Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Smash smash (n) something that is wildly popular, an unqualified success, a blockbuster Jessie was the first to come in from morning recess, because Mrs. Overton had said she could return to the classroom five minutes early to work on her newspaper. If it were up to Jessie, she would skip recess every day. It was just a waste of time. She'd rather spend the time reading a book or working on a project. Running around outside! Ridiculous! And speaking of ridiculous, Mrs. Overton had given them a new assignment: each one of them had to write a poem about something or someone they loved. A love poem! Fourth grade was definitely taking a turn for the worse.

Jessie sat down at her desk and pulled out her reporter's notebook. It was the same kind of notebook her father used: long and thin, spiral-bound, hard-covered, with light blue lines running across each narrow page. She liked using the same notebook he did—liked to think of both of them scribbling notes, writing articles, and changing the world. It made her feel closer to him, even though she hadn't seen him in over a year and he was halfway around the world. Jessie moved her Valentine's shoebox to the corner of her desk, then tore out four pages from her reporter's notebook and spread them out. She picked up her pencil and wrote a list of the articles that would appear on each page.

Pages two and three were easy to fill because they contained the newspaper's regular features: the recap of the month's weather using all the data that 4-O collected from the weather station mounted on the roof of the gym; a comic strip about an alien, written and illustrated by Christopher Bay; a few sports articles written by different kids in the class who were on various town teams; and Megan's latest installment of her advice column, "A Friend in 4-O," the most popular feature in the newspaper. Dear Friend in 4-O, Someone in my desk group keeps kicking my chair. I've asked him to stop about a million times, but he still does it. What is his problem???? Signed, Tired of Being Kicked

Dear Friend in 4-O, My mom packs snacks I hate. No one will trade with me, these snacks are so bad. I'm always hungry until lunch. Signed, Starving and Sad Dear Friend in 4-O, I don't get fractions! Seriously! No matter how many times Mrs. Overton explains them, I just don't get them. Help me!!!! Signed, The #1 Enemy of Fractions But Jessie still had no idea what her front-page story would be. And her dad had taught her that the front-page story was the most important part of the whole newspaper. She needed something that would really grab her readers' attention. Something shocking. Something huge. She was determined to make this edition of The 4-O

Forum a smash, and to do that she needed a prizewinning front-page story. Jessie knew she had to do some investigative reporting, which is when a reporter uncovers facts that no one else knows and publishes them so the world will be a better place. Jessie's dad had been an investigative reporter before he went back to being a war correspondent. Right now, he was in Afghanistan, but when Jessie was a baby, he had written articles about a big chemical company that was causing pollution and a state senator who was taking bribes. He'd won an important prize for writing the story about the senator, but he'd made a lot of people angry, too. Sometimes Jessie thought that was why he left. Couldn't I investigate something? she wondered. Uncover a secret, just like Dad? Too bad her friend Maxwell wasn't here. He was the best spy she'd ever met, not to mention an accomplished thief. If Maxwell were here, they

would definitely find something to uncover. I need a secret, thought Jessie. And a good one! She didn't want her front-page story to be a flop—like the last time. In the last issue of The 4-O Forum, Jessie had interviewed the school principal, Mrs. Fletcher. Scott Spencer had said it was the most boring article he had ever not read. He pretended to fall asleep with the paper open in front of him. Most of the boys had thrown the paper in the recycling bin without even looking at it, and some of the girls had used theirs to make origami bracelets. The only article anyone had even talked about was the advice column. It made Jessie angry to think about that. What could she investigate this time? Lots of ideas flashed in her brain: What was in Mrs. Overton's desk drawers? Were the cafeteria hot dogs really made of rubber? Why did the gym teacher leave in the middle of the school year? Who was responsible for the two fire alarms in