The Mystery of Mr. Black

! On the first day of grade five, Jack, a member of the school soccer team and his best friend Max walked into the classroom and heard a voice, a deep voice that came from behind them that said, “Settle down class, settle down.” It gave both of them the goose bumps, especially Max, who was a bit of a wimp.

! When they didn’t sit down as quickly as Mr. Black expected, the pair heard a meter stick thudding onto a table with a solid thump. They lowered their heads and they walked in and Max felt himself crashing into something or someone. He squealed and looked up, and found himself looking into the beady eyes of Mr. Black.

! Mr. Black’s eyes were tiny like grapes. His hair was the same color as a block of cedar wood, and his arm’s hair could break the Guinness world record.

! Over the next few days, they found Mr. Black’s actions and habits rather strange. He would eat raw Arctic fish and drink the yolk of raw eggs.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! He gave after school detentions to anyone who opened their mouths to speak without his permission. Both of them had gotten two after school detentions already.

! After school on the first detention, Mr. Black did not show up, or write what they were supposed to do on either one of the whiteboards. They chatted and came to a conclusion that in fact Mr. Black might be an animal disguised as a human! So they decided to use the time during the detention to search Mr. Black’s office for evidence.!! Halfway en route Mr. Black’s office, with Jack whispering

every few meters or so, “We are breaking the rules, you know that? I shouldn’t be following you, since my goal this year is to get the student honor roll, or principal award.”

! “Be quiet! If you don’t want to come along, why don’t you go back into the classroom if all you want is to be a teacher’s pet!” hissed Max. He was leading the search this time unlike his usual wimpy self. ! “No need to be so mean, Max, just telling you what we should do, instead of walking around, and disobeying the teacher,” Jack said while sulking.

! Suddenly they saw Mr. Black rounding the corner. He was walking very fast, and swearing very unprofessionally while saying, “Crazy taxi driver, telling me that going on the mountain road, instead of the tunnel is faster. And I believed him!”! ! The boys looked at each other, and scrambled into the classroom, running like the devil was behind them, and made it into the hallway. Then they attempted to hide into a paper cupboard, which made the pair feel like they were in a wooden coffin (don’t try this at home, because after hiding in there, both ended up getting bruises and paper cuts!)

! Then he saw them. They said at the same time, “Hi Mr. Black! How are you doing?” He didn’t say anything but smiled a wolfish smile, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He beckoned both of them to come closer and gave them each a paper slip. It said you are going to the principal’s office!

! So they went to the principal’s office with Mr. Black, daring themselves to stare daggers at him, and pretending to kick him. But it wasn’t so easy. Seeming that he would stop every few paces and check if they ran off or not. Well, they finally arrived to the principal’s office. When they went in, they found that the principal and his secretary had gone out to get something to drink from the nearest Starbucks store. (Which was three kilometers away!) Angrily, Mr. Black kicked the closest thing near him, the principal’s favorite pair of loafers, out the window!

! Because the principal was not present, Mr. Black decided to take charge of the case. So he asked both of them to clean up the classroom. In Mr. Black’s waste basket, they found egg shells and fish bones which smelled really bad.

! After the detention, the pair rode the late bus home feeling very lucky to have escaped.!! After the homework, Max went to Jack’s house for a sleepover. There, the pair decided on a plan.

! Instead of going to school and nosing around the staff room. They decided to search on the internet what kind of wild animals ate raw fish and drank egg yolk. So they asked Jack’s parents for permission to use their family computer. But the reply was a big “NO”, because Jack had been banned from the computer for getting the detentions.

! So the two boys waited until the coast was clear at midnight when Jack’s parents were snoring. they disconnected the charger cable from the computer and brought it to Jack’s room.

! So in the middle of the night, they searched on the computer on Wikipedia for what creatures ate fish meat raw, and drank egg yolk.

! One of the suggestions caught their eyes, “Humans that eat fish raw and drink egg yolk.”

! They clicked on it, and it said:

Eating fish raw is a Japanese delicacy more commonly called sashimi.Some people believe that drinking egg yolks gives you fuels for your muscles.

! The boys went to school the next day, and told Mr. Black all about their suspicions and their research. He said: “It’s okay! I

thought you guys were crazy but I now know why!” Mr. Black also told them he was training for a swimming race, so that’s why he needed a special diet.

! Though Jack and Max did get in trouble from time to time, they still spent an enjoyable year in grade five.!

! ! ! ! ! THE END! !!

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