Vanished by Sheela Chari Page A

down onto a piece of paper.
    The book aisles were arranged in a semicircle around the information center, which made it easy for Neela to creep unseen along an aisle behind Lynne. What exactly Neela wanted to do, she didn’t know yet.
    Just then, Lynne rose from her chair, rubbing the blunt end of her pencil. Apparently her lead had broken. Neela, who happened to know that the pencil sharpener was all the way on the other side of the library, decided this was her chance to see what Lynne was doing on the computer. As soon as Lynne had walked off, Neela sprang from the aisle to get a closer look at the screen.
Veronica Wyvern veena player
    That was what Lynne had entered in the search field. The results had returned several pages of information. On a piece of scrap paper, Lynne had written: Missing in acci dent? But Neela had no time to think, ducking behind the bookcase again before Lynne saw her.
    Neela leaned against the shelf. Veronica Wyvern, veena player, missing in accident? They seemed like three completely unrelated things. Neela was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice someone come up from behind her.
    â€œNeela!”
    She jumped.
    â€œWhat are you doing out here?” asked Mrs. Averil. “And you too, Lynne.”
    Neela saw that Lynne was wondering the same thing.
    â€œAmanda told me she saw you both leave class without a hall pass.”
    Neela cleared her throat. “I was bringing Lynne her notebook that she forgot.” She held it up for them to see.
    Lynne took the notebook, surprised. “I was returning a book. I didn’t know about a hall pass.”
    â€œEveryone knows about hall passes.” Mrs. Averil frowned. “I’d like the two of you to come in over the lunch hour and help clean up the art room. That will probably help you remember better next time.”
    Neela was about to make a face in protest. That was so unnecessary! But she controlled herself. Who knows? If she complained, maybe Mrs. Averil would keep them after school as well.
    â€œCome along, girls,” Mrs. Averil said. “Art class is over.”

    Their teacher couldn’t have planned it better if she had arranged for a tidal wave to hit the art room. There were gobs of papier-mâché everywhere, on tables, chairs, and even the floor. Soggy paintbrushes with paint still on them dripped color onto paper towels, and scraps of paper littered the ground like confetti.
    Mrs. Averil must have been dying to catch us in the hall, Neela thought. Maybe that was why someone was always getting into trouble in art class, so Mrs. Averil could have somebody around to clean up afterward. Neela watched as her art teacher ate a sandwich leisurely while reading a newspaper at her desk. “Girls, don’t forget under the tables,” she said.
    Neela’s thoughts returned to Veronica Wyvern and the veena. But now she was starting to have second thoughts. Maybe Lynne’s Web search in the library had nothing to do with Neela’s missing veena. Maybe Lynne was interested in veenas, and she was just researching them for fun. It didn’t seem like something most kids in their class might do, but then again, Lynne wasn’t your average person. She happened to like dragons and photography and feathery shirts. Why not add large Indian stringed instruments to that list?
    Maybe the first thing to focus on was the teakettle. That was where the whole mystery had started. If Lynne knew how to fix the teakettle, she might also know who Hal was and how to find him.
    So as they picked up construction paper from the floor, Neela said, “I’m sorry for getting you caught in the library.” She wasn’t actually sorry, because Lynne would have been caught anyway, but she figured it was a good way to begin.
    Lynne shrugged. “It’s not your fault that Amanda the weasel told on us.”
    â€œOh, her,” Neela said. “Yeah, she’s always like