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Hi friends, our SleepType premium was made for families who want a little more. No ads across all 17 of our shows, extra stories every month, 12 classic children's chapter books recorded in our style, and a shout out for yearly subscribers. Sleeptite is written, recorded, and produced by two parents in a small fishing village on Prince Edward Island, a second grade teacher and her husband, a second grader at heart. Premium is the best way to support what we make here and to have a little more of it waiting for you each week. Find us on Apple podcasts or at sleeptight.supercast.com. Hello friends, and welcome to Sleeptight Stories. Red is starting to feel that Earth is more normal and that she finally has found her people. She enjoys spending time with the gang, and even Blue has helped a few times when they let him. Red and the gang are starting to look at a new mystery where someone is leaving gifts for the teachers, and they realize that this is their second mystery where something good is happening. The Transfer Student Volume 3, Part 10 the Pattern Problem. Red wakes up with red and green lights shining directly in her eyes. Her alarm's going off, which means Blue. It has to be. Blue somehow rigged a projector in her room while she was asleep to blast her two least favorite colors right at her face the second she opened her eyes. What a stinker. She wants to yell at him or complain to mom, but that would just give him the satisfaction of knowing his prank worked. Better to act like she didn't even notice. On top of this annoyance, today was Monday and her first class was English. Ugh. It's not that she doesn't like English. Mr. McCaskill tells the funniest jokes, and she's already read most of the material. It's not even her speaking. She's listened to those audio files her mother gave her endlessly. It's understanding what other people say. Why don't people speak the way she was taught on Mars? To make it worse, Blue caught on almost immediately. He never lets her forget it either. She understands what the gang says most of the time, but other classmates, she's often totally confused. Red gets dressed in her favorite hoodie and jeans, goes to the bathroom, where she spends most of her time cleaning up after Blue's messes, and heads downstairs where the smell of honeycakes is strong. She sighs quietly. She loves Mom's honey cakes, but not every single day. Good sleep, big sister? Blue asks in his most sarcastic voice. And a mouthful of food. Why does he talk with his mouthful? Gross. Not bad, red says. Fell asleep before I finished that science textbook, though Blue looks disappointed. He was hoping for an argument. I love when you two get along in the morning, their mother says, passing Red a plate of honey cakes with extra syrup. Red thinks maple syrup is a delicacy. Yep, blue replies. Stinky head and I get along super well in the morning. Red wants to stick her tongue out but decides against it since Mom's watching. Blue inhales the rest of his honey cakes in what sits seems like two bites and races upstairs, probably to make another mess in the bathroom or set up some other prank for Red to find after school. Blue's bus comes first. Red appreciates that Blue takes a different bus, though it makes no sense whatsoever. Why can't all the grades ride together? Red stands there as Blue's bus pulls away, Blue smirking at her through the window. What did he do when he raced upstairs? She knows she'll find out eventually. Before long, Red's yellow bus arrives and she walks to the back where Charlie's waiting. His nose is red, which means either a virus allergies or he's been wiping it out of habit. Rachel waves as Red passes her seat, too engrossed in some huge book to say hello. Red slides into the seat next to Charlie. Morning. Did you get the texts I sent to the group? Charlie asks immediately. No, I haven't looked at my phone yet. Charlie stares at her like she just admitted to something unbelievable. Who doesn't look at their phone first thing in the morning? Red shrugs. Anyway, Charlie continues, leaning in conspiratorially, there's a new mystery to solve. A big one. We have to meet at lunch to talk about it. Red doesn't like the sound of that. She was hoping for a break from solving mysteries, a few weeks of boring school, maybe just hanging out with the gang. The locker notes case with Jordan took a lot of time and energy. The Dr. Hart one even more so. She doesn't actually know what they'd talk about besides mysteries, since they spend most of their time together solving them, but still. I thought we already had a mystery, red says. Someone's been leaving anonymous gifts in the teacher's lounge. We were going to investigate that. Charlie sneezes. Most of it goes into his tissue. Most. Red wants to say gross but stops herself. Being direct is a mars thing. Kurt once said Charlie's the reason half the school gets sick. Red knows about virus transmission and thinks Kurt's theory might hold up. Yes, yes, charlie says, composing himself. But this is different. I sort of explained some, but not all, in the group chat. But it's better if we talk during lunch. It's very sensitive. He looks around the bus suspiciously. Other people shouldn't hear about this. Red raises an eyebrow but doesn't push it. They ride the rest of the way in silence. Well, Charlie's occupied with his nose anyway. After racing through the hallways, Charlie, she still doesn't arrive first, no matter how hard she tries. Red finds her seat in English class, opens her book, and tries to pay attention to Mr. McCaskill. They're discussing a passage from the book they are reading. Red understands it perfectly, of course, when then the unthinkable happens. Red, Mr. McCaskill says, would you read the next passage aloud for us? Red freezes. Back On Mars, she would have loved the opportunity to share her knowledge, her opinions. But on Earth she's supposed to keep a low profile, not stand out too much. And this is English, where her speaking still makes her nervous. Her speaking was weirdly better than her listening, but already she can feel sweat forming on the back of her neck. Um, um, okay. Red starts opening her book. Then, miraculously, the bell rings. Saved by the bell, red, Mr. McCaskill calls over the noise as everyone packs up. Make sure you're prepared to read next class. And everyone remember we have a test coming up. Red escapes into the hallway, relieved. The rest of the morning is far less two periods of math, which Red spends finding patterns in the problems or turning simple equations into larger, more complex ones. She has to do this quietly, of course, hidden in her alternative notebook. If the math teacher noticed her doing advanced work, she might make a big deal about it, which would likely bring about a repeat visit from the intimidating Misty and Shade. She's made peace with the aid for now and wants to keep it that way. When the lunch bell finally rings, Red races to the cafeteria, determined to get there before everyone else. She has to apologize at least three times after bumping into other students in the hallway. One boy, judging by his jersey, probably plays hockey, rubs his shoulder after Red crashes into him. She is stronger than she looks, but Red is still the last one to arrive. Rachel, Alexa, Kurt, and Charlie, the slowest, least athletic member of the gang, are already sitting at their usual table, opening lunch bags. Is there a secret tunnel I should know about? Red asks, sliding into the seat next to Alexa, safely out of the range of any projectiles from Charlie's nose. A teleporter? Are you talking about some Mars thing? Alexa asks, taking a bite of her sandwich. Red just sighs. What is that? Kurt asks suddenly, pointing at Charlie's lunch. Is that What I think it is. What? Charlie looks down. It's a sandwich. You know, two slices of bread with stuff in between. I think what Kurt's surprised about, rachel interjects, saving Kurt from talking with her mouth open, is that it looks ordinary for you. Shouldn't there be something growing out of the middle, like live sprouts or fermented vegetables? My dad left early this morning and my mom was too busy to make me anything, charlie says. Except for this green slime juice for my cold. So I made myself a peanut butter and marmalade sandwich. Alexa looks up from her tablet. Ew. Red is intrigued. She's never tried that combination. So, Kurt says, taking a break from eating, should we talk about this new mystery Charlie wants to solve? Can we start with what this mystery actually is? Red asks. I haven't checked my messages yet. Kurt stares at her. What? Okay, Charlie, alexa says. Would you like to explain it for us in something other than the cryptic messages? Can you manage that? With a mouthful of peanut butter and a runny nose, Rachel closes her book to listen. Charlie wipes his nose, leans forward, and whispers dramatically. Someone's been rearranging the library books. Silence. That's it? Kurt asks. When I read the group chat this morning, my brain thought it was more than that. No, not just rearranging, Charlie says urgently. Rearranging them into patterns. Specific patterns. Coded patterns. Red's attention sharpens. What kind of patterns? That's the thing, charlie says, pulling out his notebook. I've been documenting it. Books about space end up next to books about ancient civilizations. Books about geology next to books about languages. It's not random. Someone's sending a message. Or the library assistant is just bad at shelving, Alexis suggests. That's what I thought at first, Charlie admits. But then I started paying attention. It's always the same space. Geology, ancient languages, history of colonization. Red sits up straighter. Charlie, don't you see? Charlie's eyes are wide. After the locker notes, after Jordan, after everything we've learned about codes and patterns, someone's trying to communicate. And I think he lowers his voice even more. I think it's related to Mars. The table goes silent. Charlie, red says carefully. Why would you think that? Because of the pattern. Space books, geology, colonization. It's all Mars related topics. Someone knows someone's trying to send a message using the library books. Kit stops chewing. Rachel's eyebrows go up. Alexa's fingers hover over her tablet. Red takes a deep breath. Okay, let's. Let's go look at these books after we eat. See what we're dealing with. You think it's real? Charlie says hopefully. I think, red says diplomatically, that we should investigate before jumping to conclusions. But inside, Red's starting to worry. What if Charlie's right? What if someone really does know? Or more likely, Charlie's just seeing patterns everywhere after spending weeks breaking codes. After quickly eating, the gang heads to the library. Charlie leads the way like he's guiding them to a crime scene, walking on tiptoes for some reason. Red follows behind with Alexa, while Rachel and Kurt bring up the rear. There, charlie whispers dramatically, pointing at a shelf near the reference section. See? Red looks at the books. Space Exploration, Ancient Mesopotamia. Geological Surveys. A book about Upper and Lower Canada. They're all mixed up, charlie explains. These should be in completely different sections. Someone moved them here on purpose. It's a pattern. Alexa pulls out her tablet and starts taking photos. When did you first notice this? Three days ago. I was looking for a book on coding because of the Jordan case, you know, And I saw these books grouped together. Then yesterday, more books appeared. Different titles, same categories. Red walks closer to the shelf, examining the spines. Charlie's right. These books don't belong together by any normal library organization system. But Charlie, red says slowly, are there any other shelves like this? What do you mean? I mean, is this the only place where books are mixed up? Or are there others? Charlie hesitates. Well, I haven't checked the whole library. Let's look around. Alexis suggests they split up, walking through the different sections. Red checks the fiction area. Kurt examines the science section. Rachel heads to history. Five minutes later, they reconvene at their original spot. There are books out of place everywhere, rachel reports quietly. Romance novels in the cooking section. Biographies mixed with fantasy. It's not just this shelf. The entire library is kind of a mess, kurt adds. Books just everywhere. Weird. Charlie's face falls. But the pattern. Mrs. Finkelstein, Alexa suddenly says, looking up from her tablet. She retired two weeks ago. Remember there was that assembly? Red does remember. Mrs. Finkelstein had been the school librarian for 20 years. So? Charlie asks. So there's a new librarian, rachel says, catching on. Temporarily, at least. Until they hire someone permanent. As if on cue, a young woman with bright purple glasses appears from behind the circulation desk, pushing a cart full of books. She looks frazzled, consulting a clipboard while trying to balance a coffee cup. Excuse me? Alexa calls out politely. Are you the new librarian? The woman looks up, relieved to see students. Oh, yes. Hi. I'm Ms. Smith. Well, I'm the substitute librarian until they hire someone permanent. Can I help you find something? We were just wondering, red says carefully, about the book organization. Some books seem to be in unexpected places. Ms. Smith's face flushes. Oh gosh, I know. I'm so sorry. I had some kids help me when I first arrived, and I'm afraid we made some mistakes. I promised them caramels if they finished quickly and, well, maybe they were a little too quick. She stops, looking embarrassed. Everything's a bit of a mess. The official librarian starts next week, and I'm hoping I can fix most of this before then. Are you looking for something specific? I can try to help? No, we're good, red says quickly. Thank you. Ms. Smith smiles gratefully and continues with her cart, muttering about decimal numbers under her breath. The gang walks back to their table in silence. Charlie sits down heavily. So there's no pattern? There's no pattern, alexa confirms gently. It's just a mistake, rachel adds. Charlie slumps in his chair. I thought after the locker notes, after all those codes, I thought I was seeing another mystery. I saw patterns that weren't there, charlie says miserably. Then he sneezes into his elbow. Red sits down next to him. It's not a big deal. Red is relieved. She did see a pattern in the books that the others missed, the numbers and text in the spines. But you can find patterns in almost anything. Sometimes a messy library is just a messy library, rachel says, going back to her book. Charlie manages a small smile. I feel silly. You are silly, kurt says, pulling out a granola bar. But in a good way. Speaking of actual mysteries, Alexa says, tapping her tablet. We still have the teacher gift investigation. That one's real. Charlie perks up slightly. You're right. Okay, let's focus on that one. Anyone actually have theories about the teacher gifts? Kurt asks, unwrapping another granola bar. Could be a student trying to get on the teacher's good side, rachel suggests. Or a teacher doing something nice for their colleagues, alexa adds. Charlie sneezes. Or aliens. Everyone stares at him. What? After the library thing, I'm allowed one crazy theory? No, alexa says flatly. And just like that, they're back to normal. Charlie's paranoid pattern hunting turned out to be nothing. But that's okay. Not every weird thing is a mystery. Sometimes a messy library is just a messy library. But the teacher gifts? That's one that's still waiting to be solved. Red pulls out her notebook. Time to focus on a real mystery. And that is the end of this part. Good night. Sleep tight.