Richie stood beneath a window outside the Auditorium. He was too short to see exactly what was happening inside.
But he could hear the voices within.
One minute after he gave the command, everyone in the Auditorium woke up at once.
They whispered among themselves, unsure what had just happened.
Even the teachers and school administrators looked utterly bewildered.
They asked around and looked about, but not a single person knew what had happened.
Why did it seem as though they had all fallen asleep together, then suddenly woken up?
The administrators first asked the teachers and students to check their belongings and see whether anyone was missing.
Every class quickly finished its checks, as did the teachers and administrators.
During that stretch of time they knew nothing about, no one had gone missing, and nothing had been lost.
A deathly silence fell over the Auditorium.
To reassure the students present and prevent any damaging rumors from spreading, the administrators took action.
Eden Academy's leadership immediately decided that no one was allowed to mention what had happened today.
The speech prepared by the administrator presenting the awards, Richie's school records, and everything else concerning Richie-
all of it had been erased with their help while Richie hypnotized the students and teachers.
No one noticed anything wrong except Anya and Si Ang.
Anya and Si Ang were surprised that their class hadn't included Richie in its count.
Si Ang didn't know what had happened. Thinking Richie had gone missing, he ran outside to look for him.
The awards ceremony continued. The inattentive Anya failed to notice that a few more first graders had received Stellas.
She was still basking in her pride. I have a big brother who earned eight Stellas!
Si Ang found Richie outside one of the Auditorium's windows.