DEAD HORIZON — Chapter 13: Thursday
Thursday at LHHS had the energy of the last day of school, except it wasn’t. It was just the day before a field trip, which was basically the same thing.
Arthur got there at 7:33. The halls were loud. Not Monday loud. Friday-is-tomorrow loud.
Lockers slammed. Someone had a speaker in their backpack playing something with too much bass. A paper T-Rex was taped to the senior wall with the words FREE HIM written under it.
Maggie met him at the corner by the science wing. She was wearing her soccer hoodie and holding two permission slips. One hers. One his.
“Morning, Johnson,” she said. “I forged your mom’s signature. You’re welcome.”
Arthur stopped. “You what.”
“Kidding.” She handed him his. “I called your mom. She said she’d drop it off first period. Said to tell you to wear sunscreen.”
“It’s a museum.”
“Tell her that.” Maggie grinned. “She also said to ‘make friends.’ So no pressure.”
Arthur folded the slip and put it in his bag. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank my incredible ability to parent you better than you parent yourself.”
---
First period. Bio.
Mrs. Park’s MUSEUM — DO NOT EAT box was gone. In its place: a clipboard.
“Last call,” she said. “If your name’s not on this list by the end of period, you’re staying here with me doing cell diagrams. And I will make them fun.”
She said fun like a threat.
Kids lined up. Sophia was at the front with her binder. She had three pens. Blue, black, red. Blue for confirmed. Black for pending. Red for problems.
“Mathis,” she said, not looking up. “Did you turn yours in?”
Kevin, two people back, raised his hand. “Yeah. It’s in the box.”
“It wasn’t.” Sophia clicked the red pen. “Delgado said you were giving it to him yesterday. He doesn’t have it.”
“Okay, well, maybe it got lost. Government conspiracy.” Kevin grinned. “You know how it is.”
Sophia finally looked up. “The government did not lose your permission slip. You lost it.” She uncapped the blue pen. “You have until 10 AM or you’re not going.”
“Damn, Evans. You’re cold.”
“I’m organized.” She turned to the next person. “Reyes. You’re good.”
Maggie gave a mock salute. “Thank you, Captain.”
Arthur got to the front. Sophia glanced at his name. A. Johnson. She put a blue check next to it.
“Bag check,” she said. “7:45. Front doors. Delgado said you’re reliable.”
“I am,” Arthur said. Then realized how that sounded. “I mean. I’ll be there.”
“Good.” She made another note. Johnson — 7:45 — No food. “Bus 3. You’re with me and Reyes.”
Maggie, still standing there, mouthed bus 3 at Arthur and wiggled her eyebrows.
Sophia didn’t notice. She was already talking to the next person. “Chen. You turned in two slips. Why?”
Arthur walked back to his seat.
Maggie slid in next to him. “Bus 3,” she whispered. “Destiny.”
“It’s alphabetical.”
“Sure. And I’m sure she had to put you on bag check. No other quiet, reliable people in the whole school.” She leaned on her desk. “You nervous?”
“No.”
“You’re sweating.”
“It’s hot.”
“It’s sixty-eight degrees and the AC is on.” She poked his arm. “You’re gonna say something stupid. I can feel it.”
“I’m not gonna talk to her.”
“That’s worse.”
---
Passing period.
The museum chatter had reached critical mass.
“Dude, the Mars rover. It’s the actual prototype. Not a model.”
“I heard the planetarium show is about black holes. Forty minutes in the dark.”
“My brother went last year. Said the gem room is sick. There’s a rock that costs more than your house.”
“Mrs. Park said no touching the dinosaurs. Like I was gonna.”
Kevin was by the trophy case. He had a marker. He was adding a speech bubble to the wrestling team photo. “I WISH I WAS AT THE MUSEUM”.
Mr. Delgado appeared behind him.
“Mathis.”
Kevin froze. “Uh. Art.”
“Detention. After school. You’re gonna clean every trophy until you understand the meaning of school property.” Delgado took the marker. “And you’re turning in that slip by 10 AM or you’re cleaning them on Friday too. Alone.”
Kevin saluted. “Yes, sir.”
Delgado walked away.
Kevin turned to his friends. “Worth it.”
---
Third period. English.
The tally board from Tuesday was gone. In its place: MUSEUM RULES.
Stay with your group.
No running.
No food or drink outside the cafeteria.
If you get lost, find a museum staff member.
If you get lost on purpose, find Mr. Delgado.
“Rule five is targeted,” Jared said from the back.
“It’s not,” Mr. Delgado said. “It’s inspired.”
He handed out a packet. Riverside Natural History Museum — Student Guide.
Arthur flipped through it. Robotics Wing — 2nd Floor. Planetarium — Hourly Shows. Disaster Hall — Pompeii Cast, San Francisco Earthquake Exhibit, Volcano Simulation.
Maggie leaned over. “Disaster Hall,” she whispered. “Told you. Educational death.”
“It’s history.”
“It’s dead people. In ash.” She tapped the page. “You’re excited.”
“I’m interested.”
“Sure.” She looked at him. “You know what else is in Disaster Hall?”
“What.”
“Nothing.” She grinned. “But Sophia’s group is starting there. I saw the itinerary.”
Arthur looked down at the packet. Group 3 Itinerary: 9:00 — Arrival. 9:15 — Disaster Hall. 10:00 — Robotics Wing.
He hadn’t noticed.
Maggie had.
---
Lunch.
Sophia was at the student council table. Again. No food. Just the binder, a laptop, and a walkie-talkie she’d signed out from the office.
She was on the walkie. “Copy, Mr. Delgado. Bus 3 is at thirty-one confirmed. Two pending. Over.”
Static. “Copy that, Evans. Good work. Over.”
She set the walkie down. Made a note. Took a sip of water.
Maggie watched from across the cafeteria. “She’s like a general,” she said to Arthur. “General Evans. Commander of Field Trips.”
“She’s organized.”
“She’s gonna run the country someday. And you’re gonna be like, ‘I did bag check with her once.’” Maggie ate a fry. “Tragic.”
Arthur didn’t answer.
Kevin walked past their table with a tray. He stopped. Looked at Arthur.
“Johnson. You ready for tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“Bet you’re gonna spend the whole day looking at rocks.” Kevin smirked. “Nerd stuff.”
“Better than spending it in detention,” Maggie said.
Kevin pointed a fry at her. “Reyes. You’re lucky you’re funny.”
“I’m lucky you’re stupid. It makes me look better.”
Kevin laughed. He actually laughed. “Alright. Fair.” He walked off.
Maggie blinked. “Did… did I just win that?”
“Don’t get used to it.”
---
Last period. Study hall.
Mr. Delgado was back. He had a new clipboard. FRIDAY FINAL CHECK.
“Johnson,” he said. “7:45. Front doors. Bags. No drinks. No food. No Kevin.”
“Got it.”
“Evans has the list. You follow her lead.” He looked up. “You good with that?”
Arthur nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good.” Delgado went back to his list. “Because if Mathis brings a soda on my bus, I’m making you drink it.”
The bell rang at 3:00.
The halls exploded.
“FIELD TRIP!”
“NO SCHOOL!”
“TOMORROW!”
Kids poured out the doors. Permission slips waved like flags. Someone started a chant in the parking lot. MUSE-UM. MUSE-UM.
Maggie found Arthur by the front steps.
“You ready, President?” she asked.
“For what.”
“Tomorrow. Destiny. Bag check. Sophia.” She counted on her fingers. “That’s four things.”
“I’m ready for no calc.”
“Liar.” She bumped his shoulder. “Get some sleep. Drink water. Wear a shirt that doesn’t have a controller on it.”
“I don’t—”
“You do.” She started walking backwards. “See you at 7:45, Bag Check Boy. Don’t be late. General Evans will court-martial you.”
She turned and jogged to her bus.
Arthur stood there.
The sun was out. The sky was clear. No clouds. No rain.
Sophia walked out behind him. She had her binder and her clear umbrella, even though it wasn’t raining. She was talking to Mrs. Park about headcounts.
She walked past Arthur.
She didn’t stop. But she did nod. Once. “Tomorrow. 7:45.”
“Yeah,” Arthur said. “I know.”
“Good.” She kept walking.
Arthur watched her go.
He zipped his bag. Permission slip inside. Signed by his mom. Sunscreen. Make friends. Have fun.
He walked home.
He did his homework.
He set his alarm for 6:30.
He lay in bed at 10:17 PM and stared at the ceiling.
Tomorrow was Friday.
Museum.
No school.
Sophia.
It was going to be fun.
---
Author Thought: Chapter 13 is the last breath before the plunge. The goal is normal dialed to 11 — loud halls, paper T-Rex, Kevin getting detention for being Kevin. Every domino is now placed: Arthur is on bag check, Bus 3, with Sophia and Maggie. He’s nervous, not heroic. Sophia is all business, and her competence is the point; she doesn’t see Arthur yet, which makes later matter. Maggie is the audience surrogate, calling out the crush and keeping tone light. Kevin is established as harmless chaos, so his loss will land. The packet, the itinerary, the rules — all mundane details that make Friday real. Ending is deliberately optimistic: It was going to be fun. Reader feeling: excitement. Reality: cliff. No hints, no shadows, no missing hikers. Just a kid who set his alarm. Word count: ∼2,280. The calm is set. Tomorrow breaks it.
