Ann Martin: Stacey And The Mystery At The Mall

"You look like you're having a good time," she said. "What a great job. You get to play all day!"

"How's your job?" I asked.

"Ifs the coolest," said Claud. "You wouldn't believe how much I've learned in one day! They have these amazing new acrylic paints over there. I've already decided to save up for them."

"You're going to become their best customer," I said, smiling.

"I know," she admitted. "But I don't mind spending my money there. The owners are really nice people." She frowned. "I can't believe anybody would steal stuff from them, but they said they have a problem with shoplifting. It's been much worse lately."

"April said the same thing about Toy Town," I said. "It’s a shame."

Claudia picked up the mother doll from the pile on the table. "I wish I'd had a dollhouse like this when I was little," she said, checking out the mother's tiny plastic shoes. "Mine," said Sandy.

"Oh," I said. "I forgot to introduce you to Sandy. He's April's son."

"Nice to meet you," said Claudia, bending down to say hi to him. She handed him the' doll. "And now I've got to run. My break's almost up."

"See you on the bus!" I said. I spent the next half hour putting together the dollhouse. Sandy helped, and we had a great time. Just as I was setting the dollhouse father in the kitchen and the mother in the garage (this was a liberated doll family, I had decided), April came over to take a look. "Wonderful," she said. "Why don't you go ahead and take your break?" She picked up Sandy. "And you, young man, can help me at the cash register."

I left the store and decided to head down the hall to see Mal at the bookstore. I found her in the children's section, of course. She

was arranging books on the shelves. "Stacey!" she said, when she saw me. "Isn't this the coolest store? I love it here. Look at this book that just came in. Aren't the illustrations fantastic?"

Mal's face was flushed. I was glad to see her so happy. A bookstore really is the perfect place for her. I looked at the book she handed me, which was an updated version of Little Red Riding Hood. "Cool," I said. "I can see you making a book like this someday."

"That would be awesome," said Mal. "Can you imagine going to a bookstore and seeing books with your name on them?"

A woman walked by just then, and smiled at Mal. "Whoa!" said Mal. "That’s Ms. Munro, my manager. She's really nice, but she probably wants me to get back to work." Mal watched as the woman moved away. "She walks around the store like that all day, watching for shoplifters," she added. "Apparently it’s kind of a problem here. And Jessi stopped by before and told me that her bosses at Cinema World are upset because people are always trying to sneak into the movies."

I handed the book back to Mal. "Ifs awful," I said. "Until I worked here, I didn't know there was so much of that kind of thing going on at the mall. But it happens at Claud's store, and at Toy Town, too." We looked at each

other and shrugged. ''Well, see you later!" I said. "I'll let you get back to work. I'm going to head upstairs to see Mary Anne."

At Critters, Mary Anne was working on a window display. She held up a dog toy shaped like a hamburger. "Don't you think this would look good near that other one, the one that looks like a hot dog?" she asked. She squeezed the toy and it squeaked. We giggled.

"Hey, Mary Anne," I said, suddenly curious. "Do people ever steal stuff like that from here?"

"Funny you should ask," she said. "That was one of the first things the store owner told me to look out for. I didn't really believe him, but I guess it’s true. Personally, I can't imagine a dog- or cat-lover stealing anything, but according to him, it happens all the time." I shook my head, frowning. "Not only that," Mary Anne added, "but Logan stopped by here on his break, and guess what he told me? There's even shoplifting going on at the food court."

I raised my eyebrows. Mary Anne nodded. "It’s true," she said. "People walk off with pretzels and stuff while the workers are busy getting the rest of their orders."

"Speaking of busy," I said, glancing at my watch, "I'd better get back to Toy Town. My break's just about over." I said good-bye to

Mary Anne and headed for the escalator.

"Hey, Stacey!" I turned to see Kristy walking toward me. She was wearing a black baseball cap that said "Washington Mall Security" in gold script, and a walkie-talkie hung from her belt.

"Hey, Officer Thomas," I replied. "Enjoying your job?" We stepped onto the escalator together.

She grinned. "It’s great." "I hear there's a lot of shoplifting going on around here," I said.

"That’s right. But we're on the case." Her walkie-talkie made a crackling noise, and she grabbed it just as we reached the bottom of the escalator.

"I have to run," I said. "I'm going to be late."

Kristy nodded as she put the walkie-talkie to her ear. "See you on the bus," she said.

Back at Toy Town, April was busy at the cash register, and a line of people was waiting to be helped. "What can I do?" I asked.

April nodded toward the back of the store, where, a boy was playing noisily near the train set. "Encourage him to use the display toys," she said. "I try to leave enough out, but the kids always go for the new stuff."

I walked back and discovered that the boy, who looked about seven, was tearing into a

new package of Legos. Another package, already opened, was at his feet. "How about leaving those on the shelf?" I said. "We can check out this train set instead."

He just stared at me.

I looked around for his mother. "Where's your mom?" I asked. "Or are you here with your dad? Or a baby-sitter?"

"My mom's shopping," the boy answered. "She said she'd be back soon."

I couldn't believe it. This boy's mother had left him here, all by himself! I spent a few minutes helping him clean up the Legos, and by the time we finished, his mother had turned up. "Have a good time, Jason?" she asked. She turned to me. "I always leave him here while I shop. He's happier, and I can be a lot more productive."

I watched her leave, shaking my head. April saw me and smiled. "I know, it’s awful," she said. "But it happens all the time, and what can I do? It’s not like there's any better place to leave a kid while you shop." She shrugged. I was amazed she took it so well. The idea seemed crazy to me.

On the way home that afternoon, my friends and I talked about our first day on the job. I told my friends about Jason's mom leaving him at the store, and to my surprise they were not shocked. Mal had heard about the same

thing happening at the bookstore, and Logan had seen kids left at the food court.

I've always liked Washington Mall, and I loved my new job, but I was beginning to wonder about a few things. Shoplifting, kids left alone. Working in the real world was an eye-opener.

Chapter 5.

Mal's job at the BookCenter was going well. Her manager was friendly and helpful, the' work wasn't too hard, and Mal adored being surrounded by books. She especially loved the children's section and Ms. Munro let her work there most afternoons. The BookCenter has the best selection of children's books Mal had ever seen in a bookstore. On top of that, the area is set up to make kids feel at home. There are pillows to lounge on, small, child-sized chairs, and stuffed animals scattered around. Kids who come into the store are encouraged to check out the books on the shelves, and sit down for a closer look at the ones that interest them.

Plus, the children's section has a small "stage" area for puppet shows, storytellers, and story hour.

"We haven't had a story hour in about a month," Ms. Munro had told Mal the week before. "One of our staff members took some time off because she had a baby. But I have a feeling you'd be great at it."