"Believe it or not, I was on my way to school," Sam told Stinky.
Stinky raised in eyebrow in confusion. "School?" She questioned. "Sam, you know that school is over, right? It's summer vacation, what are you going to school for?"
"Well..." Sam said, before continuing, "haven't you heard? There's been rumors of something going on at school the past couple of days."
Stinky shook her head and said, "No, I haven't heard anything - what did you hear?"
Sam crossed his arms and said, "I can't say for sure, but that's why I was thinking of going to investigate - apparently, a girl was riding her bike down Addams Street, where the school is, when she swore she saw someone go inside through the front entrance."
Stinky scratched her head and asked, "Wait, when did that happen?"
Sam replied, "It was yesterday afternoon - from what I heard, the girl was on her way back home from the park when she turned and saw this happen."
Stinky's hands shifted towards her hips as she stated, "But, school's out - why would anybody be going there?"
Sam pointed at Stinky and exclaimed, "That's what I was thinking! When I heard that, I figured I had to at least check it out."
Stinky smiled and rolled her eyes. "You're such a dork, Sam," she told him. Sam just shrugged it off, like he heard her call him that several times before. "Hey, don't knock it - maybe there really is something there this time."
Sam always sort of fancied himself as a detective, Stinky thought. Sam had a history of picking up rumors and other urban legends he heard in town, and taking it upon himself to see if they were actually true or not. Sam thought that, if he could prove any of them to be true, he'd be a town hero - but, as luck would have it, those rumors and legends were exactly what they sounded like: tall tales and the work of some other kid's over-active imagination.
"You can join me if you want, Stinky," Sam added. "You can be my partner!" Stinky didn't even need to think about her response.
She replied quickly, "Of course I'll come with ya - what's a town hero without a sidekick?" After saying that, Stinky gave Sam a wink and then farted.
Brrrrrrrrppp!
Sam couldn't help but think that Stinky was teasing him a little bit. "Alright, I know it's likely just a long-shot, but ya never know until you try, right?"
Stinky nodded and stated, "Yeah, I hear ya Sam. Now c'mon, let's go already!" Stinky started running towards the direction of the school, with Sam following shortly behind.
"Hey, wait up!" he shouted at her.
Stinky may not have been as into investigating strange goings-on as Sam was, but she was still always open to help Sam with one of his "cases." To her, it was less about the intrigue and figuring out whether or not what Sam heard was true, and more about a sense of adventure. And hey, two kids going back to school during the Summer? There's a story to be told there! Stinky thought.
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Time: 7:34 AM
It took about 20 minutes or so before Sam and Stinky arrived at the school on foot. They stopped in the school's parking lot to catch their breath, as well as form a plan.
"Alright," Sam said, "before anything else, we gotta find a way in, since it'll be locked up tight. Got any ideas, Stinky?"