The sun peeked through the curtains, making the sparkly stickers on Scarlett's wall shine like stars! "Good morning, sunshine!" Mom said, scooping Scarlett up for a big hug. "Ready for school?"
At school, something shiny in the classroom reading corner caught Scarlett’s eye. It was a little pink seashell, sparkling like glitter! "Look!" Scarlett showed her teacher, Mrs. Bloom.
"How pretty!" Mrs. Bloom smiled. “It looks like someone left it here. What should we do with it?”
Scarlett knew just the thing! “We have to find who it belongs to!” she said, puffing out her chest like a superhero. She loved figuring things out!
"A detective, huh?" Mrs. Bloom chuckled. "Well, let's see what clues we can find."
Scarlett looked closely at the seashell. It was pink and sparkly, and it smelled like the ocean! It was so pretty! Scarlett wished she had a seashell just like it.
“Do you think it could belong to…a mermaid?” Scarlett whispered. She knew mermaids loved sparkly things!
Mrs. Bloom gasped dramatically. "A mermaid! What a wonderful idea! But how would a mermaid get all the way to our classroom?”
Scarlett thought hard. Mermaids lived in the ocean, but maybe someone brought the ocean here! Scarlett remembered the giant fish tank in the school library.
“The library!” Scarlett pointed excitedly.
Scarlett and Mrs. Bloom hurried to the library. Peeking into the tank, Scarlett saw all sorts of colorful fish swimming around. But no mermaids.
"Hmm," said Mrs. Bloom. "We need more clues!" She pointed to a book lying open near the tank. It had pictures of mermaids with long, flowing hair and sparkly tails.
Scarlett remembered something. “My Mom loves stories about mermaids!” she said, her eyes widening.
Scarlett and Mrs. Bloom hurried to find Mom, who was reading stories to some kids.
"Mom! Do you know anything about a mermaid at school?” Scarlett asked.
Mom giggled. "A mermaid at school? That would be silly!" But then she noticed the serious look on Scarlett’s face. "Why do you ask, sweetie?"
Scarlett told her mom about the seashell. Mom’s eyes widened. “Well, that’s quite a mystery!”
Just then, a little girl with a sparkly pink hair clip skipped up. “I lost my seashell!” she exclaimed. “It’s pink and sparkly!”
Scarlett pointed to the shell in Mrs. Bloom’s hand. “Is this it?”
The little girl’s face lit up. “Yes! That’s mine! My grandma brought it back from the beach for me!”
Scarlett felt a warm glow inside. She had solved the mystery! Even if it wasn’t a real mermaid, it was still a magical mystery!
As Scarlett walked home with Mom, she held her head high. She had listened to her own ideas and helped find the lost seashell. “Mom, do you think I could be a real detective someday?”
Mom smiled. "Scarlett, you can be anything you set your mind to." And as they walked, they made up silly stories about sparkly mermaids hiding in the library, their laughter echoing all the way home.
