DEAD HORIZON — Chapter 12: Tuesday
Tuesday smelled like rain that never came. Gray clouds sat on the hills behind LHHS but the concrete stayed dry.
First bell at 7:45. Arthur got to school at 7:39. He told himself it was because he hated being late. It wasn’t because Sophia usually got there at 7:40 with her clipboard.
Maggie found him at his locker. She had a coffee from the gas station. It was 80% sugar. “Morning, President Johnson.”
“Don’t call me that.” Arthur spun his combo. “You’re gonna make it stick.”
“Too late.” She sipped her coffee. “Kevin’s already calling you that. I heard him in the bathroom.”
“Great.”
“He said it like an insult. But honestly? Presidential’s an upgrade for you. Last week you were ‘Mold.’”
Arthur opened his locker. A stack of yellow slips sat on top of his calc book. Mrs. Park’s turn-in bin had overflowed. She’d shoved the extras in random lockers.
“Wow,” Maggie said. “You’re popular.”
“I’m convenient.” Arthur grabbed the slips. “I’ll take them to Park.”
Maggie fell in step with him. “See? Presidential. Handling administrative duties.”
---
Bio, first period.
Mrs. Park’s turn-in bin was a cardboard box labeled MUSEUM — DO NOT EAT. It was three-quarters full.
“Johnson,” she said when Arthur dropped the stack in. “Bless you. If I have to touch one more sticky permission slip I’m retiring early.”
“Found them in my locker.”
“Fitting. You’re becoming the museum’s lost and found.” She marked something on her roster. “We’re at eighty-two confirmed. Good numbers.”
Sophia sat in the front row. She had a binder open. Not schoolwork. A printed spreadsheet. MUSEUM HEADCOUNT — LHHS. Names, check boxes, bus assignments. She had a yellow highlighter.
When Mrs. Park said eighty-two, Sophia highlighted a number. She didn’t smile. She just nodded once, like the universe was behaving correctly.
Arthur sat three rows back. He didn’t mean to watch. But she was in his line of sight.
Maggie slid into the seat next to him. “You’re staring.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re staring at her spreadsheet. Which is worse.” Maggie pulled out her own slip. It was crumpled. “My mom signed it. She wrote ‘Have fun, don’t die’ in the emergency contact line.”
“Cool.”
“Is it? Feels ominous.” She kicked his chair. “You get yours signed?”
“Yeah.”
“Liar.”
Arthur didn’t answer. He hadn’t. It was still in his bag.
---
Passing period.
The halls were louder than Monday. Field trip energy had fermented overnight.
“T-Rex!”
“Dude, the gem room. They have a rock that glows.”
“I’m gonna live in the planetarium.”
“Mr. Delgado said if we’re late to the bus, we get detention. So be late together.”
Kevin was by the vending machines. He had three permission slips. None of them were his.
“Mathis,” he said, holding one up. “M-A-T-H-I-S. This one says ‘Tony Mathis.’ That’s my cousin. He’s in middle school.”
His friends laughed.
Kevin fed the slip into the vending machine slot. “Field trip donation.”
The machine ate it.
“Stop,” said a voice.
Sophia. Clipboard out. No expression. “Give me those.”
Kevin blinked. “What, Evans? You the museum police?”
“I’m headcount.” She held out her hand. “The slips. Now. Or I tell Delgado you’re forging documents.”
“I’m not forging—”
“You put Tony’s slip in a Pepsi machine. That’s destruction of school property.” She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t have to. “Hand them over. Or I mark you absent Friday.”
Kevin looked at his friends. They were suddenly interested in their shoes.
“Whatever.” He slapped the remaining two slips into her hand. “Relax. It’s a museum, not the FBI.”
“Thank you for your cooperation,” Sophia said. Flat. She walked away.
Maggie watched the whole thing. “God,” she said to Arthur. “She’s terrifying.”
“She’s organized.”
“Same thing.” Maggie nudged him. “You like that, huh? Competence?”
“I like not getting detention.”
“Sure.”
---
Third period. English.
Mr. Delgado had a new system. Every time someone mentioned the museum, he added a tally to the board. When it hit twenty, pop quiz.
The class lasted nine minutes before Jared whispered “planetarium” and Delgado slammed the marker down.
“Quiz,” he said. “Because you can’t focus.”
Groans.
Arthur took his quiz. He finished early. He spent the rest of the period watching the clock and not thinking about yellow spreadsheets.
---
Lunch.
Maggie had chicken nuggets. Arthur had nothing. He never ate lunch.
“You’re gonna pass out at the museum,” Maggie said. “Then Sophia will have to do CPR. Is that the plan?”
“There’s no plan.”
“There’s always a plan with you. It’s just bad and unspoken.” She stole his water. “You know what exhibit I’m excited for?”
“What.”
“The disaster hall.” She said it around the water bottle. “They have the Pompeii cast. The people frozen in ash. Super creepy. Super cool.”
Arthur nodded. He’d read about it. “They’re not frozen. It’s a void in the ash that they filled with plaster.”
“See?” Maggie pointed the bottle at him. “That’s why you’re going. Not for Sophia. For the educational value of death casts.”
“I like history.”
“You like a girl who likes history.” She grinned. “It’s fine. I’m into it. You need a hobby outside Neon District.”
Across the cafeteria, Sophia was at the student council table. No food. Just the binder and her phone. She was texting someone, then typing into the spreadsheet, then texting again. Logistics.
Kevin walked past with a tray. He leaned down. “Evans. You gonna be my bus buddy?”
Sophia didn’t look up. “Bus assignments are alphabetical. You’re with Miller.”
“Boring.” Kevin flicked a fry at her binder. “Lighten up. It’s a field trip.”
Sophia closed the binder. Slowly. “Mathis. If you touch my paperwork again, I will make sure you’re on bus cleaning duty for the rest of the year.”
Kevin held his hands up. “Jeez. Fine.” He walked off.
Maggie watched. “See? Terrifying. And hot. I get it.”
“Maggie.”
“What? I can appreciate competence too. I’m not blind.” She ate a nugget. “You should talk to her.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because.” Arthur didn’t have a better answer.
“Great argument. Really sold me.” Maggie stood up. “I’m gonna go see if the library has books on Pompeii. For educational reasons.”
She left.
Arthur stayed.
---
Last period. Study hall.
Mr. Delgado was gone. Sub. The sub didn’t care.
Arthur had his notebook open. He wasn’t drawing Neon District maps. He was writing permission slip ten times so it looked like he was busy.
“Johnson.”
Sophia was at his table. She didn’t sit. She just stood there with her clipboard.
Arthur looked up. “Yeah?”
“Delgado said you’re helping with headcount Friday.” It wasn’t a question.
“He said I was volunteering.”
“Same thing.” She clicked her pen. “We need someone to check bags before we load the buses. No food. No drinks. Museum rules.”
“Why me.”
“You’re quiet. People listen to quiet.” She said it like it was data. “Also you don’t like Kevin. He’ll try to sneak in Takis. You’ll stop him.”
Arthur couldn’t argue with that.
“Fine,” he said.
“7:45. Front doors. Don’t be late.” Sophia made a check mark on her sheet. A. Johnson — Bag Check. “Thanks.”
She walked away.
Arthur looked at the empty chair she didn’t sit in.
Maggie slid into it two seconds later. “Oh my god.”
“What.”
“You talked to her.” She was whispering but it was a loud whisper. “She assigned you. That’s basically marriage.”
“It’s bag check.”
“It’s destiny.” Maggie put her chin in her hands. “How’d it feel? Did her competence radiate onto you? Are you smarter now?”
“Please stop.”
“Never.” She grinned. “You’re gonna be so awkward on Friday. I can’t wait.”
---
After school. 3:05 PM.
The rain finally came. Light. Just enough to make the sidewalks dark.
Arthur was at his locker. His permission slip was still unsigned.
He pulled it out. Looked at it.
*Emergency Contact: **_____***
He thought about forging it. Maggie would.
He put it back.
Maggie ran up, hoodie over her head. “Bus! Bye! Don’t forget Wednesday is the deadline!”
“I know!”
“And don’t be weird to Sophia!”
“I’m always weird!”
“Yeah, but like, extra!” She got on the bus.
Arthur zipped his bag.
Sophia walked past with her binder. She had a yellow umbrella. It was clear. You could see the spreadsheet through it.
She didn’t see him.
He watched her go.
Then he went home.
His mom was in the kitchen. “How was school?”
“Fine.”
“Museum trip this week?”
“Friday.”
“You excited?”
Arthur thought about it. Bag check. Buses. Sophia with a clipboard. Maggie teasing him.
“Yeah,” he said. “Sure.”
His mom handed him a pen. “Then get this signed. Before you lose it.”
He took the pen.
