DEAD HORIZON — Chapter 6: Group Project

Monday mornings always started with announcements. The scratch of the PA system, Principal Ward’s voice dragging through the gym doors. Arthur tuned most of it out.

He slouched in his third period English seat, hoodie half-zipped, backpack on the floor. The window showed gray clouds stacking up over the parking lot. Rain, probably. Again.

Mr. Delgado clapped his hands. “Alright. New unit. Mythology in modern media. Groups of two. I’m assigning partners.”

A groan rolled through the class. Kevin Shaw leaned back in his chair two rows over and shot Arthur a look. The usual one. Like he was waiting for Arthur to trip.

Arthur kept his eyes on the desk. His notebook was open to a blank page. He hadn’t touched the pen yet.

“Arthur Johnson,” Mr. Delgado called. “You’re with Sophia Evans.”

The pen slipped from Arthur’s fingers. It hit the floor with a small click.

He bent to pick it up. When he sat back up, Sophia was already turning toward him. She wore a light blue cardigan over her uniform shirt. Her brown hair was pulled back. No makeup, just the same calm face she had in every yearbook photo.

“Oh,” she said. Polite. Even. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Arthur managed. His voice came out lower than he meant.

Mr. Delgado kept reading names. Maggie, from across the room, caught Arthur’s eye. She raised both eyebrows, then mouthed good luck. She wasn’t in his group.

Sophia slid her desk closer. The legs scraped. She set her notebook down. Clean margins. Highlighted sections. Her pencil case was organized.

“So,” she said. “Mythology in modern media. Did you have any ideas?”

Arthur cleared his throat. “Uh. Video games use it a lot. God of War. Hades. Stuff like that.”

Sophia nodded. She wrote Video Games — God of War, Hades in neat handwriting. “That’s smart. I was thinking movies. Like Percy Jackson. Or Marvel. Thor’s basically Norse mythology.”

Her pencil didn’t pause. She wasn’t nervous. She wasn’t excited. She was doing the assignment.

Arthur glanced at her hands. No bitten nails. No fidgeting. She clicked the pencil once, then set it down. “We should probably split it,” she said. “One of us takes games, one takes movies. We can meet in the library tomorrow to combine notes.”

“Library,” Arthur repeated. His backpack suddenly felt heavier. “During lunch?” Sophia asked. She looked up from her notes. Her eyes were light brown. Direct, but not unkind. “Unless you have a club or something.”

“No club.” He shook his head. “Library works.”

“Great.” She smiled. Small. Courteous. The kind of smile she gave teachers when she turned in homework early. “We’ll get an A.”

Mr. Delgado moved to the board. “You have the rest of class to brainstorm. Due Friday.”

The room filled with the sound of chairs moving, voices starting. Sophia opened her laptop. The sticker on the back was a student council logo. Arthur opened his notebook again. He wrote Myth — Video Games at the top. His handwriting looked messy next to hers.

For a few minutes they worked. Sophia typed. Arthur made bullet points. Kevin walked past on his way to the pencil sharpener. He knocked his elbow into Arthur’s desk. Arthur’s water bottle wobbled. He caught it before it fell. Kevin didn’t apologize. He just smirked and kept walking.

Arthur set the bottle down slower than necessary. His jaw tightened. He didn’t look up. Sophia glanced over. She saw the bottle. She saw Kevin walking away. She didn’t say anything. She just reached into her bag and pulled out a napkin, sliding it toward Arthur without a word. There was a small ring of condensation on his desk.

Arthur took the napkin. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” she said. Then she went back to typing.

The bell rang twenty minutes later. Students stood, backpacks zipping. Sophia closed her laptop. “Tomorrow, then,” she said. “Library. Twelve-fifteen?”

“Yeah,” Arthur said. “Twelve-fifteen.”

She stood, slung her bag over her shoulder. “See you.”

She walked off with two other girls from student council. They started talking about a bake sale. Arthur stayed at his desk for another second.

Maggie appeared at his side. “Dude.”

“What.”

“You talked to Sophia Evans for twenty minutes and didn’t pass out.” She nudged his arm. “Proud of you.”

“It was about mythology.”

“Yeah, I heard.” Maggie leaned on his desk. “By the way, you hear about the calc test? Mr. Grant said it’s gonna cover integrals. Whole unit.” She grimaced. “I’m cooked.”

Arthur shouldered his backpack. “You should’ve studied.”

“Says the guy who actually does.” She grinned. “Come on. I’ll fail slower if you’re there.”

They headed to fourth period. Arthur didn’t look back. But he could feel the napkin still in his pocket.

The library at lunch was quiet. The rain had started. It tapped against the tall windows. Arthur got there first. He took a table in the back corner, near the history section. He set his notebook down and opened it to the page from English.

Sophia arrived at 12:16. She shook water from her cardigan. “Sorry. Council meeting ran over.”

“It’s fine.” Arthur moved his backpack so she could sit.

She set her laptop down and opened a document. “I pulled three movies. Thor, Percy Jackson, and Disney’s Hercules. I can summarize the myth connections if you handle the game side.”

Arthur nodded. He clicked his pen. “I’ve got God of War, Hades, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. They all pull from Greek stuff mostly.”

“Perfect.” She typed. “We’ll compare how accurate they are versus the original myths. Mr. Delgado likes that.”

They worked. No small talk. No jokes. Sophia asked questions about God of War. Arthur answered. Short sentences. She wrote everything down.

At one point she frowned at her screen. “Wait, Kratos isn’t actually in Greek mythology, right?”

“No,” Arthur said. “He’s original to the game. But he fights Ares. Zeus. Real gods.”

Sophia’s eyes flicked up. “You know a lot about this.”

Arthur shrugged. His ears felt warm. “I play games.”

She gave that same small smile. Then she leaned back a little. “My dad made me read Greek myths when I was eight. The Iliad. The Odyssey. All of it.” She rolled her eyes. “I hated them. All the heroes were idiots. Picking fights, getting people killed, then crying to the gods.” She tapped her pencil once. “I get them more now. Still idiots though.”

Arthur blinked. She wasn’t looking at him. Just stating it. Then she went back to typing like she hadn’t said anything personal.

A group of sophomores laughed too loud at the next table. The librarian shushed them. Sophia didn’t react. Arthur’s hand tightened on his pen, then relaxed.

After thirty minutes, Sophia checked the clock on the wall. “I have to go. Council has to set up for the blood drive.”

“Okay,” Arthur said.

She packed her laptop. “You’ll email me your notes tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Arthur.” She stood. “This was good. Efficient.”

She left. No pause. No extra look. Just efficient.

Arthur stayed. He stared at his bullet points. God of War — Kratos vs Greek Pantheon. His handwriting looked less messy now. He pulled the napkin from his pocket. It was still damp. He threw it away on the way out.

After school, Maggie found him by his locker. “How’d the group project go?”

“Fine.” Arthur shut his locker. “We got work done.”

“Kevin try anything?” Maggie fell into step beside him. “I saw him circling third period like a shark.”

“Just the water bottle thing.”

Maggie’s face darkened. “I swear I’m gonna—”

“Don’t.” Arthur cut her off. “Not worth it.”

She exhaled through her nose. Then she bumped his shoulder. “You did good. For real.”

The rain had slowed to a drizzle. They walked to the bus stop. Arthur’s phone buzzed once.

Aiko: Favorite myth?

Arthur didn’t answer until he got home.

That night, Arthur emailed Sophia his notes. Subject: Mythology Project — Games Attachment: Notes.docx Sophia replied in twelve minutes. Subject: Re: Mythology Project — Games Thanks! This is great. I added it to the slides. See you Friday for the presentation. — Sophia No emojis. No exclamation points. No questions about him.

Arthur read it twice. Then he closed the laptop. He opened the text from Aiko.

Arthur: Greek. Kratos.

Aiko: Wrong. I meant real myth. Not game.

Arthur: Then why ask me.

Aiko: Because you answer.

Arthur stared at the message.

Then another appeared.

Aiko: By the way.

Aiko: You're the first rival I've ever met in person.

Aiko: Don't make it weird.

Arthur stared at the screen for a few seconds.

Then he shook his head.

For the first time all day, he smiled.