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"Will!" Jeannine shouted as she rushed to his side. "What is it?"
"Get off!" Will shouted as he pulled at the furry mess clinging to his leg. "Get...off me!"
And then he gave a great shove, and the thing grabbing his leg flew off and landed a few feet away.
"Hssssssssss," the beast said.
"It looks like a...a..." Jeannine whispered.
"A cat," Will growled angrily. "Scoot, you ugly thing! Or I'll come back with a nail-clipper!"
"Maybe it's a cat-monster," Jeannine supposed. "It looks horrible - and it's nasty enough."
Will lifted his MonsterScope and looked at the cat.
"No, the MonsterScope doesn't show anything," he said, and then he examined his scratches. "And besides, monsters don't wear collars. It's just an ugly old thing that hasn't been cared for very well. Nothing monstrous about it - except its disposition."
Will finished brushing himself off, then lifted his MonsterScope and continued examining the bushes all across the back of the house.
"Nothing," he said gruffly. "No monsters. No monster tracks. No sign that any monster has been here at all."
"Well, you haven't checked around the other side of the house yet, have you?" Jeannine pointed out.
Will glared at her.
"No," he finally admitted. "I haven't."
So Will lifted the glass to his eye once more, and slowly stepped along the side of the house, examining every inch as he circled around to the far side of the house.
"Still nothing," he announced, and then turned back to Jeannine. "Now can we go inside and check out a real monster? I'm not a pet detective, after all."
"I don't know why not," she replied with a big smirk. "You certainly have a way with animals."
"Funny," Will growled. "Ha Ha! I'm laughing, see? Can we go now?"
Jeannine frowned at him, but finally rolled her eyes.
"Fine," she agreed.
So Will and Jeannine turned and headed over to the front door. Will was still brushing off his pants and coat as Jeannine rang the bell and they heard an overly sweet voice call out, "Just a minute!" Will straightened up just as the door opened, and a very tall woman dressed in a grey pants suit stood in the doorway. "Yes?" she said sweetly. "Are you selling cookies or something? Because we just..."
"We're here to see Hedda," Jeannine said.
"We're math tutors," Will added.
The woman looked at Will and Jeannine suspiciously.
"Math tutors?" she said, her voice had suddenly lost its sweetness. "Why would Hedda need a Math tutor? She gets straight As! And why two of you? I'm not paying..."
"Um, actually..." Will sputtered. "We're still tutors in training. Hedda is teaching us how to be good tutors."
The woman's firm stare melted, and she let out a soft, "Oh!" and then resumed in her original, sweet voice, "Well then, do come in."
What mysteries will Jeannine and Will uncover in Hedda’s house? Find out in the next episode !