Secret of the School Suitor

by Jessica Anderson

  Secret of the

  SCHOOL SUITOR

  By J.L. Anderson

  Illustrated by David Ouro

  rourkeeducationalmedia.com

  © 2016 Rourke Educational Media

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

  www.rourkeeducationalmedia.com

  Edited by: Keli Sipperley

  Cover layout by: Renee Brady

  Interior layout by: Jen Thomas

  Cover and Interior Illustrations by: David Ouro

  Library of Congress PCN Data

  Secret of the School Suitor / J.L. Anderson

  (Rourke’s Mystery Chapter Books)

  ISBN (hard cover)(alk. paper) 978-1-63430-383-5

  ISBN (soft cover) 978-1-63430-483-2

  ISBN (e-Book) 978-1-63430-578-5

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2015933739

  Printed in the United States of America,

  North Mankato, Minnesota

  Dear Parents and Teachers:

  With twists and turns and red herrings, readers will enjoy the challenge of Rourke’s Mystery Chapter Books. This series set at Watson Elementary School builds a cast of characters that readers quickly feel connected to. Embedded in each mystery are experiences that readers encounter at home or school. Topics of friendship, family, and growing up are featured within each book.

  Mysteries open many doors for young readers and turn them into lifelong readers because they can’t wait to find out what happens next. Readers build comprehension strategies by searching out clues through close reading in order to solve the mystery.

  This genre spreads across many areas of study including history, science, and math. Exploring these topics through mysteries is a great way to engage readers in another area of interest. Reading mysteries relies on looking for patterns and decoding clues that help in learning math skills.

  Whether readers are reading the books independently or you are reading with them, engaging with them after they have read the book is still important. We’ve included several activities at the end of each book to make this both fun and educational.

  Do you think you and your reader have what it takes to be a detective? Can you solve the mystery? Will you accept the challenge?

  Rourke Educational Media

  Table of Contents

  The Bus Mishap

  Divya Decides to Help

  Busted!

  The Sneaky Spy

  McCool’s Mystery Solved?

  Divya to the Rescue

  Mystery Solved For Real?

  Divya Saves the Day

  The Bus Mishap

  The fog was thick enough that Divya’s socks felt damp and itchy against her ankle braces. She bent down to adjust her socks underneath the braces and watched as a whirl of orange-ish-yellow zoomed right past her. Oh no—that was her school bus! How could Bus Driver McCool miss picking her up?

  “Wait!” Divya called and chased after Bus 72. Running wasn’t easy with her weak ankle joints but walking to school all the way down North Drew Lane and then across Centerville Highway to get to Watson Elementary School was next to impossible. Just as Divya started to plan what she would do instead of going to school, Bus 72 slammed to a stop.

  Bus Driver McCool extended the stop sign and then swerved the oversized school bus in reverse. Divya thought he was going to bump into the curb, but he stopped in time.

  “Sorry!” he said as he cranked the doors open. He lowered his voice as he asked Divya, “You’re not going to tell Mrs. Holmes or Mr. Sleuth about this little mishap, are you?”

  Divya had been too shocked about Bus Driver McCool almost forgetting to pick her up and then driving so crazy that she hadn’t thought about telling Mrs. Holmes, the principal, or Mr. Sleuth, the school secretary.

  “I really am sorry,” Bus Driver McCool said. He sure did look upset the way his thick eyebrows frowned along with his whole thin face. In fact, the bus driver looked tired, and he reminded Divya of the way her father came home exhausted when he used to work at the hospital. Her dad still looked that way sometimes when he had to work overnight shifts at Centerville Nursing Home. Divya’s dad often took care of Bus Driver McCool’s mother there.

  This was the first time any sort of mishap of any kind had happened. Divya liked that Bus Driver McCool picked her up at a special stop over a block and a half from the real bus stop so she didn’t have to walk so far. He was always nice to everyone, even Klaude, who could be super annoying. Plus, Bus Driver McCool cranked out the best music on the radio. He knew how to carry a tune when he sang along with the songs.

  “It’s okay,” Divya said. She was about to make her way down the bus aisle to sit next to her friend Javier, but she spied a small piece of paper near her foot.

  Divya picked up the paper and almost threw it in the garbage bin near the driver’s seat, then she saw it was a receipt.

  A florist receipt with the name Fenton McCool on it to be exact, she noticed. Divya handed it to the bus driver.

  “Oh, thanks,” Bus Driver McCool said, shoving the receipt into the pocket of his faded jeans that had large rips in the knees. Did he just turn red? Divya thought to herself.

  Javier’s sketchbook sat on his lap when Divya took her spot next to him—only he wasn’t drawing dragons or space cats like he usually does. He stretched his neck from side to side and gave it a quick rub.

  “You okay?” Divya asked.

  “I never knew a bus could stop that fast,” Javier said. “I heard Bus Driver McCool used to be a race car driver but I never believed it until now.”

  “I heard he ran over some kid’s bike at his old driving job and then got fired,” Klaude said.

  Divya shot Klaude her most stern look for listening in on her private conversation with Javier. It was nowhere near as stern as the look Mrs. Holmes gave to the students at Watson Elementary when they were out of line, but Divya was practicing. The look must’ve worked because Klaude went back to fiddling with what looked like a wooden musical instrument.

  “Well I heard Bus Driver McCool applied for a job as a security officer where my mom works,” a girl named Queeneka whispered to her group of friends. “He could use some extra money to buy himself some nicer clothes. That’s the second time he wore that bright green shirt this week.” Queeneka was really into fashion.

  Divya hadn’t noticed the green shirt before.

  Was Bus Driver McCool looking for a new job, or was he going to work a second job?

  As Bus Driver McCool drove the remaining route to school, Javier drew a silly looking cat peeking out of a rocket ship. Divya got lost in thought about the receipt and how strange Bus Driver McCool was acting. Then something even stranger happened.

  Divya Decides to Help

  “Hold on tight!” Bus Driver McCool cried out. He revved the bus engine. Divya looked up just in time to see that the bus driver nearly ran a red light. Some small car honked as the school bus roared by. Maybe their bus driver really had been a race car driver!

  “I’m calling my lawyer,” Klaude said once Bus Driver McCool slowed down. Several kids on the bus laughed.

  Leave it to Klaude to make a joke. Divya didn’t want to think about Bus Driver McCool getting in serious trouble. All year long and all last year, Bus Diver McCool had been the best bus driver ever. Something was up. Divya was determined to figure it out.

  “See you in a few minutes,” Divya said to Javier. She took her time getting off the bus so she would have a chance to talk to
Bus Driver McCool without nosy people like Klaude listening in.

  Divya was surprised to see a black suit hanging behind the bus driver’s seat. She hadn’t noticed it when she boarded the bus, but then again, she was too caught off guard. Not to mention finding the bizarre receipt. Queeneka hadn’t noticed the suit either or else she wouldn’t have made that comment about his clothes.

  Bus Driver McCool wasn’t the type to get dressed up. The fanciest thing Divya ever saw Bus Driver McCool wear was a button down shirt when he attended Back to School Night with Coach Shorts. Though there were lots of rumors about the bus driver, everyone at Watson knew for a fact that Bus Driver McCool was crazy about Coach Shorts.

  Just as Bus Driver McCool started to apologize to Divya again, she cut him off. “Is everything okay?”

  His shoulders sagged. “I, well, I have big plans and there is a lot going on right now.”

  Like that could count as a real explanation! Divya waited for him to say more but then he added, “Thanks for your concern but I shouldn’t say anything to anyone else. Things are complicated enough. I need to take care of a few things on campus so you’ll have to excuse me.”

  Divya must have looked upset because Bus Driver McCool smiled at her as he helped her down the bus stairs. “Thanks for being such a nice kid.”

  “Thanks for being such a nice bus driver,” she said.

  Bus Driver McCool laughed. “I’m not a perfect one, that’s for sure!”

  Bus Driver McCool left the bus parked in the front of the school with the flashers on. Divya didn’t know much about driving a bus, but she did know that the bus probably should’ve been parked in a different spot.

  Javier stood waiting for Divya near the sidewalk, ready to walk to morning assembly together. “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Something’s up with Bus Driver McCool,” she said.

  “No joke,” Javier said. “Maybe his mom’s sick and he’s worried about her.”

  Why hadn’t Divya thought of that sooner? Her dad hadn’t said anything about Mrs. McCool getting sick, but maybe the flowers were for her. Then another thought worried her. Maybe Bus Driver McCool found out that his mom didn’t have much longer to live and the suit was going to be for her funeral!

  Divya watched as Bus Driver McCool walked away. She was curious about the things he needed to take care of. “I want to help him,” she said.

  “I know, but how?” Javier asked.

  The other students had gone into the school, and morning assembly would start in a few minutes. “I’m going to follow him to see what I can find out. The more we know, the more we can help,” she said.

  “You could get into some serious trouble,” Javier said.

  Divya shrugged. “I almost missed a day of school this morning. I’m not too worried.” Other than staying home sick a few days when she came down with the flu, she hadn’t missed much school. Besides, teachers didn’t take attendance until after morning assembly. If she made it to class before then, she’d never get into any trouble.

  Divya should’ve reported to the cafeteria with Javier, but she tiptoed – or at least tried to tiptoe the best her ankles would allow – after Bus Driver McCool. He walked so fast that she could barely see him in the distance. Good thing he wore that grubby old lime green shirt so it was easy to keep track of him.

  “Don’t get caught, Divya,” Javier called out as he walked in the opposite direction.

  “Shh! I don’t plan to,” she said. “But don’t jinx me.”

  Busted!

  Bus Driver McCool climbed up the stairs swiftly. Divya had a hard time keeping up with him, but she kept an eye on that shirt.

  She suspected he was going to spend some time with Coach Shorts since they seemed to like to spend so much time together. Divya once saw them eating at the Burger Trough when she ate there with her dad not that long ago. Talk about weird! To see her bus driver and her coach together outside of school. They were even holding hands!

  Instead of walking down the long hallway to the gymnasium, Bus Driver McCool took a left to the brightly lit main office. What kind of business did the bus driver need to take care of in the school office?

  Divya dipped down low by a red brick wall near the open door.

  “I’m not sure if you saw the ‘no parking’ sign or not,” Mr. Sleuth said. “And in case you didn’t know, the sign means ‘no parking.’” The school secretary laughed at his own joke.

  From what Divya could see by the wall, Bus Driver McCool didn’t find the comment funny. “I don’t plan on staying here for very long. That’s what the flashers flashing on the bus means, in case you didn’t know.”

  He said something else but Divya couldn’t hear. Mr. Sleuth folded his gangly arms across his chest. “You have a bone to eat? You parked in a no parking zone to tell me that?”

  Bus Driver McCool spoke up much louder. “No! Not a bone to eat. I have a bone to pick with you!”

  The two of them went back and forth. Divya really wished she could hear what they were saying. She could only make out bits of the conversation, something about Mr. Sleuth was making things extra challenging.

  Divya inched forward to get a better listen, but then she stumbled and caught herself against the glass window of the office.

  Mr. Sleuth walked over to see what had happened.

  Busted!

  Divya had to think of an excuse for being there. Fast!

  “Is there something I can help you with, Divya, or are you just testing gravity in the office?” Mr. Sleuth asked.

  Divya laughed like his joke was a lot funnier than it actually was and then she tried to think of something clever to say in return. “Duck! I thought I saw a duck coming for me,” she said.

  Mr. Sleuth chuckled. “I’ll have to remember that.”

  Bus Driver McCool looked at Divya with his eyebrows squished together in concern. He probably thought she had come to rat on him for his bad driving this morning! She wanted to explain that she was just here to help him, but she had to keep her mission to herself. That was the point of spying, after all.

  Divya needed to think quickly.

  “I’m here to see the nurse to get a bandage. I’m getting a blister,” she said, pointing at her ankle brace. Maybe Bus Driver McCool would remember the way she was fixing her sock when he nearly missed picking her up earlier. He’d think that she was telling the truth rather than trying to get him in trouble.

  Truth be told, a bandage would help keep the skin on her foot from getting more irritated.

  Mr. Sleuth pointed her in the direction of Nurse Strongman’s office as if she didn’t know where to go.

  Nurse Strongman had a bandage waiting for her the moment Divya stepped into her office. She was obviously listening in to the office happenings just like her.

  “What are those two talking about?” Divya dared to ask. She didn’t want to seem too interested in the situation or else Nurse Strongman would catch on that she was faking the blister.

  “Adult stuff,” Nurse Strongman said, as if it made all the sense in the world.

  Ugh. She wasn’t any closer to finding out answers.

  Divya was just going to take the bandage and leave, but she decided to put it on now in case she could overhear the rest of the conversation between Bus Driver McCool and Mr. Sleuth from the nurse’s office.

  “Please don’t ruin things,” she thought she overheard Bus Driver McCool say.

  “I’ll try. I know you have lots of things to worry about, but your priority needs to be on keeping the students safe. I heard through the grapevine that you gave the students an interesting ride this morning,” Mr. Sleuth said.

  How in the world did he have time to hear that? Mr. Sleuth seemed to know everything happening at the school all the time, but this seemed unusually fast. Klaude had a big mouth and Divya figured he’d been blabbing.

  Hopefully Bus Driver McCool wouldn’t blame Divya for word spreading around.

  “You’re going to miss th
e rest of morning assembly, young lady,” Nurse Strongman said, snapping Divya out of the moment.

  Before she left, Divya petted the stuffed school mascot that sat on Nurse Strongman’s desk for good luck. It was a while owl with a pair of thick rimmed glasses that looked like it had an important case to solve.

  Divya’s case certainly felt important and she needed all the good luck she could get.

  The Sneaky Spy

  Divya stepped up quickly as Bus Driver McCool left the office. “Thanks,” she said to Nurse Strongman and then thanked Mr. Sleuth. She made sure to limp even more so they would believe her about the blister. It didn’t take too much work thanks to all the running around she’d done this morning.

  When Divya left the office, she didn’t see the bright green shirt anywhere. Had Bus Driver McCool gone to move the bus and take it to wherever buses went after dropping off the kids? She backtracked on the campus, the same way she walked after getting off the bus.

  The custodian was cleaning something out in the front courtyard and waved at her. Divya waved back and tried not to look guilty. She pretended she lost a hair clip and then gave up once the custodian moved on.

  Divya didn’t see a trace of Bus Driver McCool. The bus was still parked in the no parking zone, the flashers still flashing.

  Mr. Sleuth wouldn’t be too happy about that. She hoped he wasn’t going to move the bus or call the cops to come give the bus driver a ticket. If the rumor about the bus driver running over a kid’s bike was true, maybe a ticket would be enough to get him fired.

  New rumors about the bus driver from this morning’s mishap were already starting to spread, thanks to Klaude, Queeneka, or really, whoever was on the bus.

  Divya decided to follow a hunch as to where she thought Bus Driver McCool might have gone. To see Coach Shorts, of course! If he wasn’t there, well then she had to give up her mission and get on with her school day.