N. Brunner

Starring: Kivi, Vivi, Super-Agent Gizmo, Heshy Fish, Gelly, and Yelly

Sick of censoring your kids’ books?

Exhausted from constantly sprinting to the library?

Scrambling to keep up with their literary appetites?

The Circle brings 80 glossy pages jam-packed with first-rate info and fun. Drool-worthy design is stuffed with stories, comics, contests, recipes, and more. Join 100,000 thrilled readers and get wholesome entertainment at your door.

To help keep your kiddos occupied, the Circle brings you this entertaining tidbit.

Scene 1

(Gelly and Yelly are standing in the kitchen looking angry.)

Gelly: It’s not fair! The bigger kids always get the Circle first.

Yelly: I never even get to look at our pictures on the last page because they take it away.

Gelly: And then the cover falls off!

Yelly: They said we don’t know how to read. But I like the pictures.

(Gelly moves closer to Yelly.)

Gelly: I have an idea. (Lowers her voice and whispers in Yelly’s ear) Listen to my plan…

Scene 2

(Kivi and Vivi are sitting in their office, which is decorated with letters from Circle readers, looking through the mail.)

Kivi: Hmmm, this reader from…Oklahoma! says he loves the picture of us on the moon.

Vivi: Really? This kid says they like the pictures of us on bikes.

Kivi: That was a really fun one! But it’s good to be back in the office. That photo shoot in Paris took such a long time!

(Phone rings)

Kivi: Hello, Circle office, Kivi speaking. Uh-huh, uh-huh. (Nods, then looks horrified) Oh no! Really? It must be a mistake!

(Another phone rings.)

Vivi: Hello, you’ve reached the Circle office. Vivi speaking; how can I help you? What? It can’t be! Yes, I’ll see what I can do.

(Both hang up and look at each other, confused. Before they can say anything, both phones ring again and they each grab one.)

Vivi and Kivi: Hello? What? Oh no! Oh, one second, please hold.

(For the next few minutes, they are both answering phones and apologizing. The phones keep ringing. Finally, they hang up and look at each other, horrified and confused.)

Kivi: People are complaining…

Vivi: That the Circle magazines…

Kivi and Vivi: Have disappeared!

(Kivi flops down on a chair.)

Kivi: It makes no sense. All those subscribers said the Circle didn’t show up by their door. And it’s Wednesday!

Vivi: The last one to call was the manager of a grocery store. They didn’t get it either.

Kivi: Where did the Circles go?

Vivi: Let’s call Mastermind Meyer!

Kivi: He’s on vacation. But I have a different idea.

(Fade out)

(Five minutes later, Super-Agent Gizmo and Heshy Fish come flying through the window.)

Gizmo: We heard there’s a problem here.

Vivi: That was fast!

Gizmo: I used my Super-Slick Traveling Device to get here as soon as you called. All you need to do is step inside and say the name of your destination, and you get there.

Kivi: Heshy, how did you get here?

Heshy: I met Gizmo at the reunion for Circle characters a few months ago, and we’ve bumped into each other a couple of times since—including this morning. (Clears his throat) Anyway, Gizmo told me he could make me a metal detector that works better than the one I used with Howie to find things that are missing.

Kivi: Cool! Can you use that to figure out what happened to the Circles?

Heshy: I actually thought a cat might have run away with them…

Vivi: I don’t think so. We’ve been getting so many calls from readers that they didn’t get their magazine this week. I can’t imagine cats got to every single magazine.

Gizmo: Let’s take my Fabulous Finder stick to the Circle production plant and look around to see what clues we can find. The Finder stick can go back in time and show us videos of what happened there a few days before.

Kivi and Vivi: We’re ready!

Scene 3

(Gelly and Yelly are sitting on a couch together.)

Yelly: Why didn’t the Circle come?

Gelly: I don’t know! Now, no one has it.

Yelly: Where do you think it went?

Gelly: Who knows? I just don’t get it.

Scene 4

(At the Circle printing office. Gizmo is busy with a gadget, and Heshy, Kivi, and Vivi are watching anxiously.)

Gizmo: The Circles were definitely printed…and then packed into boxes…and put onto the truck. But then I’m not sure…

Vivi: Someone must have taken them off the truck.

Heshy: Or the truck driver got lost! Maybe he got into an accident and he needs our help.

Kivi: Should we call the driver and ask what happened?

Vivi: That’s a great idea!

Gizmo: Maybe he’s the one who stole them, though. And if we call him, he’ll know that we’re onto him.

Heshy: We have to try.

Vivi: But where do we get his number?

Gizmo: That’s easy. Give me a minute to open up my…

Scene 5

Gelly: Something went wrong. I can’t understand it.

Yelly (whispers): Do you think it’s our fault?

Gelly: How can that be?

Yelly: Let’s talk in the garage. I don’t want anyone to hear us, or they’ll think we took it.

Yelly: No one ever goes into the garage. Except on Monday…

(They walk to the garage together.)

Gelly (shouts): What in the world is going on here?

Scene 6

Gizmo: So, the truck driver is innocent. I think. Unless he’s tricking us.

Kivi: What did he say?

Gizmo: He told me that he got a call to bring the Circles to a certain address. The caller said it’s very important.

Vivi: And he brought them there? What’s the address?

Gizmo: The culprit must be living at that address. But I wonder why he wants so many Circles.

Kivi: Let’s go there and find out!

Gizmo: But we will have to be very careful…

Scene 7

(Outside a nondescript house)

Heshy: This doesn’t look like the house of an evil villain. In fact, it looks a little familiar…

Kivi: Well, I guess we can knock on the door.

Gizmo: No way! We don’t want to give the culprit a chance to run away. The truck driver told me he put the Circles in the garage.

Vivi: Well, that’s easy. The garage door is open.

Kivi: I don’t feel very good about peeking into people’s garages, but from here, I do see a lot of boxes there…

Heshy: (Runs forward and stands by the garage door) Yes, that’s the Circle’s logo! Who took them? (Stops for a moment) Hey! What are you two doing here?

Gelly and Yelly (quietly): We’re really sorry.

Gizmo (Comes forward): You took the Circles?

Gelly: I’m sorry!

Vivi: Everyone wants to know where they are!

Gelly: I know!

Kivi: Why don’t you want people to read the Circle?

Gelly: We do! We do want them to!

Heshy: Just because you can’t read doesn’t mean others shouldn’t.

Gelly: We know that! We just wanted to read it also!

(Silence)

Vivi: That’s why you took all the Circles?

Gelly: It was an accident!

Yelly: Yeah, it was! Gelly just wanted to make sure we also get to read the Circle!

Kivi: So, what happened?

Gelly: I called the deliveryman and asked him to bring the Circle to me, Gelly Pitzelberger, but I guess he misunderstood.

Vivi: And he brought you all the Circles?

Yelly: When the deliveryman knocked at the door, I opened it, but I didn’t understand what he wanted. He didn’t really speak English. So, I just told him to put the boxes in the garage. No one ever goes there anyway.

Kivi: Let me get this straight. The Circle deliveryman thought the message to bring the Circle to you meant he should bring all of the Circles to you. But you didn’t realize that, so the Circles have been hiding in your garage for the past two days…

Gizmo: Mystery solved.

Vivi: I’m sorry that we accused you. We should have thought there might be another explanation.

Heshy (opening boxes): Well, here’s one for you, Gelly and Yelly. (Tosses them a magazine) Gizmo, do you have a gadget that can get these magazines delivered ASAP?

Gizmo: I can use my Octopus-Monkey Delivery Spin-Through-the-Air gadget. They’ll be delivered in no time.

Kivi and Vivi (looking at their watches): Thanks, Gizmo! Thanks, Heshy! All in a day’s work. But we’d better get going now—we have the next issue of the magazine to put together!