Max mal ráno pocit, že budík nezvonil, ale vybuchol.
Vyskočil z postele, rozstrapatené blond vlasy mu trčali na všetky svetové strany a červené tričko s malou raketou si obliekol tak rýchlo, že raketa na chvíľu skončila na chrbte. Potom si ho pretočil správne a odbehol do kúpeľne.
— Stíham, stíham, určite stíham, — mrmlal si.
Na chodbe sa ozvalo Ninin pokojný hlas:
— Keď niekto povie stíham trikrát za sebou, väčšinou už nestíha.
Max sa rozhodol, že túto poznámku nebude počuť. Otvoril zásuvku v kúpeľni, vytiahol ľavú ponožku so zelenými prúžkami a natiahol si ju na nohu. Potom siahol po pravej.
Nič.
Siahol hlbšie.
Stále nič.
Pozrel pod uterák. Potom za umývadlo. Potom za kôš na bielizeň. Našiel sponku, modrú kocku zo stavebnice a papierik od cukríka, ktorý podľa neho určite pochádzal z dávnych čias. Pravú ponožku však nenašiel.
— To nie je možné, — povedal Max. — Ponožky predsa žijú v pároch.
Do kúpeľne nakukla Nina. Mala tmavé vlasy v copíku, fialovú mikinu a výraz človeka, ktorý už ráno videl veľa Maxových prekvapení.
— Niektoré páry sa asi pohádajú, — povedala. — Tvoja ľavá ponožka vyzerá dosť opustene.
Max otvoril ďalšiu zásuvku a vytiahol žltú ponožku s modrými bodkami.
— Vyriešené. Budem mať jednu zelenú a jednu žltú.
Nina sa pozrela na jeho nohy.
— Výborne. Dnes budú tvoje chodidlá vyzerať ako dve rôzne dopravné značky.
— Ľudia si to nevšimnú.
— Max, učiteľka si všimla, keď si mal minulý týždeň v peračníku namiesto gumy rožok.
Max si povzdychol. Vtom zazvonil zvonček.
— To bude dedo Fero, — povedala Nina.
O chvíľu sa vo dverách kúpeľne objavil dedo Fero. Mal detektívny klobúk, béžovú vestu, okrúhle okuliare, sivé fúzy a v ruke veľkú lupu. Vyzeral, akoby prišiel odhaliť tajomstvo kráľovskej pokladnice, nie vypiť čaj.
— Dobré ráno, rodina, — povedal slávnostne. — Prišiel som len na chvíľu, ale podľa napätia vo vzduchu cítim prípad.
Max ukázal na svoju jednu ponožkovanú nohu.
— Zmizla mi pravá ponožka. Ale ja už idem do školy. Vezmem si inú.
Dedo Fero stuhol. Potom pomaly zdvihol lupu.
— Pravá ponožka? Zmizla bez rozlúčky?
— Možno sa vyparila, — navrhol Max.
— Mladý muž, — povedal dedo Fero vážne, — žiadna ponožka sa nevyparí bez dôvodu. Najmä nie pravá.
Nina si prekrížila ruky.
— Tak to bude náročné ráno.
Dedo Fero urobil krok do kúpeľne a pozrel sa na dlaždice, akoby čítal tajné posolstvo.
— Vyhlasujem túto kúpeľňu za miesto činu. Nikto sa ničoho nedotýka!
Max práve držal v ruke zubnú kefku.
— Ani zubov?
Dedo Fero chvíľu premýšľal.
— Zuby sú výnimka. Hygiena má alibi.
Vyšetrovanie sa začalo pri koši na bielizeň. Dedo Fero si kľakol a lupu priložil tak blízko k prádlu, že si skoro zväčšil vlastný nos.
— Kôš na bielizeň, — zašepkal. — Temná jaskyňa bavlny.
— Je to len kôš, — poznamenala Nina.
— Každá jaskyňa začína ako kôš, keď sa do nej nikto nepozrie dosť vážne.
Dedo Fero opatrne vytiahol osamelú ľavú ponožku. Bola sivá a tvárila sa, ako sa tvária ponožky: nijako.
— Ďalšia ľavá, — povedal dedo Fero. — Zaujímavé.
Potom vytiahol pyžamové nohavice, tričko a školský zošit.
Nina zdvihla obočie.
— Max, prečo je tvoj zošit z prírodovedy v koši na bielizeň?
Max sa zamyslel.
— Možno sa chcel oprať. Mal tam škvrnu od jogurtu.
— Zošity sa neperú, — povedala Nina.
— To som si aj myslel, preto som ho tam asi len odložil dočasne.
— Dočasne od včera večera?
Max sa pozrel na strop.
— Čas je veľmi zložitá vec.
Dedo Fero si zapísal do malého notesu: zošit v koši, podozrivo vzdelaný. Potom sa otočil k Maxovi.
— Čo sa dialo včera večer?
— Nič zvláštne. Hľadal som ceruzku. Potom som hľadal pravítko. Potom som zabudol, že hľadám ceruzku, a našiel som malú plastovú prilbu pre dinosaura. Ale bola mu malá.
Nina prikývla.
— A popritom prehádzal polovicu kúpeľne.
— Nie polovicu, — ohradil sa Max. — Možno tretinu. Väčšiu tretinu.
Pravá ponožka však nikde nebola.
Trojica sa presunula do chodby. Max poskakoval na jednej zelenej ponožke a v druhej ruke držal žltú ponožku pre prípad núdze. Dedo Fero sa zastavil pri Maxových papučiach.
— Hm. Papuče.
— Čo s nimi? — spýtal sa Max.
— Príliš ticho stoja. To je vždy podozrivé.
Nina si povzdychla, ale usmievala sa.
Dedo Fero nadvihol jednu papuču lupou, akoby mohla uštipnúť. Vnútri bola len malá guľôčka prachu.
— Prach má alibi, — oznámil. — Bol tu dlho.
Potom zbadal zrolovaný uterák na lavičke.
— Stoj! Ponožkové burrito!
Maxovi sa rozžiarili oči.
— To znie chutne.
— Ponožkové burrito sa neje, — povedala Nina. — Dúfam.
Rozbalila uterák. Vypadla z neho gumička do vlasov a malá plastová kocka.
— Moja kocka! — zvolal Max. — Tú som hľadal minulý piatok.
— Vidíš, — povedala Nina. — Tvoje veci sa nestrácajú. Ony len cestujú bez mapy.
Max sa zamyslel a pozrel k oknu.
— Možno ponožku uniesli mimozemšťania. Má zelené prúžky. Možno si mysleli, že je to signál.
Nina pokojne odvetila:
— Mimozemšťania by si určite zobrali pár. Nebudú predsa lietať vesmírom s jednou pravou ponožkou.
Dedo Fero sa zatváril ešte vážnejšie.
— Vylučujeme mimozemšťanov. Dočasne.
Max pozrel na hodiny.
— Ja naozaj musím ísť do školy.
— Najprv izba, — povedala Nina.
Max zbledol.
— Moja izba? Tam ponožka určite nie je.
— Presne preto tam bude, — povedala Nina.
Maxova izba bola veselá a útulná, ale tiež vyzerala, akoby sa v nej v noci konal zjazd školských pomôcok, hračiek a stavebníc. Na zemi ležali knihy, zošity, kocky, autíčko bez jedného kolesa a papierová vesmírna loď. Na posteli sedel plyšový dinosaurus s malým vankúšikom.
Dedo Fero sa zastavil uprostred izby.
— Toto nie je izba. Toto je mapa ponožkového bludiska.
— Ja presne viem, kde mám veci, — povedal Max.
Urobil krok a stúpil na ceruzku. Tá sa odkotúľala pod stoličku.
— Aha, ceruzka! Tú som včera hľadal.
Nina sa pozrela na deda Fera.
— Prípad ceruzky vyriešený náhodným stúpením.
Dedo Fero si zapísal ďalšiu poznámku.
— Metóda bolestivo účinná, ale neodporúča sa.
Nina nechodila po izbe ako detektív. Chodila po nej ako niekto, kto vie, že odpoveď často neleží v najväčšej kope, ale vedľa nej. Všimla si otvorenú zásuvku. Potom župan prehodený cez stoličku. Potom plyšového dinosaura.
— Max, — povedala pomaly, — prečo má tvoj dinosaurus pri sebe vankúšik?
— Lebo spí, — odpovedal Max.
— A prečo nemá čiapku? Včera si tvrdil, že dinosaurus nemôže spať s holou hlavou, lebo mu prechladnú myšlienky.
Max otvoril ústa. Potom ich zavrel. Potom si pošúchal čelo.
— Počkať. Ja som mu chcel spraviť spaciu čiapku.
Dedo Fero dramaticky zdvihol prst.
— Motív je odhalený! Ochrana dinosaurej hlavy.
— Hľadal som niečo mäkké, — pokračoval Max. — Niečo zelené. Lebo dinosaurus má rád zelenú.
Nina ukázala na župan na stoličke.
— A niečo si možno odložil tam?
Max podišiel k županu. Bol mäkký, modrý a mal veľké vrecká. Max strčil ruku do pravého vrecka. Chvíľu tam lovil.
Jeho tvár sa zmenila z napätej na prekvapenú a potom na víťaznú.
— Mám ju!
Vytiahol pravú ponožku so zelenými prúžkami. Bola čistá, trochu pokrčená a úplne nevinná.
Dedo Fero si dal ruku na srdce.
— Dámy a páni, ponožka nebola unesená. Nebola vyparená. Nebola zjedená papučou. Bola ubytovaná vo vrecku župana.
Nina sa usmiala.
— A ubytoval ju tam kto?
Max sa pozrel na ponožku.
— Ja. Večer som si povedal, že si ju ráno nájdem a dokončím dinosaurovi čiapku. Lenže potom som zabudol, že som si to povedal.
— To sa stáva, — povedal dedo Fero láskavo. — Najmä ľuďom, ktorí majú v kúpeľňovom koši zošit.
Max sa zasmial a rýchlo si natiahol pravú ponožku. Zelené prúžky boli opäť spolu. Ľavá aj pravá ponožka vyzerali spokojne, ak sa to o ponožkách dá povedať.
— Ešte mám dve minúty! — zvolal Max.
Začal rýchlo, ale opatrne upratovať. Ceruzku vložil do peračníka. Zošit z prírodovedy vytiahol z koša na bielizeň a strčil do školskej tašky. Župan zavesil na vešiak. Žltú ponožku vrátil do zásuvky.
Nina sa oprela o zárubňu.
— Toto je zatiaľ tvoje najrýchlejšie upratovanie v dejinách.
Max si prehodil tašku cez plece.
— Keby som si večer odložil veci normálne, ráno by som nemusel vyšetrovať vlastné vrecko.
Dedo Fero spokojne prikývol.
— Výborný záver. Poriadok šetrí čas, nervy a detektívne klobúky.
— Detektívne klobúky? — spýtala sa Nina.
— Keď je prípad dlhý, klobúk sa unaví, — vysvetlil dedo Fero.
Max sa rozbehol ku dverám.
— Ahojte! Dedo, ďakujem za vyšetrovanie. Nina, ďakujem za to, že si si všimla dinosaura.
— Nemáš za čo, — povedala Nina. — A nabudúce skús ponožky nepoužívať ako stavebný materiál.
Max sa ešte otočil.
— Ale dinosaurus tú čiapku stále potrebuje.
— Najprv škola, — povedala Nina.
Dvere sa za Maxom zatvorili. V byte zostalo ticho, také ranné a trochu ponožkové.
Dedo Fero si odkašľal.
— Pre istotu ešte raz skontrolujem miesto činu.
Nina ho nasledovala do kúpeľne. Dedo Fero nazrel do koša na bielizeň. Chvíľu sa prehrabával v prádle a potom pomaly vytiahol ďalšiu ponožku.
Bola osamelá.
A bola ľavá.
Dedo Fero si ju podržal pred očami ako najdôležitejší dôkaz na svete. Jeho sivé fúzy sa zachveli.
— Nina, — povedal tichým dramatickým hlasom, — konkrétna záhada je vyriešená. Ale prípad pravých ponožiek sa ešte len začína.
Nina sa pozrela na ponožku, potom na deda Fera.
— Alebo sa niekto v tomto byte potrebuje naučiť triediť bielizeň.
Dedo Fero si nasadil klobúk o kúsok nižšie.
— Aj to je možné. A práve preto to musíme vyšetriť veľmi, veľmi dôkladne.
Max and the Sock Detective, part 1: The Mystery of the Right Sock
In the morning, Max felt that his alarm clock had not rung. It had exploded.
He jumped out of bed. His messy blond hair stuck out in every direction. He pulled on his red T-shirt with the small rocket so fast that, for a moment, the rocket was on his back. Then he turned the shirt the right way round and ran to the bathroom.
‘I have time, I have time, I really have time,’ he mumbled.
From the hall came Nina’s calm voice.
‘When someone says they have time three times in a row, they usually do not have time.’
Max decided not to hear that. He opened a drawer in the bathroom, pulled out a left sock with green stripes, and put it on his foot. Then he reached for the right one.
Nothing.
He reached deeper.
Still nothing.
He looked under a towel. Then behind the sink. Then behind the laundry basket. He found a hair clip, a blue building block, and a candy wrapper that, in his opinion, was surely from ancient times. But he did not find the right sock.
‘That is not possible,’ said Max. ‘Socks live in pairs.’
Nina looked into the bathroom. She had dark hair in a ponytail, a purple hoodie, and the face of a person who had already seen many of Max’s morning surprises.
‘Maybe some pairs have arguments,’ she said. ‘Your left sock looks very lonely.’
Max opened another drawer and pulled out a yellow sock with blue dots.
‘Solved. I will wear one green sock and one yellow sock.’
Nina looked at his feet.
‘Excellent. Today your feet will look like two different traffic signs.’
‘People will not notice.’
‘Max, last week your teacher noticed when you had a bread roll in your pencil case instead of an eraser.’
Max sighed. Just then, the doorbell rang.
‘That will be Grandpa Frank,’ said Nina.
A moment later, Grandpa Frank appeared in the bathroom doorway. He wore a detective hat, a beige vest, round glasses, and a grey moustache. In his hand he held a huge magnifying glass. He looked as if he had come to solve the mystery of a royal treasure, not to drink tea.
‘Good morning, family,’ he said in a grand voice. ‘I only came for a short visit, but I can feel a case in the air.’
Max pointed at his foot with only one sock on it.
‘My right sock is gone. But I have to go to school. I will take another one.’
Grandpa Frank froze. Then he slowly lifted his magnifying glass.
‘A right sock? Gone without saying goodbye?’
‘Maybe it turned into steam,’ said Max.
‘Young man,’ said Grandpa Frank seriously, ‘no sock turns into steam without a reason. Especially not a right one.’
Nina folded her arms.
‘This is going to be a difficult morning.’
Grandpa Frank stepped into the bathroom and looked at the tiles as if he was reading a secret message.
‘I declare this bathroom a crime scene. Nobody touch anything!’
Max was holding his toothbrush.
‘Not even my teeth?’
Grandpa Frank thought for a moment.
‘Teeth are an exception. Hygiene has an alibi.’
The investigation began at the laundry basket. Grandpa Frank knelt down and held the magnifying glass so close to the clothes that he almost made his own nose bigger.
‘The laundry basket,’ he whispered. ‘A dark cave of cotton.’
‘It is just a basket,’ said Nina.
‘Every cave starts as a basket if nobody looks into it seriously enough.’
Grandpa Frank carefully pulled out a lonely left sock. It was grey and looked the way socks look: not any way at all.
‘Another left sock,’ said Grandpa Frank. ‘Interesting.’
Then he pulled out pajama trousers, a T-shirt, and a school notebook.
Nina raised her eyebrows.
‘Max, why is your science notebook in the laundry basket?’
Max thought about it.
‘Maybe it wanted to be washed. It had a yogurt stain.’
‘Notebooks do not go in the wash,’ said Nina.
‘I thought so too, so maybe I only put it there for a little while.’
‘For a little while since last night?’
Max looked at the ceiling.
‘Time is a very difficult thing.’
Grandpa Frank wrote in his small notebook: notebook in basket, strangely educated. Then he turned to Max.
‘What happened last night?’
‘Nothing special. I was looking for a pencil. Then I was looking for a ruler. Then I forgot that I was looking for the pencil, and I found a small plastic helmet for a dinosaur. But it was too small for him.’
Nina nodded.
‘And while doing that, he moved around half the bathroom.’
‘Not half,’ said Max. ‘Maybe one third. A big third.’
But the right sock was still nowhere.
The three of them moved into the hall. Max hopped on his one green sock. In his other hand he held the yellow sock, just in case. Grandpa Frank stopped beside Max’s slippers.
‘Hmm. Slippers.’
‘What about them?’ asked Max.
‘They are standing too quietly. That is always suspicious.’
Nina sighed, but she was smiling.
Grandpa Frank lifted one slipper with his magnifying glass, as if it might bite. Inside there was only a small ball of dust.
‘The dust has an alibi,’ he announced. ‘It has been here a long time.’
Then he saw a rolled-up towel on the bench.
‘Stop! A sock burrito!’
Max’s eyes lit up.
‘That sounds tasty.’
‘A sock burrito is not for eating,’ said Nina. ‘I hope.’
She unrolled the towel. A hair tie and a small plastic block fell out.
‘My block!’ cried Max. ‘I was looking for that last Friday.’
‘See?’ said Nina. ‘Your things do not get lost. They only travel without a map.’
Max thought for a moment and looked toward the window.
‘Maybe aliens took the sock. It has green stripes. Maybe they thought it was a signal.’
Nina answered calmly.
‘Aliens would surely take the pair. They would not fly through space with one right sock.’
Grandpa Frank looked even more serious.
‘We rule out aliens. For now.’
Max looked at the clock.
‘I really have to go to school.’
‘First, your room,’ said Nina.
Max went pale.
‘My room? The sock is definitely not there.’
‘That is exactly why it will be there,’ said Nina.
Max’s room was cheerful and cozy, but it also looked as if school supplies, toys, and building blocks had held a meeting there during the night. Books, notebooks, blocks, a toy car with one wheel missing, and a paper spaceship lay on the floor. On the bed sat a stuffed dinosaur with a little pillow.
Grandpa Frank stopped in the middle of the room.
‘This is not a room. This is a map of a sock maze.’
‘I know exactly where my things are,’ said Max.
He took one step and stepped on a pencil. It rolled under the chair.
‘Oh, the pencil! I was looking for that yesterday.’
Nina looked at Grandpa Frank.
‘The case of the pencil has been solved by accidental stepping.’
Grandpa Frank wrote another note.
‘A painful but effective method. Not recommended.’
Nina did not walk around the room like a detective. She walked around like someone who knew that the answer was often not in the biggest pile, but next to it. She noticed an open drawer. Then a bathrobe hanging over a chair. Then the stuffed dinosaur.
‘Max,’ she said slowly, ‘why does your dinosaur have a pillow?’
‘Because he is sleeping,’ said Max.
‘And why does he not have a hat? Yesterday you said a dinosaur cannot sleep with a bare head because his thoughts might catch a cold.’
Max opened his mouth. Then he closed it. Then he rubbed his forehead.
‘Wait. I wanted to make him a sleeping hat.’
Grandpa Frank lifted one finger dramatically.
‘The motive is found! Protection of the dinosaur head.’
‘I was looking for something soft,’ Max went on. ‘Something green. Because the dinosaur likes green.’
Nina pointed to the bathrobe on the chair.
‘And maybe you put something there?’
Max went to the bathrobe. It was soft and blue, with big pockets. Max put his hand into the right pocket. He searched inside for a moment.
His face changed from worried, to surprised, to victorious.
‘I have it!’
He pulled out the right sock with green stripes. It was clean, a little wrinkled, and completely innocent.
Grandpa Frank put his hand on his heart.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, the sock was not taken by aliens. It did not turn into steam. It was not eaten by a slipper. It was staying in the pocket of a bathrobe.’
Nina smiled.
‘And who put it there?’
Max looked at the sock.
‘I did. Last night I told myself I would find it in the morning and finish the dinosaur’s hat. But then I forgot that I had told myself that.’
‘That happens,’ said Grandpa Frank kindly. ‘Especially to people who keep a notebook in the bathroom laundry basket.’
Max laughed and quickly pulled on the right sock. The green stripes were together again. The left and right socks looked happy, if socks can look happy.
‘I still have two minutes!’ cried Max.
He began to tidy up quickly, but carefully. He put the pencil into his pencil case. He took the science notebook out of the laundry basket and put it into his school bag. He hung the bathrobe on a hook. He put the yellow sock back in the drawer.
Nina leaned against the door frame.
‘This is your fastest tidying in history so far.’
Max put his bag over his shoulder.
‘If I put my things away properly in the evening, I do not have to investigate my own pocket in the morning.’
Grandpa Frank nodded with satisfaction.
‘An excellent conclusion. Order saves time, nerves, and detective hats.’
‘Detective hats?’ asked Nina.
‘When a case is long, the hat gets tired,’ explained Grandpa Frank.
Max ran to the door.
‘Bye! Grandpa, thank you for the investigation. Nina, thank you for noticing the dinosaur.’
‘You are welcome,’ said Nina. ‘And next time, try not to use socks as building material.’
Max turned back once more.
‘But the dinosaur still needs that hat.’
‘School first,’ said Nina.
The door closed behind Max. The flat became quiet, in a morning sort of way, and a little sock-like.
Grandpa Frank cleared his throat.
‘Just to be safe, I will check the crime scene once more.’
Nina followed him into the bathroom. Grandpa Frank looked into the laundry basket. He searched through the clothes for a moment, then slowly pulled out another sock.
It was lonely.
And it was left.
Grandpa Frank held it in front of his eyes like the most important clue in the world. His grey moustache trembled.
‘Nina,’ he said in a quiet, dramatic voice, ‘this exact mystery is solved. But the case of the right socks is only beginning.’
Nina looked at the sock, then at Grandpa Frank.
‘Or someone in this flat needs to learn how to sort laundry.’
Grandpa Frank pulled his hat a little lower.
‘That is possible too. And that is why we must investigate very, very carefully.’