The Locket

Genre: Children's Fiction/Mystery

Author's Notes: I wrote this for a short story contest that was limited to 750 words, and it had to be a children's mystery. It was a challenge for sure considering the limitations, but getting characters and a simple plot together, it was doable. It's very dialogue-heavy, and the focus of this short story was to work on dialogue.

I left my locket on my desk between first and second period as I got something to eat. Maybe someone thought it was real gold, or it might be someone who does not like me, but when I returned, my locket vanished. 
    My first suspect is that bully, Langston Bullman, who is a sixth-grader like me but got held back because he is not very bright. It could have been May Bellerin, who lives in a large house in the nice community. Really, it could have been anyone like my teacher, Mark who sits next to me and picks his nose, or Lisa Soundless who sits alone in the corner.
    Class starts, and I look around to see if anyone has my locket. I do not care about the locket itself, but there is an old picture with me and my mom and dad inside of it. Mom was sick and did not make it, so it has just been me and dad this last year. 
I look over and stare at May’s desk to see if she has it. 
“Rose Lockheart! Will you pay attention in class? Don’t make me send you to the principal’s office again,” Mrs. Peeveman says sternly.
Giggles and a few whispers fill the classroom. I look at the teacher and say, “What?”
“What? Indeed. You have to answer this math question.”
“Sure. Sorry, teach.”
I am pretty smart and did the homework, so I know the answer. After that, I go back to answering the question of who stole my locket. Once lunch time starts, I go behind the portables to find Langston Bullman. Langston and his friends are picking on some first-grader. It is not something I have not seen before, so I let them finish their business so that I could get down to business.
“Still picking on first-graders, I see?”
“What’s it to you, Rose?” Langston says to me annoyed by my presence.
“Look, I’ll just get right to it. Someone stole a locket of mine, and I want it back.”
 
“Don’t have it. Don’t know what happened to it,” he says while looking down.
“Is that so? And maybe I don’t know how the toilet in the boys’ bathroom got clogged up.”
“Okay. Okay. While you were gone, I saw May Bellerin snooping around your desk. I swear, that’s all I know.”
I head to the lunch tables where May and her glam friends hang out. They look at me with catty eyes and mean facial expressions as I take a seat next to them. 
“What do you want, Rose? We have a ‘no tomboys’ rule here in this group,” May says mockingly. 
“Don’t worry. Wouldn’t want phony friends like you guys anyways.”
They all glare at her.
 “I’ll get to the point. Someone told me you were around my desk while I was gone. My locket was on it.”
“And you think I took your cheap thing?”
“I sure did, and it’s not any cheaper than that fake bracelet you’re wearing.”
“No need to be all mean. I didn’t take your locket thingy. I’ll admit that I saw it and went to your desk to get a closer look. Someone called out to me, and I turned around to chit-chat. I looked back at your desk and didn’t see it. I’m, like, totally being honest.”
I leave their table and walk around the field. Lost in my thoughts, someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and see Lisa Soundless looking down timidly as she says, “I know where your locket is.”
As I follow her, I notice that my shoulder is a bit dirty. She points to a spot on the ground and tells me, “I saw May Bellerin bury it here.”
I dig at the spot and find the locket. I open it, but the picture of my family is gone.
“Why’d you take the locket, Lisa?” I tell her directly.
 
“I, I didn’t take it.”
“You tapped me on the shoulder, and there’s dirt on my clothes. Your hands look awfully dirty too.”
She breaks down and cries.
“I’m so sorry. My parents separated, and I’m living with my aunt and uncle now. There’s a picture with a mom, dad, and daughter. It was……...nice.”
“I always see you sitting alone.”
“I don’t really get along with other people that well.”
“I guess you’re stuck with me then.”
I found my locket, but I also found a friend too.