Page 1

Sarah Jones was a typical Fairview Elementary Student. She loved music. She loved P.E. She especially loved recess and lunch. Also, Sarah was like many other Fairview students in another way: She often left her lunchbox at school.

One late April afternoon, after the other students had already gone home, Sarah returned to school hoping to retrieve her lunchbox. She looked and looked but couldn't find it anywhere in the classroom.

"My mom is going to kill me!" Sarah cried.

Okay, think. Sarah, she said to herself. How can you fix the situation?

Sarah thought for a few minutes. Then, like magic, an idea came to her. "The lost and found!" she cried. Sarah rested her hopes upon the heap of jackets, clothes, and lunchboxes commonly referred to as "Wal-View." She ran back down the hall and toward the steps leading to the lost and found.

Page 2

As she was running, she noticed the elevator door was open. Sarah had never been in the elevator, but knew her teacher often used it instead of the stairs leading to the teacher's lounge or cafeteria. She knew riding the elevator could get her into trouble, but no one else was around. Sarah walked in and pressed the button labeled "GR."

Nothing happened.

She pressed the same button again. Still, nothing happened.

"What is wrong with you?" Sarah asked, as if the elevator would answer. Frustrated, Sarah pressed the button labeled "2," just see if anything would happen.

Finally, the doors shut.

Page 3

Once the elevator doors had closed, Sarah started moving in an upward direction. "No!" cried Sarah, "I want to go down!" Exasperated with the elevator, Sarah decided to take the stairs, once she could get off the elevator.

Looking up, Sarah noticed the lights that illuminated the elevator buttons were flashing on and off. Stranger still, was the fact that the school building was only two stories high, and she had been on the elevator for what felt like an eternity!

Sarah started to panic. "What's going on?"

Page 4

She was about to scream for help when the elevator stopped, and the doors opened to reveal a long, narrow, brick hallway. There was nowhere else to go but straight ahead.

Page 5

Sarah thought she heard music. She made her way down the brick hallway. "Hello?" she called out. No one answered. As she walked forward the sounds of happy music grew louder.

"Ms. Phillips?" called Sarah, but there was no music teacher to answer.

Page 6

She kept walking until she came to a junction. The hallway split in two directions, but the music seemed to be coming from the left. So Sarah decided to take the left hallway. As she continued down another windowless, narrow, brick hallway, the music became louder still.

Finally, Sarah found a clue. It was a sheet of paper discarded on the floor. It read: "New Teachers: The secret code is GR, GR, 2."

"Oh my gosh," squeaked Sarah. "I must have found a secret code to something."

Page 7

By this time, Sarah had all but forgotten about her missing lunchbox. Now she was so curious about the secret code that she couldn't help but continue. Sarah carefully crept through the hallway until she came to a corner. She rounded the corner and began to hear what she thought were voices; yet her walking had led her to a dead end. As she listened more intently, she could hear the sounds of people laughing and joking. She also heard what sounded like bells, whistles, and even video games. The sounds were coming from behind the brick wall! Sarah crouched down and found a crack in the bricks from which red light seemed to be pouring. She lowered her head and placed her eye in a position so she could see through the crack. Sarah couldn't believe her eyes!

How was Sarah similar to other students at Fairview?
1. She loved music
2. She often left her lunchbox at school
3. She often left her lunchbox at home
4. She played softball
On page 1, Sarah says,
" Okay, think. Sarah, she said to herself. How can you fix the situation?"
Someone who knows how to make bad situations better might be considered....
1. gregarious
2. resourceful
3. apathetic
4. indifferent
On page 3, Sarah becomes "exasperated" with the elevator. Which of the following words is closest in meaning to "exasperated"
1. curious
2. frustrated
3. bored
4. satisfied
Why does Sarah begin to panic on page 3?
1. She is not sure if she can get her lunchbox.
2. She thinks her mother will be angry.
3. She thinks she will get in trouble with the teachers.
4. There seems something very wrong with the elevator.
What word best describes Sarah after she found the clue in the hallway?
1. curious
2. scared
3. uncertain
4. bored
Which of the following is NOT true about Sarah?
1. She saw red light coming out of a crack in the wall.
2. When she came to the junction, she took the right hallway because that was where the music was coming from.
3. She found the secret code "gr, gr, 2."
4. She thought she heard people laughing and joking.
If the story ended on page 7, which of the following would be the best title for the story?
1. Don't ride elevators!
2. Sarah found a clue.
3. Brick Hallways
4. The Mystery of Fairview School
On page 7, Sarah finds herself at a "dead end." What is a dead end?
1. A place where people often die.
2. A place where there is a cemetery.
3. A place that does not end.
4. A place where there is no where else to go forward.
Which of the following happened second?
1. Sarah visited the lost and found.
2. Sarah decided to ride the elevator.
3. Sarah panicked.
4. Sarah found the clue in the hallway.
Based on the last words on page 7, which of the following would not make sense at the beginning of page 8?
1. There were a hundred teachers doing jumping jacks!
2. There was a secret pet store with fish, kittens, and puppies!
3. It sounded like a rock concert!
4. There was a giant shrine to Hannah Montana!