(Jack)
It’s been so long since the last Secret Seven meeting. So long that everything in the shed was covered in cobwebs.
“We need to get rid of those” Said Peter.
After a decent amount of work, Peter finally invited everyone Secret Seven members in: Janet, George, Jack, Colin, Pam and Barbara. Once everyone got a seat, Peter went straight to it.
“It has been a long time since we had a secret seven meeting, but this one is an emergency.” He explained impatiently.
“What about food?” Asked Jack, while his stomach groaned.
“You practically dragged me out of bed when you came to my house, and I didn’t even have breakfast yet!”
“Same with me, Peter.” Janet, Peter’s sister also joined in.
“THERE’S NO TIME TO GET FOOD!” Peter shouted.
“THIS IS AN EMERGENCY MEETING, WE HAVE TO CARRY ON NOW!”
“Fine!” Jack yelled back, “I’ll wait.”
You’ll find out why I said not to get food now, because look what I’ve found in our front yard.” Peter said.
He held up something that got the kids’ attention immediately, as they sat there in stunned silence. Then, Barbara asked,
“Is this real?”
Peter obviously didn’t need to answer because it is definitely real. What Peter got was some bones!
T(Cathy)
Jack was the first one that came back to his senses. “I do wonder if they’re human bones!” Jack said. “Yes, The Secret Seven didn’t have a mystery for a long time! Perhaps we can solve a murder this time!” “Yes it does look like it see here’s the skull!” Boy! What an adventure the Secret Seven is going to have!
(Jessica)
All hunger was forgotten as Peter and the rest hurried outside.
“Shall we tell mother?” asked Janet rather worriedly. However, she was shouted down at once.
“Aren’t you a feather head! Of course not, this is a mystery for us: The Secret Seven!” Replied Jack scornfully. Pam rushed on into a conversation.
“What are we going to do! Are these the bones of Myrtle the Ghost? If it is, I am going to die!”
“Myrtle?” Chanted the group.
“Yes, you haven’t heard about Myrtle?” queried Pam “Well, let me tell you, it was a cold night…”
(Jack)
Once, Pam told the whole story, everyone stared at her, open mouthed. Peter was the first person to snap back into his senses.
“This may well be Myrtle’s bones, but after all, it’s just a story. How do we know if it’s real or fake. Like that part that she was killed by a giant’s snake just by looking at it – how do we know if the thing even existed?? We have to have some sort of evidence to prove this is Myrtle’s bones.”
Just then there was a several knocks on the door followed by giggling.
” Susie, keep out!” Jack shouted. “This is a private meeting! Nobody apart from Secret Seven members can come in!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, all you do is talk about silly things and never do something productive.” Said Susie mockingly.
“Well then, what is something productive? We’ve been discussing about something way more important.” Replied Jack angrily.
“Let me guess…bones?” Snickered Binkie, Susie’s best friend.
“YOU!” Yelled Jack. “YOU’VE BEEN LISTENING TO OUR CONVERSATION!!”
“Well, let me in unless you don’t want where the bones came from.” Said Susie tauntingly.
“Tell us, and we’ll open the door.” Said Peter.
“From the restaurant, of course.” Replied Binkie.
“You’re lying.” Jack said.
“No I’m not!” screamed Susie. “If you don’t believe me, see it for yourselves!”
(Cathy)
“Oh yeah? a restaurant that has humans on the menu? Shut up, Binkie and Susie. you are not in the Secret Seven so shoo!” Jack snapped.
“Fine! You’ll be begging for my help later!” Susie shouted as she walked away.
“Any way it might be Myrtle’s bones but I doubt it! It could be just any common murder.” Reasoned Peter.
(Jessica)
The gang trouped back inside as a smell of sweat-homemade buns filled their nostrils.
” Nothing more than some buns to get us thinking!” declared Peter. However, Jack was quiet, unusually quiet. Pam sensed something was wrong, like mystery was in the air. After tea, they met Kevin (the new fisher-boy) and asked him about Myrtle.
“Ahhhh, that fine Myrtle! Let me tell you, it was a long, long time ago – when me dad was just me age. Ain’t know nothing more except for Myrtle owned a restaurant…”
This new news deeply unsettled Janet. She could feel something was wrong. Now, what was it?
(Jack)
Once the Seven trudged back to the shed, Jack suddenly said, “You know, I think Susie could be right.”
“Are you kidding me?!” Peter yelled. “You’re actually sticking up to our enemy?”
“It’s not that. It’s just… it’s our only clue of how to solve this mystery without having to believe rumors.” Replied Jack hesitantly.
Just then, Barbara cut in, “Jack’s right, it’s our only chance.” and Colin, George and Janet nodded eagerly, as none of them wanted to believe or hear about Myrtle ever again.
“Alright then, let’s go to the restaurant.” Peter finally said, reluctantly, after a lot of thought.
So, the Seven climbed up the hill to where the restaurant was located.
(Cathy)
The restaurant was old and dusty, and Jack had to kick at the door multiple times before stepping inside the rusty, crusty restaurant. “Ew!” Janet said, ” It smells like my dad’s stinking feet!” She exclaimed. While the others tried to choke back the smell and act as if nothing was wrong, George stepped closer to inspect the menus lying on the table. On it were listed Butterbeer, Treacle tarts, Fizzing Whizz-bees, Pumpkin Juice, Chocolate Frogs, And Exploding Bon Bons. “Boy! I would l love some Butterbeer!” George thought. “Hey you old kooks! Stop arguing and get over here look at this!” Peter shouted.
The rest of the Secret Seven’s “no it doesn’t smell that bad” or ” you have nose problems! Go see a doctor Voldemort!” were cut short by George’s shouting. “What’s the matter?” Barbara asked coming forward. “This, it might be a clue!” George exclaimed, waving the menu in her face as if she was blind. “Hey, There’s a secret flap!” Pam excitedly said as she pulled the flap revealing a yellowed page that was titled ‘Secret Menu’ and as they read down the dishes; they were shocked.
(Jessica)
Bones from the dead, blood wine, flesh and eyeballs were just some of the stomach churning dishes.
“Wow!” exclaimed George as the others seemed to vomit. Janet was literally green with disgust.
“I’m not sure this is such an exciting adventure anymore! You think Myrtle’s here?
“Well, there’s only one way to find out!” said Pam “We could find more clues as a start!”
(Jack)
The seven searched the whole restaurant for clues, but there was only an unfriendly, grumpy, fat waiter who would tell them nothing and so there trudged back down the hill to Janet and Peter’s house with the familiar meeting place in the shed, but the sight of the shed did not cheer them up, as they all new that this was the first time they had not solved a mystery. Just then, Scamper joining in, wagging his tail and barking joyously.
“No, Scamper, we’re not in the mood for you to interfere, or happiness, as we’ve just seen the depressing restaurant with the most grotesque menu in the whole world.” Sighed Peter wearily, and indeed, everybody seemed to silently agree, so Scamper’s tail stopped wagging and drooped, while his head followed suit, as if he was sorry. Everybody’s head was in their hands and thinking hard of what they had just seen, going over little details like a hundred times and trying to squeeze a teeny little clue out of the gross menu, the broken and gloomiest restaurant EVER, and whatever they could remember from the awful visit to the “restaurant”.
“That may be Myrtle’s restaurant and those were her descendants.” Said Pam.
“Oh, seriously, not Myrtle again!” said an exasperated Colin.
“We would need some solid facts and real detective work to unmask the truth…”
(Cathy)
“How about we ask Susie?” Jack suggested. Peter looked like that was the last thing he would rather do.
“And prove her right? No way stupid!” Pam shouted as she raised her fist into the air threateningly.
“What if we spy on them?” Suggested Colin trying to break up the fight, ” We can see if they say anything suspicious.
“Yeah!” Barbara said, “It would be fun, like detectives work!” She said.
It was decided, they would spy on Binkie and Susie.
At first it was nothing so fun, although Jack did record some stuff to blackmail Susie such as when Susie stole some extra candy from the candy jar. Others where painful and almost took some ears such as when Colin had to endure Susie ‘singing’ Senorita, wearing a oversized dress she stole from her mom and lipstick she scribbled on her face. Colin almost gave up and reported that Susie’s singing almost killed him.
(Jessica)
“You go then,” said Jack stubbornly “But I’m not leaving until I find out more about Myrtle.”
“Oh please, you just want to blackmail her.” Shot back Peter. Jack was about to push him when Pam motioned them to be quiet.
“Look!” mouthed Pam .
Indeed, Susie had begun to whisper in an obnoxiously loud voice. A word caught the Secret Seven’s attention… Myrtle.
(Jack)
“So, they don’t believe me. Well, their choice. I always knew the Secret Seven was the WORST of clubs.” She began.
“So, about the Myrtle Myth, you know that she was the owner of the restaurant and famously haunts it now as a banshee, coming out once a month. In fact, it that monthly time in three days, so we’d better go to bed early – or else we’d be driven to insanity or suffer deafness. Never tell the you-know-who club though, let them suffer – they deserved it. Myrtle’s family even owns it now. So, lets try and annoy them as much as possible, and don’t tell Jack aka my brainwashed brother as he sides with the Secret Seven that I took extra candy from the jar.
(Cathy)
When Pam looked back at Jack she saw that he had gone white.
“That stupid little brat, ” He muttered, “At least we found something out!”
Barbara said, “All we have to do now is go there and not get murdered by Myrtle. Maybe we could convince the ugly old waiter to tell us something!”
And she was right – he gave some useful information indeed.
(Jessica)
The five went down to the kitchen as Pam had said ‘food makes my mind think.’ Jack’s mum had prepared a buffet of sandwiches and extravagant desserts.
“Gee mum, is that all for us!” asked Jack
She laughed ” You’ll be as fat as pigs if you eat all that. No, your father had a friend over and he decided to come for lunch. Expect him soon!”
As soon as she said that, the doorbell ran. In swaggered a buff American, laughing merrily. The five backed away, shocked.
“I don’t like his smile, they don’t seem to reach his cold eyes.” Whispered Barbara “Why, I’ll have a fine time acting like him!” Everyone grinned at her. Barbara was known for her incredible acting skills.
(Jack)
Suddenly, Peter remembered what they had originally been looking for and motioned for silence.
“We were supposed to be looking for why there were bones! How come we came to have Barbara acting as Father’s friend or whatever!” He shouted in a whisper.
“Peter’s right, we’re not supposed to go off topic and we’re getting a bit sidetracked.” George said.
In the end, everybody reluctantly agreed, a bit disappointed in not seeing Barbara’s acting again, and proceeded the mission. The recalled what the waiter had said – which was very helpful, and Colin wrote it down on a plain white sheet of paper. Here’s what it said:
- Myrtle, his ancestor, lived about 200 years ago.
- She was very successful and got lots of money for her family: The Warrens
- according to rumors, every month, she would come out and haunt people, to remind them of the Warren family’s power and richness (unsurprisingly, as Susie already mentioned that, but the Seven listened and remembered it from the waiter’s words, as they despised Susie and her equally annoying friend Binkie)
- She was, according to the waiter, who said this after much thought, very fussy and vain and intensely easily offended, which resulted in her nickname “Moaning Myrtle”
- Finally, the next time she’ll come out and haunt people is July the 14th, 3 days from now (VERY vital information to the Secret Seven)
(Cathy)
So The Secret Seven decided to do the most stupid thing in the universe. They decided to go to the old restaurant on July the 14th and confront Myrtle.
(Jessica)
The secret seven had grown tense as the days creeps closer and closer. Susie could tell that they were getting more and more jittery. ” Trying to find Myrtle again?” questioned Susie mockingly.
” None of your business,” Jack snapped and refused to tell her any more. But Susie became more and more clingy, like a wart on a frog. One evening, Barbra had got enough of it. So she slyly whispered at dinner.
“We heard from a little umm… ghosty that you stole an extra candy from the tub and that you were wearing your mum’s dress and lipstick!”
Susie and Binkie immediately went white. The Barbra was rewarded with the pleasure of them not bothering the Seven again.
(Jack)
“The day has finally come. Tomorrow night we will be confronting Myrtle.” announced Peter to a (secretly-though everyone knew it in their heart but didn’t want to show) a terrified Secret Seven. This may be their scariest mystery yet!
(Cathy)
As they trudged through the thick mud and thought about their whole life. “You know I never got to get my money from that bet with Jacob.” Peter said suddenly. Finally at long last they arrived at the old restaurant were Myrtle was supposed to be. They took a deep breath and opened the door.
(Jessica)
“Hello!” said an old, jolly lady.
The seven looked at each other with confusion.
“Well, do you want some food?” She continued,” I’ve got the best fish cake in the world of fish cakes!” The Seven laughed tentatively at the feeble joke.
” Actually,” said Pam, ” we were just looking around. We might come tomorrow but our mothers have lunch cooked. Bye.”
And with that, the seven went off.
” Who’s she?” asked Jack with confusion.
” I dunno,” replied Pam with equal confusion.
(Jack)
“Doesn’t look like Myrtle to me, she was solid 100%, plus she wasn’t scary in any way.” Observed Colin.”
Maybe she’ll come tomorrow? You know this is just a rehearsal.” Answered Jack.
The seven trudged back, their backs heavy with gloomy thoughts thinking if the mystery is going to end. Even Peter – the normally overzealous leader, was clueless.
“Let’s do some more thinking.” Colin suddenly announced aloud to the whole Seven.
Everybody groaned. Here we go again, Detective Colin. This is going to be really bad…
(Cathy)
Everyone was gathered in the shed yawning, bored, and sweaty, that is everyone except Colin.
“Okay so first lets talk about what we know.” Colin said staring at them like the answer would just pop out of him.
“There’s a fat lady in the restaurant.” Peter said yawning. “And a gross menu.” Barbara added shuddering.
“Yes but we have to think why there is a fat lady at the restaurant, stop sniggering George and THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!” He shouted. “I don’t know why you all are so stupid but we’ve got a mystery to solve!”
(Jessica)
” Dinner guys!” Shouted Jack’s mum. The seven hastily ran out of the shed.
” Meeting at seven!” mouthed Colin. The others secretly groaned inside. Even if Myrtle was real, they were far from finding her. However, dinner was far from uneventful.
“Well, I heard there were some Americans in town and they moved from the old shop round the corner to The Grand Pichette Hotel!” said Jack’s mum. The seven all gasped in surprise. Well, THIS was news!” Except for Janet.
(Jack)
“You know tomorrow’s my birthday?” Janet asked mischievously.
Peter sighed heavily. Every year was like this. Every single year, she says this and bores him to death because of all the chatter and daydreams of hers as it was her birthday. She especially picks on the point that most of the years, Peter forgets to buy her a present because of the Secret Seven mysteries.
“Well, Mum and I decided in the end to go to the new Grand Pichette Hotel and just chill and take a break from our seemingly undeciphered mystery surrounding the myth of ‘Myrtle’,” continued Janet smoothly, “and maybe find out something even though the chances are extremely rare. But, it was worth a try anyway.”
Peter grinned at her. Even though he didn’t say it, they both know what he meant. She-was-a-genius.
(Cathy)
Peter and Janet excitedly shared the news with the secret seven. “Haha we get to go to the new Grand Pichette Hotel and solve the mystery!” “Yeah but we can tell you the facts!” They bragged.
The secret seven had to put up all the bragging and boasting however, though they wouldn’t admit it for the world they were secretly hoping that Peter and Jane would invite them.
Their wish was granted, in a way. Binky and Susie asked Janet and Peter and their mom agreed. And even better she invited everyone else. Now they can solve mystery.
(Jessica)
On the day of Janet’s birthday, the seven hurried out to a crowed of people. They hurried to the hotel and there was, as large as life, a creepy woman that could potentially be Myrtles cousin. She looked dead enough.
So they trooped inside and saw a glassy, white room with menus scattered around the tables.
“Well..” muttered Janet “ Bon appetit”