The Mug That Changed Desks

Ilan had a blue mug. He loved it. It was big, and it was his.

Every evening, he left the mug on his desk. Every morning, it was gone. He looked under the desk. He looked in his bag. It was not there.

On Monday, the mug sat on Jolene's desk. She did not touch it. On Tuesday, it sat by the printer. On Wednesday, it stood on a shelf in the hall.

"This is strange," Ilan said. "Who takes my mug?"

Jolene sat at the next desk. She looked at him and laughed.

"Maybe the mug walks," she said.

"A mug does not walk," Ilan said. "Someone moves it."

"Then let us find the person," Jolene said. "I can help you. We need clues."

On Thursday, Ilan came to work early. The mug stood on the desk of a tall man. Ilan said nothing. He picked it up and looked at it.

"Look at this," he said. "The mug is clean."

Jolene came closer. She touched the mug. It was dry, too.

"Nobody here washes mugs at night," she said. "The kitchen is closed."

"That is clue number one," Ilan said.

He turned the mug over. A small white sticker was under it. It said "14."

"What is fourteen?" Jolene asked.

"I do not know," Ilan said. "That is clue number two."

He put the mug on his desk again. Then he took a photo of the sticker.

At lunch, they walked to the supply room. A cart stood by the door. It had soap, cloths, and a big bag. A paper hung on the cart.

Jolene read the paper. "It is a map of the office," she said. "Look. It has numbers on every desk."

Ilan looked at the map. Desk fourteen was by the printer. He looked again.

"This map is old," he said. "The desks are not there now."

"That is clue number three," Jolene said.

A woman came out of the room. She was Leona, the night cleaner. She had a kind face and a small bucket.

"Hello," she said. "Can I help you?"

"Do you wash a blue mug at night?" Ilan asked.

Leona smiled. "Yes, I do. It was on the floor one night. I washed it."

"But why does it change desks?" Jolene asked.

"The sticker says fourteen," Leona said. "My map says desk fourteen is by the printer. I put it there. Next day, it is in a new place. So I try a new number."

Ilan looked at the sticker. Then he began to laugh.

"The first owner of this mug sat at desk fourteen. He left years ago."

"And the map is years old," Jolene said.

Leona took the map from the cart. She looked at it for a long time.

"Oh no," she said. "I read this map every night. I am sorry."

"Please do not be sorry," Ilan said. "You wash my mug. That is very kind."

That evening, Ilan took a pen. He wrote his name on a new sticker. He put it over the old number.

Jolene printed a new map of the office. She gave it to Leona.

Next morning, Ilan came to work. The blue mug sat on his desk. It was clean and dry.

"Well," Jolene said. "The mug stays home."

Ilan picked it up and smiled. "Now I need coffee," he said. He went to the kitchen.