Secret of the School Suitor
Read Secret of the School Suitor Online
Authors: Jessica Anderson,David Ouro
Secret of the
SCHOOL SUITOR
By J.L. Anderson
Illustrated by David Ouro
© 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
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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 noâthat 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 himâonly 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.
“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!