed you're right," Mrs. Rose said. "It wasn't a good plan, and the person who perpetrated it wasn't all that clever."

What!!!! Chad thought to himself. She was right? She couldn't be right. He knew darn well he hadn't stolen that money – stealing things never occurred to him, and certainly not in such an obvious way that would get him caught. He thought back to Efram's stealing of his mother's money, and the spanking and paddling that he, himself had administered to the boy's fat butt as well as the squeezing he'd given the boy's testes for calling him a "faggy little queer." He'd felt contempt for Efram for stealing and getting caught at it – he certainly wouldn't do that sort of thing himself. Besides, he had lots of money courtesy of Zoey Turpin and her movie production career – more than he imagined he'd ever need. He opened his mouth to speak, but Mrs. Rose raised a finger at him threatening. "Quiet, Mr. Henson. You'll get your chance to speak." Chad almost pooped himself on the spot, barely fighting back the liquid bowel contents churning within him, but he bit his lip and kept silent. Emily! She'd framed him, and she'd get to paddle him again, and she'd probably determine the exact nature of his paddling – probably leave him blistered or maybe even bleeding, make him exhibit his genitals or maybe even masturbate in front of class again! Maybe he'd get something worse – maybe Mrs. Rose had a paddle they'd never seen before – one with spikes on it or something. Heck, maybe they'd paddle his boy parts! Chad began shaking in fear.

Mrs. Rose was continuing. "As I was saying," she went on. "The immediate conclusion of anyone finding the purse would be just as Miss Gitt has suggested – that Mr. Henson stole the purse and then hid it when he couldn't sneak it out as planned. Mrs. Rose said. "And of course, to act in that manner would suggest that Mr. Henson had seriously violated the trust of his fellow students as well as the trust of the teachers and administrators here at school. Violating the trust of all of you as well as school personnel is a serious matter, and one that must be dealt with severely, I believe you all would agree." There was a general nodding of heads in the classroom. PTA money paid for the school carnival, an event all of the children enjoyed. Emily and her gang were smirking openly at Chad, now.

"Let me ask you children. Does everyone agree that when a student in our class violates the trust the school places in him, that student must be held accountable for the consequences?" She was greeted by a slow nodding of heads, and more smirks from Emily and the gang. "Good," Mrs. Rose said. "So let's go on to the next step. How should we deal with a student of that sort?" Mrs. Rose asked pointedly. "How do we deal with a fellow student stealing the PTA money, and violating whatever trust that all of us have put in that person?"

Emily quickly raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Gitt," Mrs. Rose said.

"I think a student who betrays us all should be shown no mercy whatsoever," she said self-righteously. A student like that should be stripped naked in front of everyone and spanked by hand until his bottom is red all over! Not a fast spanking, but a slow and hard one, to give him time between each spank to think about how much it hurts and how much the next one is going to hurt. Then he should have to go naked to the lunch display, so everyone can see how red his butt is and how hard he was paddled. At lunch he should have to stand up in the middle of the lunchroom on a table, so everyone in the room can see all sides of him. After lunch he should have to stand in front of the classroom for an hour or so to think about what's going to happen to him, still all bare naked and ready. Then he should be paddled, but not just a normal paddling. He should be tied to the horse and paddled on his butt first, then between buttocks like we did with Jimmy, and then down lower, on his boy parts, so that the paddling gets worse and worse for him as it goes along," she said, savoring the words and describing the punishment she'd love to dish out for Chad. "And then I'd make him be naked in class and at lunch for 2 days afterwards, so everyone could see the results of his punishment and his shame! And while he's naked, everyone in the school should be allowed to touch him anywhere they want any time they want, as long as they don't punch him or pinch him or something. But the should be able to fondle him anywhere." She stopped talking, and the room was very silent as she did, emphasizing how loud her voice had gotten. She had become quite flushed during her description of her desired punishments for Chad, and she was half standing up. She became aware of a tingling in her groin. She sat down. "That's what I'd do," she said, fighting to keep from panting.

"Thank you, Miss Gitt. A pretty drastic punishment, even if well deserved. Genital spankings can only be administered with special paddles, and are reserved only for the most drastic of situations, but I'm sure the board would approve one in this case, primarily because I've already raised the possible necessity to them. But are you quite sure that this situation calls for a punishment this severe?"

Emily grinned eagerly. "Oh, yes, Ma'am! Stealing the PTA money hurts all of us – he probably deserves even more than my few suggestions." She smirked again, this time at Chad. Chad's insides went ice cold, and he let out a loud whimper, and accidentally let a dribble of pee into his underpants before clamping his bladder off again. He began shaking.

"Mr. Henson, would you please knock off the histrionics," Mrs. Rose said sharply. "We're trying to have a sensible conversation about appropriate discipline. You'll get your chance to voice yourself in a few moments. For now, please be quiet or I'll give you something to be noisy about." Chad fought to keep from crying. How could this be happening – he hadn't done anything! Emily had set him up, planted the money. And now he was going to get the worst spanking and paddlings ever! And in between they wanted him to stand on a lunch table, everyone reaching up and feeling his balls and dick and stuff? They'd have him squirting in the middle of the lunchroom, with all the little kids watching! He wanted to run, but his legs were like water, and he knew it would do not good and would only worsen things. Mrs. Rose turned back to the class. "Emily, could you come here, please. I'll need your assistance."

"Nooooooo!" Chad moaned, loosing another jet of pee into his pants. A tiny wet spot appeared on the outside of his trousers. Emily, still smirking, rose.

"Should I get the clothing box, Ma'am, so that our disgusting little thief can be undressed in front of the class?" She asked sweetly. "I suggest that he be all the way undressed to emphasize the seriousness of his punishment! He should be all the way naked for his punishment!"

"Yes, by all means get the box," Mrs. Rose said. "We're definitely going to need it. And I believe I'll also go along with your suggestion that our culprit take everything off."

Emily practically skipped to where the clothing box sat and retrieved it. "Oh, and Mrs. Rose? I think the punishments would be most effective coming from one or more of his classmates, as they're the ones he's harmed with his actions."

Mrs Rose smiled like an evil Cheshire cat. "Absolutely," she said. "This is definitely a matter best deal with by the culprit's justifiably angry classmates."

Emily smiled wider. Chad lost control and did another pee squirt into his pants. The spot in front was noticeable now, and he could see Emily's friends smirking at it. Chad didn't give the prospect of 3 days in diapers any thought, though – his mind was on a picture of him tied to the horse, his butt burning, his crack blistered and red, and Emily preparing to paddle his balls.

"Shall I start getting Chad undressed?" Emily said brightly, reaching for Chad's shirt.

"No, that's not what we'll be doing right now," Mrs. Rose said. "We have other things to discuss that make this offense even worse – just stand here beside Mr. Henson for now."

Unable to conceal her triumphant smirk, Emily stood by a quacking, weak-kneed Chad. It felt like his liquid intestines were going to erupt into his pants at any moment, but he couldn't see any way to stop events from steamrollering ahead when Mrs. Rose wouldn't even let him talk. But what would he say when she did? How could he convince her of his innocence when the evidence had been in his desk? Mrs. Rose looked around the room. "Mr. Turpin," she said suddenly. "I'm going to need your services. Would you please go stand by the door? I'm afraid our miscreant may attempt to bolt."

Bolt? Chad thought miserably. Where would I bolt to? Here he was facing the worst and most humiliating spanking and paddling he could imagine, even worse than the ones he'd gotten before, but where would he run to? Emily had got him – got him good! Another shot of fear had him jetting still more pee into his underpants, the spot outside his pants growing to the size of a silver dollar.

Mrs. Rose looked both him and Emily up and down, noting the contrast between the cowering boy and the triumphant girl. She then let her gaze sweep across the class, studying each child and noting their different reactions. Cynthia looked horrified. That girl's too caught up in the Henson brat, she thought to herself. Jimmy, Randy, and Sam Farlow looked upset. Joey Turpin looked nonchalant as usual, standing by the door with his arms crossed. Big Sam was leaned back in his chair looking bored. Lindsay Kirk was looking cool and sophisticated, like a receptionist at a major corporation preparing to ignore the next person who came in the door unless he had an appointment. The circle of Emily's friends in the front looked gleeful and knowing. She glance back at Chad Henson and Emily. Henson looked like he was going to shit his pants, and knowing his history, he might, she thought. Better get on with it. She looked at the class again.

"I've read many a Gothic mystery," Mrs. Rose began. "They're probably not a literature style many of you children are familiar with. But the gist of each story is that a crime occurs, and there are many clues offered, but only one final solution. And at the critical juncture in the story, the sleuth always gathers everyone together in a study or a drawing room, or," she said, looking around her, "another convenient location. And then he or she makes a dramatic announcement of guilt."

She swept her gaze over the spellbound students, ending at the triumphant Miss Gitt and the quaking Mr. Henson. "I shall now reveal the murderer!" she thundered suddenly. Randy Martinez let out a little squawk. A number of girls jumped, and Chad wobbled and dribbled out a good portion of the rest of his bladder contents. Joey Turpin actually stood up straighter.

"Murderer?" S. F. squeaked.

"Did I say murderer?" Mrs. Rose said. "Sorry. I meant to say, I will now reveal whodunit!"