9

The dust cloud completely blocked the sun, making it look like nighttime inside the bus. The cloud was like an eclipse, but it didn’t just cover the circle of the sun like a solar eclipse did. The dust clouds covered the entire sky. Everyone grew quiet.

“I can’t believe how dark it is,” Sha’relle whispered. “You can’t see a thing!”

“The cloud is completely covering us,” Daniela said.

Dust and dirt whirled around them, pelting the bus and sounding like a BB gun shooting at aluminum cans.

The jacket covering the open window billowed inward like a sail on a ship. Tyler watched it carefully. If that blazer blew off, they would have dust and dirt everywhere inside the bus. José kneeled on his seat to press down on the tape and make sure it stayed secure.

Kevin walked to the front of the bus and sat across from where Mr. Dwyer was sitting behind the bus driver.

“Got any good jokes?” Kevin asked, pushing his shirt-covering away from his face so it sat on top of his head like a hood.

“Seriously?” Mr. Dwyer turned to him in surprise. “You’re not worried about the storm?”

“Nah—it’ll pass,” Kevin said. “I was in a dust storm once at the mall. We just stayed inside. It blew over after a while. It was just super dark. Like this.”

“Well, okay then. Let’s see . . . ” Mr. Dwyer scratched his beard. “Oh, here’s one.”

Kevin leaned forward. This was the most he’d paid attention all day. Some of the other students on the bus stopped fidgeting so they could listen too. Mr. Dwyer’s jokes were famously lame, but apparently everyone could go for a distraction right now.

“Mr. Neutron walks into an IHOP and says, ‘I’m starving. How much for a stack of pancakes?’ The waitress says, ‘For you, Mr. Neutron, no charge.’”

Kevin laughed and shook his head. Corny as usual.

At a sudden gust of wind, one panel of the front door flew open. It was the side that had been rattling earlier.

The dirt and dust hit Kevin first. He yelped and scrambled to cover his face, which was now unprotected.

From what Tyler could see—which wasn’t much in the darkened bus—Kevin was bent over on his seat and holding his head. The driver jumped to get to the door and Mr. Dwyer was already out of his seat, crouching in front of Kevin to look at his face.

“I got dust in my eyes!” Kevin groaned.

The driver fought against the wind to push the door closed. He pounded a fist against it until it finally snapped shut. Tyler could feel his heart begin to race.

“Someone hand me that duct tape,” the driver shouted. “Quick! Hand me the tape!”

Ethan ran up with the tape, tearing off a long strip. The driver pressed it against the panel.

“More!”

Ethan pulled off another strip, and the driver plastered that one on too. They worked with a system, Ethan tearing the tape and the driver hastily attaching it to the panel as rapidly as they could.

“That should hold it,” the driver finally exhaled, exhausted.

“How much water do we have? Who has water left?” Mr. Dwyer asked, keeping his eyes on Kevin where he had curled up onto his seat.

Three students, including Julia, rushed to the front of the bus with water bottles.

Their coach grabbed Julia’s bottle first. “Kevin, we need to flush out your eyes. Here—cup your hands and I’ll pour some water.”

Kevin squinted as he cupped his hands and Mr. Dwyer poured some water. Then Kevin splashed the water into his eyes to clear them. Mr. Dwyer refilled Kevin’s cupped hands several times.

“That’s better,” Kevin said after a while. “It’s getting better.”

The door was closed, but the damage was already done. Dust had floated inside, coating the air so it felt gritty and thicker than before.

Tyler’s heart was still pounding and he was starting to have trouble catching his breath. He coughed, and then wheezed, grabbing at his chest. He knew this feeling. He last had it during gym when they played indoor hockey. Tyler had been running toward the goal and suddenly felt like his throat constricted. He’d had to use his inhaler that day. It took three puffs of the medicine to get his breathing under control. Struggling for breath was the worst feeling ever. He felt so helpless.

This was the same feeling. The coughing. The wheezing. The constricted throat. An asthma attack was coming on.