As I exited the bathroom, all that was on my mind was the Jolly Rancher. Soon, its tart, sweet exterior would graze my tastebuds, leaving a pleasant film in my mouth and my tongue green. I galloped over to my desk ready to claim my prize. However, as I got closer and closer to my desk, it felt emptier and emptier. My mouth hung open. My trophy; my prized possession was missing. Its emptiness shot a hole through my heart. Rage washed over me. I dug my nails into my palm, grieving the only thing that was going to get me through the rest of the day. However, I wasn’t going to let this battle end like this. Whoever did this hadn’t just declared a duel. They hadn’t declared a battle. They declared a gruesome, tough war and I was about to send back the exact same right back in their face. A corny but motivating phrase engulfed my thoughts, two can play that game. I peered around the room. It agonized me knowing the culprit was somewhere in this classroom. It appeared to me that the only way to find out was to go up and interrogate people myself. I drafted a plan for action in my head. I thought to myself, who could have been a witness to this shameful, scandalous crime? My eyes landed on the perfect person.

As I locked eyes with a virtuous passerby, I spoke in a chipper voice, “Hey, Gia! While I was in the bathroom, did you see anybody go near my desk?”

She presented me with a bubbly beam, and in her typical preppy voice replied back, “I don’t think I saw anybody walking to your desk, but obviously there were a lot of people near it so you might want to ask them, maybe Glen or Sam. Why, did someone steal something from your desk?” I was able to let out a little grin knowing that I was able to receive at least a referral. 

“Oh, that's fine, don’t worry about it. Thanks!”

It was alright, we were just starting with baby steps into finding the true rascal. Information is information. I was willing to take it anyway. Let the game begin you scalawag!

I looked upon my next suspect, my pale blue eyes beaming with determination for justice. “Glen! You’re pretty close to my desk. Did you see anybody near it while I was in the bathroom?” I asked her in a darling voice that was really just a cover-up for the furious girl inside me ready to burst.

Her neatly combed ginger hair fell in front of her face as she mumbled, “No, I’m sorry I wasn’t really looking over there.” That was underwhelming. I was trying my best to uphold a glittery smile even though my next plan of action just tilted my head quizzically as I pondered. I flipped through different people I could ask and things I could do next in my head. I peered through the room as my eyebrows furrowed. However, each and every failure just made me more and more determined to succeed. I wanted justice. I supposed that I could take Gia’s advice once more and ask Sam. I saw freckles across his face, speckled in all different shades of brown. I wondered what secrets lied beneath them.

I walked over to him and this time got straight to the point. “Did you see anybody grab anything from my desk while I was in the bathroom?” It sounded colder than it was meant to be, but I was getting impatient. I wanted my Jolly Rancher back. Besides, if he was the culprit, I didn’t want to sugarcoat my replies to him.

“I saw Stella reach over and grab something, but I’m pretty sure it was just a pencil.” I gritted my teeth together. Smoke was flying out of my ears. It must have been her, I remembered vividly shoving those knickknacks into my pocket, including a pencil. There's no way she could have grabbed a pencil, right? Nausea flooded me as I realized she must have claimed my jolly treat as her own.

Joel, sitting beside Sam, intruded in, “Yeah, I think I saw her too.” That was enough to affirm my suspicions. I squirmed and squeezed my teeth together.

 I peered at her from afar, looking at her foolishly applied gaudy makeup and her pin-straight hair that stuck down like needles. Justice was going to be served. She would be punished. I imagined the captivating glassy packaging and the perky little letters screaming for help beneath her vividly polished nails that hurt my eyes to look at. I wanted to dig my nails in her eyes. Surprisingly I managed not to.

I barked at her. “Stella, give me my Jolly Rancher.”

She stared at me with a blank expression that was clearly just an act. “What do you mean?”

“Just hand it over and I won’t tell Mrs. Schneider.” I held my hand open. I waited for the sharp, translucent packaging to graze my fingers as the sticky block of green stood inside.

“What, do you mean this?” She spoke, a hint of annoyance lying beneath her words. I sighed, knowing I had hit the target; ready to reclaim my prize. However, what brushed against my fingertips wasn’t what I was expecting. I felt like I would explode. What stood in my hand was a pencil. Did she really think she could outwit me?

“No, I mean the Jolly Rancher! I know you reached over and grabbed it from my desk while I was in the bathroom.” I was starting to lose patience. Why was she being so stubborn?

She said to me, full of lies, “I only took a pencil.” I wanted to scream. That was it. I only had one choice left, to tell Mrs. Schneider. I assumed everyone knew not to involve themselves with me and candy, and clearly, Stella was too out of touch and short-sighted to realize. I thought to myself, what a thick-headed, vacuous fool. It was time for payback. To hit her so hard that she gets blown all the way back to whatever trashy makeup store she just came out of. I spoke louder than I meant to,

“Mrs. Schneider, Stella took my Jolly Rancher.”

A woeful expression drowned her face. “I’m sorry, but I don't think we should jump to conclusions. Are you sure she took it?” Stella shot me a death stare from across the room with her heavily eye-shadowed eyes, almost as ugly as her personality. The rest of my classmates turned down the volume of their mindless chatter, chiming in on what was happening. My patience was waning.

“I know she took it,” I insisted, “I was asking around.”

“You know you should be doing your work, not looking for a Jolly Rancher right?” She took a deep breath and exhaled, “Just come grab another if you’re this upset about it.” She didn’t understand, I didn’t just want this Jolly Rancher, I wanted justice to be served to someone who laid hands on something precious of mine. As I stepped up to walk to the basket once more, it didn’t feel as ceremonial as before. It felt like all eyes were on me, not in a good way. In the, “you interrupted the entire class to find a piece of candy” kind of way. I wasn’t sure if that was a thing, but it made me want to hide my face in my hands and cover my flushed face. Once again, I swooshed my hand in the basket, the crunching of the wrappers colliding louder than it had been the last time with an intoxicating silence filling the room. I tried to hide behind the huge curly locks of my black hair, but it wasn’t enough to hide my shame.

“BRINGGG!!”

The bell finally rang. However, I didn’t feel as great as I always do right before lunch. My mouth was still craving the comforting, tart essence of my prize. I was not feeling jolly whatsoever. My heart ached seeing Stella just get away with this. She was guilty. She was the culprit. Yet, there was nothing I could do about it. I sighed, feeling defeated. The vast curls that spun around my head felt like they were weighing me down, so I reached into the pocket of my navy colored jeans for a hair tie. I swooshed through my huge pocket, a black hole where things go in and never come out. However, suddenly I felt suffocated. My eyes widened. A familiar feeling wrapped around my fingertips. It felt smooth when I swiped my fingers on top of it and made a familiar crunching sound as I moved them. Shoot. Was that what I thought it was? I rubbed my finger on the side of the block, just to make sure. The little ruffles sticking out had a familiar reaction to my fingers. As I rubbed it across, I felt it scratch the tip of my finger, just a little bit. I gulped. My legs stopped moving, making my whole body pause in the middle of the hallway as the other chattering kids leaked through behind me. I slowly took it out of my pocket. The perky little letters looked back at me in mockery. It was me, the dim-witted dunce after all. One green apple Jolly Rancher stood right there in my hand, in my pocket the entire time.