The Tale of the Missing Whale

Some students at Le Lycée Français never even knew the whale painting… 

In 2022, the AP art class was requested to make a huge project of a whale in support of Earth Day. With the use of a huge illustration board and acrylic paint, we made a beautiful and highly detailed whale surrounded by an ocean of recycled plastic. It was hung on the second floor next to the cafeteria and pieces of papers were provided for people to write wishes expressing a better future for the environment next to it. Hanging near the whale, there were numbers and statistics recording the waste and pollution in the ocean. However, the most significant aspect of the whale was the detail and love poured into its making. Although the main contributors of the whale were another student and me, everyone participated, either by creating smaller turtles around the whale or by painting its body shades of blue. To varying degrees, everyone in AP Art contributed time to this painting. 

To our dismay, the whale did not stay displayed for long…

Mrs. Trang: “The whale is gone!!” 

Zofia: “What?? Who took it?”

Mrs. Trang: “Where did it go? Nobody knows….” 

The answer was never given to the students. Those who put their time and effort into creating such a beautiful creature were left clueless. 

So… we must ask ourselves: who took the whale from the wall? 

Despite Mrs. Trang’s continued investigations throughout the years, the mystery still stands. Still, some theories can be forged in these dark times. 

CULPRIT #1: The people who do not want to save the planet.

Since the whale was originally created as a way to celebrate Earth Day and bring awareness to the harmful actions that humans have on the environment, I have personally theorized that the culprit must have stolen the whale due to a personal vendetta against the environment. Perhaps they were so angry that the school was trying to discourage pollution that they threw our whale into the ocean! That would be truly nefarious– afterall, the person who stole the whale must have been nefarious. 

CULPRIT #2: Zofia

While asking others for their opinion on who could have possibly taken the whale, Abigail Stewart presented me with a new theory: I took it. Let’s look at the facts: I was the one who put the most effort and time into creating the whale, and I was very proud of the accomplishment. I would even bring people over to the whale to ask them to guess who made it. However, I did love having it displayed at the school and, as far as I’m aware, it is not at my house. For the sake of keeping this investigation as objective as possible, I will not disprove this theory fully. Thank you Abigail Stewart for the suspicion. 

CULPRIT #3: A ghost who took it as a blanket.

To be honest, this is my number one theory. 

Abigail was very passionate about figuring out who could’ve taken the whale, so she provided me with this theory as well: a ghost may have taken the whale to use as a blanket. Although it may seem outlandish to some, it was rather cold when the whale was taken. Furthermore, there are lots of ghosts who are, in fact, invisible. For them to be seen, they need a blanket to cover them, illustrated by the cover of Phoebe Bridgers’ album “The Stranger in the Alps”. Perhaps, the thieving ghost was lonely and wanted to be seen. However, maybe once he realized that the whale was not an ordinary blanket, but instead a piece of art, he went into hiding. This theory could be plausible since no one saw the culprit. Further investigation is needed, but this still stands as a strong theory. Thank you again, Abigail. 

CULPRIT #4: The elves in the walls.

When I asked my sister Anna, she theorized that maybe the elves in the walls took the whale.This could be a possibility, especially since the whale was hung up in one piece. If multiple small elves were the ones who stole the whale, they could have easily worked together to carefully peel off the large amount of duct tape holding the whale up to the wall. Plus, if they were hiding in the walls of our school, they easily could have stolen the whale during the night when no one was around. The only thing that could lead this theory to be improbable is that we are not sure of the existence of the elves. 

CULPRIT #5: Pinocchio. 

We all know the story of Pinocchio. In the movie Pinocchio, Pinocchio managed to escape from the belly of a whale after being swallowed. Even though he managed to escape, he must have been shaken by the encounter. Maybe he was traumatized, maybe he was scared, but maybe… just maybe... he was mad about it. Perhaps, Pinocchio took revenge on the whale by stealing our lovely painting of one outside of the cafeteria and swallowing it! 

Thank you to everyone who provided theories. I hope this investigation will bear fruit in the near future.

Although our whale may be lost forever, there is a fact that needs to be brought up…. We’re making a new one!

Despite the tragedy of the first whale, the AP Art class this year has decided to bring back the whale for Career Day because appreciating the Earth is its theme this year. Moreover, there is an environmental speaker coming this year, so a new whale will serve as a nice welcome. 

Since we do not have the same kind of illustration boards as before, the class decided to make this new piece entirely out of recycled material. The only material that is not recyclable in this piece is the paint. As a memento to its lost brother, the new whale is held in the same place as the old one: right next to the cafeteria. 

Hopefully, with the arrival of the new whale, the person who hates the environment, Zofia, the ghost, the elves, or Pinocchio might decide to return the original one. If the culprit is reading this article right now, I beseech you to not steal the whale this time around. Thank you.

Photo by Mrs. Trang, 2024.