Those who sit in the courtyards at lunch may have noticed something different. One would need to look closely, but it was certainly there- well, more like it wasn’t.

The plastic head of one of the two courtyard owls, used to ward off intruding pigeons, suddenly went missing one day; it’s been a hot commodity around school ever since. What most people fail to realize is that it isn’t just a silly prank; it’s an elaborate conspiracy.

Mr. Robertson, Assistant Principal, and one of the main detractors of the owl head thieves, had his suspicions. “I think it was Mr. Sprecher, the Head Plant Operator,” he said.

Mr. Robertson believes that Mr. Sprecher did it as a practical joke; when confronted with the accusation, Mr. Sprecher gave a very different story. “I had it in my possession for a short time; about an hour,” he began. “But as I was about to put it back, it disappeared.”

There were some teachers that acted rather suspiciously when confronted. When Mr. “M” was approached by a fellow reporter after a picture was seen floating around school showing the owl in his room, he was keen to dodge the subject. “I know nothing about Owlgate,” said Mr.”M.” “You can quote me on that.”

A source who wished to be unnamed, only asking that we address him as someone who “has his finger on the pulse of this establishment”, has revealed a key piece of evidence: a ransom note, complete with a newspaper to prove the date. It is still unknown who sent this note to the anonymous source.

As of the time this article was written, the owl head was back home, with a catch; the head was placed on the owl backwards. Obviously, “Owlgate” is still very much in full swing, and the school will certainly be eager to see what happens next.