Setting A Trap
"Did you see anyone near your bag at the times things went missing?" asked Pim.
"No. The things go missing during break. I'm not in the classroom."
Pim thought.
"Then we set a trap," he said.
"What kind of trap?"
"A nice one. Tomorrow, you put a special pencil in your case. Don't lock it. The pencil has something on it that we'll recognise. Then we leave the room. Then we come back and check who has the pencil."
"What goes on the pencil?"
"A small green dot. Made with one of your felt-tips. Just a little dot under the eraser. Anyone who picks it up wouldn't notice. We would."
Lila thought about it. She liked the plan.
The next day, she put the pencil in her case (the lock was open). She left her bag at her desk. They went out for break.
Pim and Lila stayed near the door. Nobody else knew they were watching.
After ten minutes, Lila's classmate Anya wandered into the classroom. She looked around. She walked to Lila's bag. She opened it. She took the new pencil and slipped it into her own pencil case. Then she walked out.
Pim and Lila looked at each other.
"Aha," whispered Pim, very quietly.
He did not feel happy about it. Anya was a friend. But his job was to find out the truth, not to choose what the truth was.