On Tuesday morning, NDCL Principal Jodie Ricci appeared on NDCL Live with a shocking announcement: Tuffy the Lion has disappeared without a trace. The announcement induced many emotions throughout the entire NDCL community, ranging from anxiety to anger to tears.
Before his disappearance, Tuffy was reportedly causing a ruckus across the school’s campus. According to students and faculty members, the lion was acting unmanageable. Staff from THE MANE captured some of these shenanigans on camera. Most notably, photographs reveal Tuffy’s disruption of Mr. Lumpkins’ math classes, his swooning over the football senior banners, his fraternizing with the trash cans around campus, and his terrorizing innocent students. It is safe to say the lion went feral–but only a day later, he was reported missing. Why did this normally affable cad of cartoon lion suddenly become unnerved? Who was pulling Tuffy’s strings and making him unhinged? What was at the heart of this debacle?
Where is Tuffy?
An official statement from the NDCL Police Department announced in a press release on Wednesday morning that CCTV footage depicting our beloved Tuffy being violently grabbed and thrown into a navy blue transit van had been uncovered and is being shared here. The cat-napping occurred near the pavilion by the junior parking lot in broad daylight. We at THE MANE had the privilege of viewing this footage, and here is what we have learned:
One of the suspects, the van’s driver, was seen wearing a black Under Armour hoodie with “NDCL Lions” printed across the front. The second suspect wore his NDCL uniform, which consisted of khakis, a navy blue windbreaker with white accents, and Nike Panda Dunks. The final suspect was also wearing his NDCL uniform attire. He was spotted in khakis, a black crewneck, and white low-top shoes resembling Nike Blazers. Could it have been NDCL students who kidnapped the mascot? Or were staff members posing as students?
While the identity of the three masked assailants remains unknown, shockingly, officials say their suspect field is wide open, unable to narrow down culprits as faculty or staff of NDCL.
Who could have done this? What were their motivations? Where is our beloved Tuffy?
On Wednesday morning, THE MANE’s Instagram account uploaded a photo of Tuffy’s missing poster found on a milk carton to expand the search for Tuffy. Suspiciously enough, Sr. Michelle Kelly was observed to leave a comment on the post saying, “I didn’t do it!” Could Sr. Michelle possibly be responsible for Tuffy’s catnapping?
Officials from the NDCL Police Department say Tuffy’s disappearance is under investigation. THE MANE did notice a single crushed NDCL wrestling headgear under the vehicle at the crime scene. What does this mean? Was it there previously? Readers, we are on the trail of the missing messed up mascot – do not fear!
If you have any information regarding Tuffy and his whereabouts or any information regarding the possible identities of his assailants, please do not hesitate to contact Principal Ricci or THE MANE.
More details to come – readers stay tuned.
