The First Achoo

Carmel Dvora peeked from her math book just in time to spot another student letting out a thunderous 402. It was the third sneeze in the last five minutes!

"I bet half the school's caught it by now," sighed Shira, Carmel's friend sitting beside her.

"Sounds like it," Carmel replied, sharpening her pencil nervously as chair legs scraped across the linoleum floor.

The school corridors crackled with the sounds of coughs, sniffles, and nose-blowing, making an odd sort of choir.

"It's like a sneeze orchestra," Carmel joked, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Who do you think started it all?" Shira mused.

Carmel's brow furrowed. "That's what I have to find out! If there's a patient zero, maybe we can stop it spreading."

Determined, Carmel tightened her grip on her backpack strap. She couldn't let this cold catch her. The game was on.

Uncovering the Sick Trail

Carmel leaned closer to Shira. "I heard Sarah started feeling sick last Friday," she whispered, trying not to draw attention as the teacher wrote on the board.

"Sarah...really? I saw her sneezing a lot yesterday," Shira whispered back, her eyebrows raised.

"I need to find out more," Carmel decided. Watching Sarah disappear to the restroom again, Carmel felt a plan brewing.

Once recess started, Carmel spotted Sarah at the corner of the playground. "Hey, Sarah! Feeling better today?" Carmel called out, trying to sound casual.

Sarah shrugged, hugging her sweater closer. "It's nothing," she mumbled, before Alice, another classmate, joined her, steering the conversation away. Sarah's red nose wasn't the only clue.

Returning inside, Carmel ran into Liora. Liora was always reading at lunch, quiet and alone. "Want to join me? I'm on a quest," Carmel grinned, intrigued by the mystery.

Liora hesitated, then nodded. "I'll help," she said, a surprise ally in Carmel's ever-expanding investigation team.