Chapter 6

Lisa and Cindy debated on stage at the assembly when Brad got the woodchipper ready. Before he turned it on, Shirley ran behind the scene and saw Brad. Shirley said, "Freeze." Brad removed his hood and said, "What are you doing here?" Shirley said, "Shutting you and your friends down." Shirley pulled the plug on the woodchipper, and then Brad ran up to her to plug it back in. Brad tried punching Shirley, but Shirley dunked and grabbed Brad's arm. Then she threw him across the balcony, and Brad almost fell. Shirley then ran to the ladder on the other side of the balcony and climbed down. Then Brad chased after her, and Shirley saw the rest of The Campaign Prank Squad behind the stage with her and Brad.

Shirley looked at her watch to see how much time she had left. Shirley said, "Half an hour." Scarlet tried kicking Shirley, but Shirley jumped out of the way and tripped Scarlet by swinging her leg under Scarlet's feet. Kyle then jumped and kicked Shirley away. While fighting, Lisa and Cindy debated on stage to see who the student body would vote for the most. Shirley got up, ran off the stage, and left the assembly. When she left, the whole Campaign Prank Squad went after her. Shirley checked her watch to see how much time she had left to stop The Campaign Prank Squad. Shirley said, "Fifteen minutes. I need to keep them busy until the assembly is over."

Shirley ran into the library, and The Campaign Prank Squad went in after her. When they got into the library, they lost Shirley. Kyle went to History, Brad to Science, Scarlet to Mystery, Scott to Art, and Connor to Fiction. Shirley crawled from under the librarian's desk and quietly walked to Poetry. Scarlet heard something and saw somebody crawling by her, so she used her walkie-talkie to call in her team. Scarlet said, "Guys, I think I found her. She's heading for Reference."

Kyle ran for Reference but didn't see Shirley. Shirley was on top of the shelves and saw Kyle looking for her. Shirley then jumped from ledge to ledge and tried to make it to the exit without The Campaign Prank Squad seeing her. She jumped off the shelves and ran out when she saw the door. Scott saw Shirley leave and used his walkie-talkie to contact his team. Scott said, "Guys, this is Scott. Shirley just left the library." Scarlet said, "Get her!" Shirley checked her watch to see how long she had to keep The Campaign Prank Squad busy while running. Shirley said, "Seven minutes and thirty seconds."

Shirley ran back to the assembly, but Kyle jumped on her and caught her. Shirley reached her arms and legs out and threw Kyle off. Then Brad took a paintball gun and tried to hit Shirley with paintballs. Shirley ran for her life while Brad was shooting paintballs at her. Shirley almost made it to the assembly, but Brad finally shot her in the leg, and she fell to the ground. Then Scott helped Shirley, put her hands behind her back, and tied her wrists together. While walking with The Campaign Prank Squad, Shirley looked at a clock to see how much time she had left. Shirley whispered. "Four minutes and five seconds."

Shirley took her knife from her back pocket and rubbed it against the ropes tied around her wrists without The Campaign Prank Squad knowing. Scarlet said, "Now that we have Shirley, we can do our prank. Now, who's laughing?" Shirley said, "I'm guessing it's me." Shirley threw Scott off her wrists and showed them that she had escaped. Shirley ran for the assembly, but the Campaign Prank Squad chased after her. When Shirley made it to the auditorium's doors, Kyle jumped over Shirley's head, right through them, and landed on his face. Meanwhile, Lisa and Cindy were still giving their speeches when Shirley and Scarlet jumped out on stage and knocked over Lisa and Cindy by mistake.

The whole school saw Shirley fighting Scarlet and cheered for her. Shirley kicked Scarlet off the stage, and she fell to the ground screaming. Scarlet said, "Stop her." Shirley ran across the scene, and the rest of The Campaign Prank Squad chased after her. Scott and Connor chased after Shirley, but Shirley jumped, kicked Scott away, and threw Connor against the wall. Shirley said, "Class dismissed." Scarlet jumped on Shirley and pinned her to the ground. While Scarlet had her pinned, she tied her up, and Kyle tied her to a chair. Then, all five of them kept walking around her while thinking of a way to ensure she would never bother their team again.

Each brought out a different prank and tried to decide which to pull on Shirley. While they were thinking, Shirley reached into her pocket and cut her ropes with her credit card. Shirley said, "I'm afraid you're not getting the chance." Shirley jumped out of her chair and kicked it at Scarlet and Connor. Shirley ran away while Scarlet and Connor were down. Brad said, "Get her!" Connor got up, and Kyle, Brad, Scott, and Connor chased after Shirley. Shirley stopped by the curtain and looked straight at Kyle, Brad, Scott, and Connor. Kyle said, "Nowhere to run now, Shirley." Shirley said, "Maybe I'm not trying to." Shirley used a knife from her backpack to cut a rope. The rope rose to the balcony, dropping a cage on Kyle, Brad, Scott, and Connor. Shirley said, "Maybe I'm right where I want to be." Scarlet said, "Don't worry, I'll save you." Scarlet got up and ran for her team, but Shirley threw her rope from her backpack at Scarlet and lassoed her. Shirley said, "Got you."

Shirley brought The Campaign Prank Squad on stage to show the whole school. When the school saw that Shirley had caught the culprits, they all clapped for her. Then Principal Bat and Vice-Principal Felicia came on stage and thanked Shirley for solving the mystery. Vice-Principal Felicia said, "How'd you figure it out?" Shirley said, "It wasn't easy, but it made sense when I put all the clues together." Next, Shirley faced the audience and explained the mystery to them. Shirley said, "These five all met at the Smoothie Bar a couple of weeks ago, where they all explained how either Lisa quit their clubs or how Cindy was mean to them. Once they discussed it, they all decided to band together and get even with them. They didn't know how at first, but they thought it was the perfect opportunity for revenge once they heard about this debate. Attacking separately, they made themselves look innocent. They figured if both campaigns got ruined and nobody knew it was them, Lisa would rejoin their clubs, and Cindy would stop pranking everybody and get back together with Brad." Cindy said, "But I dumped Brad a year ago. I've moved on." Brad said, "But I didn't. I loved you too much." Cindy kissed Brad and smiled, and then Brad kissed Cindy and smiled.

Shirley let The Campaign Prank Squad out of their cage and untied Scarlet. Then Brad and Cindy held hands, and Cindy walked outside with Brad. When they left, the police arrested all five Campaign Prank Squad members and took them to juvie. The next day, Shirley was walking with Lisa. While walking, they looked at the school newspaper, and Lisa read the front page. Lisa said, "Shirley Hudson Nabs Campaign Pranksters." Shirley said, "That's one case wrapped up. But there's one thing I don't get. Neither you nor Cindy finished the debate. Which one went through?" Lisa said, "Neither. We figured a compromise would be better than a debate." Shirley said, "What do you mean?" Lisa pointed across the yard, and Shirley looked where Lisa was pointing. Shirley said, "A Quiet Zone. What a great idea." Lisa said, "Well, thanks for solving the mystery."

Lisa shook Shirley's hand, and Principal Bat came outside to see Shirley. Principal Bat said, "Shirley, phone call for you. Something about robberies in Beverly Hills and the culprit leaving no clues behind." Shirley said, "Another case. Better take this call." Shirley took the phone, and the bank guard told Shirley about everything that was happening. Then Shirley returned the phone to Principal Bat and waved goodbye to him as she ran. When Shirley got to her car, she packed her backpack with her detective gear, got in, and drove to Beverly Hills. Lisa said, "There goes one brave detective." Lisa waved goodbye to Shirley, and Shirley waved goodbye back.

The End