Hoopmann Kathy - Blue Bottle Mystery

More Asperger Adventures

Of Mice and Aliens

An Asperger Adventure

Kathy Hoopmann

ISBN 978 1 84310 007 2

Lisa and the Lacemaker

An Asperger Adventure

Kathy Hoopmann

ISBN 978 1 84310 071 3

By the same author

All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome

Kathy Hoopmann

ISBN 978 1 84310 481 0

Haze

Kathy Hoopmann

ISBN 978 1 84310 072 0

Blue Bottle Mystery

An Asperger Adventure

Kathy Hoopmann

Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia

First published in the United Kingdom in 2001
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
116 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JB, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.jkp.com

Copyright Kathy Hoopmann 2001

The right of Kathy Hoopmann to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owners written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Hoopman, Kathy, 1963

Blue bottle mystery : an Asperger adventure / Kathy Hoopman.

p. cm.

Summary: Ben finds an unusual old bottle buried in the school yard, and in roundabout way it helps Ben and his family find out what is causing some of the persistent problems he has both at home ans at school.

ISBN 1-85302-978-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

[1. Aspergers syndrome--Fiction. 2. Schools--Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.H7704.B1 2001

[fic]--dc2100-065500

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 85302 978 3

eISBN 978 1 84642 169 3

Contents

To Karl

Chapter 1

Miss Browning-Lever

B en, stop that!

Ben froze. Stop what? He was tilted back in his chair with the front legs off the floor. Slowly he leaned forward and let the legs touch down.

Across the room, Miss Browning-Lever still frowned. So that was not why she had yelled at him. He sat up straighter and stopped swinging his legs. No, wrong again. Miss Browning-Lever came towards him, angry, scowling. Why was she always hard to understand? Why was he always in trouble? He hated school!

Get your pen out of your mouth, Andy hissed. Andy was Bens best friend. They had been together since preschool. Five years was a long time to be mates.

Ben took the pen out just before Miss Browning-Lever got to his side. He flapped his hands nervously out of sight under the desk. He always flapped when he felt nervous, but Miss Browning-Lever didnt approve.

Ive told you a hundred times to keep that pen out of your mouth, Ben. If you swallow the lid, youll choke, she snapped.

Its not a pen, its a texta, Ben pointed out.

Are you trying to be smart with me, young man? She spoke close to his face, loudly.

Ben hesitated. He was smart. He was so far above his class in maths and science that he helped the year sevens with their homework. Teachers called on him to help work the computers and he was the school chess champion. But then he remembered, trying to be smart meant being cheeky.

No, he answered, looking down.

No, what, and look at me when you speak to me, Miss Browning-Lever yelled. A bit of spit sprayed his face. Ben flinched. Spit meant germs.

What did she want him to say? Ben took a guess. No, um, Im not being smart, he said, still not lifting his eyes to meet hers.

No. Im not being smart, what! Mr Jones.

The class was silent. Their teacher had been in a bad mood all day, even more so than usual. Andy thought she must have fought with her boyfriend, but no one believed him. Miss Browning-Lever was too cranky to have a boyfriend. Everyone had been trying to stay out of her way, but Ben always seemed to annoy her.

Listen, son, Miss Browning-Lever said with a hard voice, Im sick of your attitude. When you speak to me, you will address me as Miss Browning-Lever, understand?

Ben felt sick. What did address her mean? He didnt understand any of this conversation. He didnt know why he was in trouble. How he hated school!

No, he managed to say the word without crying, just.

Miss Browning-Lever looked at him as if he had gone mad.

No, she repeated in astonishment, No? No what, Ben? What are you saying no to? No, you wont say my name when you speak to me?

Ah, Ben breathed a sigh of understanding. Thats what she meant! She wanted him to say her name. He hated her stupid name anyway and could never say it right. Mr Bell, the headmaster suggested that they call her just Miss Lever, but she snapped, My name is Miss Browning-Lever and that is what the children will call me. Ben avoided saying her name ever since. Wriggling in his chair, he could see his shoe sticking out from one side of the desk. He felt like his shoelace, twisted round and round and tied in a knot.

Suddenly Miss Browning-Lever stood tall. This is the last straw. Get out of here, Ben, she snarled, I am so sick of your behaviour. Out. Now! She pointed to the door.

Ben shuffled out from his desk and stood up, his head bowed low looking at the floor. Where was the last straw she talked about? What did it have to do with anything? He went to the troughs at the side of the room and turned on the water.

The class gasped. What was he doing?

Miss Browning-Lever went crazy. What the hell do you think you are doing, Ben? she shouted. The rest of the class gaped at each in amazement. The teacher said hell. Wasnt that a swear word?

Ben froze again. Finally he got the nerve to reply, Im washing my face. You spat on it.

Miss Browning-Lever went purple in the face. She smashed her hand down on his desk so hard that it snapped his ruler. Get out! she screamed.

Ben stared at the broken ruler, horror on his face. You broke my ruler, he said as he began to cry. He swallowed hard, his face screwing up into an ugly, blubbering mess. Coming back to his desk, ignoring how close he was to his furious teacher, he picked up his ruler. It was as clean as the day he got it six months ago. His name that had been neatly written on one side was shattered along the JO of Jones. In a sudden rage he kicked over his desk, scattering his book tray everywhere. Girls screamed and the boys yelled and Miss Browning-Lever turned in a barely controlled fury and snatched up the phone from the wall and called the headmaster.

Ben didnt hear what she said. He was too busy trampling his ruined ruler into a thousand pieces; his hands flapping wildly, two out of control propellers.