Choose your own adventure: the disappearance of Ronald McDonald

You walk into school one morning to find a crowd gathered in the journalism classroom, and you head over to find out what the commotion is about. Turns out, to everyone’s surprise and horror, West Side Story’s beloved mascot, Ronald McDonald, has gone missing! Was it a kidnapping? Did he run away? Nobody knows. Sara Whittaker, the journalism advisor, is in shambles and, for whatever reason, enlists your help in recovering Ronald before it’s too late. Do you have what it takes?

Choose your own adventure: The disappearance of Ronald McDonald

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5 Total Questions

Question 1/5

There’s no Sherlock without his Watson. There’s too much riding on this case for you to fly solo. You’ll need to recruit some help. Looking around the crowd, a select few faces show potential for a successful investigation team. But, more importantly, who are you picking as your second-in-command?

Kamakshee Kuchal, lead copy editor for print. Always reliable, she’ll definitely know the ins and outs of the newsroom.

Vera Tanas, copy editor for web. She has a keen eye for picking up even the smallest grammar mistakes. That’ll certainly be handy when looking for clues.

Ethan Tisdale, intern. Still wet behind the ears but full of spunk. You know you’ll be able to rely on him when things get sticky.

Muhammed Cikmaz, tech editor. He’s your man behind the screen. The perfect backup, he’ll be there for any tools you’ll need.

Question 2/5

First things first: clues! You and your ragtag team of detectives start to investigate the crime scene to find any trace of Ronald and his possible whereabouts. Back in the newsroom, you get a good look at the chalk outline provided by Airi Thompson, assistant news editor and artist for web, to show where Ronald was last standing: in the corner, where he could watch over us all like a holy deity. Only WSS staff are allowed in the newsroom, so one of them is likely the culprit. Whoever’s behind this cleaned their tracks pretty nicely, but there’s still some evidence they left behind! Which lead are you looking into first?

Thinking the culprit might’ve tossed some evidence in the recycling bin, Kamakshee dug through the discarded pile when she came across a crumpled-up piece of paper. Smoothing it out, she discovers it’s a sketch drawing of Ronald! With his eyes scratched out! Who would do this?

Dropping her magnifying glass, Vera went to pick it up when she spotted large footprints on the floor that looked to match Ronald’s! They seem to be heading in the direction of the library?

Ethan was questioning witnesses when Erinn Varga, design and opinion editor for print, told him that on the morning of Ronald’s disappearance, she was one of the first people on the scene. She could vaguely remember the faint scent of perfume in the air. Curious…

While getting some missing posters printed, Muhammed noticed in the photo that Ronald was wearing a pair of glasses on his head. Ronald doesn’t need glasses! Who could they belong to?

Question 3/5

When solving any problem, one must start at the very beginning. Why would anyone want Ronald McDonald to disappear? You’ll have to trace back to Ronald’s last few days. People give their witness statements detailing what Ronald’s been up to lately. At what point could he have picked up any enemies?

According to Anna Greenlee, graphics editor for web, Ronald’s TikTok account has been taking off lately, and he’s become quite the fashion icon. Could there be someone who doesn’t like sharing the spotlight?

Eleanor Weitz, managing editor for web, mentioned that a couple of days before the disappearance, she was passing by the newsroom on her way to class when she heard shouting coming from inside. From what she could understand, it seemed Ronald was arguing with someone about… revenge? Was this their payback?

From what Joe Corlette, podcast editor for web, remembers, Ronald hadn’t been acting like his usual cheerful mascot self lately. Always sulking around the newsroom and bringing the mood down… did someone finally have enough of his attitude and snap?

Carter Birch Houchins-Witt, reporter for print, distinctly recalled Ronald talking about picking up a new hobby and had been very enthusiastic until one day he stopped bringing it up. Did someone say something to him?

Question 4/5

You go through the clues one by one, all of them eventually leading to different suspects. You managed to trace the drawing back to web artist Yeju Seol, whose notebook paper matched the sketch. The library’s check-in records revealed that intern Neema Ash, was the last person from staff to stop by, just the day before. Other people who recalled the scent of perfume recognized it as web entertainment editor Jules Keranen’s signature scent. You also remembered that Josie Schwartz, web reporter, just happened to lose their glasses around the same time the photo of Ronald was taken. They all give their excuses, but whose story just seems a little too suspicious to be true?

Yeju claims that the sketch was just a rough draft she was making of Ronald to give to him on his birthday, which she threw away after getting frustrated with not being able to get the eyes right. Strange, considering Ronald’s birthday was in September…

Neema insists she was only dropping by the library because Ronald had asked her to check out a book for him as a favor for a friend since he’s stuck in the newsroom room all day. But everybody knows Ronald McDonald is illiterate!

Jules explained that they had stopped by the newsroom early that morning before everyone else arrived because they and Ronald had planned a quick makeup sesh before school. But when asked about Ronald’s favorite shade of lipstick, they couldn’t give an answer. (It’s fire-engine red, obviously)

Josie swore that she only lent her glasses to Ronald because he was going to a costume party dressed as Edna Mode from The Incredibles and forgot to get them back from him. But other witnesses claim that Ronald went to the costume party as a Barbie cowboy!

Question 5/5

It’s time to start narrowing down the suspects. And the surefire way to do that is by checking their alibis. Where were these people at the time of the crime? Do they hold up?

Jules was most likely the last one to see Ronald because of their makeup session in the morning. But eyewitness accounts spotted Jules leaving the classroom well before first period. Could they have somehow sneaked back without anyone noticing? They do have first period free…

The day of Ronald’s disappearance, Josie was marked as an unexcused tardy for her first-period class. Nobody knows what she was doing before then. Was it to take Ronald to a hidden, secondary location? According to her friends, she made it to school at the same time she does every day. Would that give her enough time to commit the crime?

Yeju carpools to school every morning which means there are people who can account for what time she got to school. This gives her only a small window where she could’ve kidnapped Ronald. Still, she was one of the first among the crowd of people who gathered after finding Ronald gone, and her first period is all the way at the other end of the school. So what was she doing near the newsroom?

Neema was at school early that morning making up an English test she had missed. That places her near the scene of the crime. Is it possible for her to finish up her test in time for her to be the culprit? English is her best subject.