FIVE

“Thomas, honey, are you up yet? Thomas?”

Thomas groaned and pulled a pillow over his head.

The knocking on his door grew louder. “Thomas. It’s almost time for school. If you don’t hurry, you’re going to be late again.”

Thomas’s eyes flew open. “I’m up!”

He was out of bed before the last syllable was out of his mouth. Last time he was late, Mrs. Maybury made him stand in front of homeroom and recite the pledge of allegiance by himself. Others had suffered the same humiliating fate as punishment for their tardiness, and he did not want to go there again. Thomas dunked his head under the faucet, globbed on deodorant, ran a brush through his hair, slipped into clean clothes, and flew down the stairs.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Good morning, sweetheart.” His mom spoke from behind her morning newspaper. They were the only house on the street to still get an actual newspaper delivered. Everyone else had gone digital. “How’d you sleep?”

“Okay, I guess.” It was a partial truth. He’d slept fine, but only for about half as long as usual. “How about you?”

“About the same,” she answered, still reading the paper. “Have some breakfast.”

Thomas glanced at the headlines as he peeled the wrapper on a protein bar. Explosion Destroys Historic Cavern, At Least Seven Dead.

Thomas quickly skimmed the text. Armed attackers had taken over a historic natural cavern in Western Canada. The assailants had locked up the tourists and park employees before disappearing into an off-limits tunnel. An explosion closed the entire site, collapsing huge sections of the cavern and injuring dozens of hostages. Two park rangers had disappeared under the collapsed mountainside along with all the assailants. The writer speculated terrorism, but the motive for the attack was under investigation.

Terrorism? In a cave in Canada? The idea struck Thomas as strange. He wanted to read more, but there wasn’t time. Maybe later. He chugged his glass of orange juice and hopped up from the table.

“Love you, Mom.” Thomas kissed her cheek, grabbed his backpack, and sped toward the front door. “See you tonight.”

“Have a great day, sweetie.” Her words followed him out the door as his feet pounded down the sidewalk.

Thomas made it to the stop just as the bus pulled up. He climbed the steep black stairs with a sigh of relief and started down the narrow aisle. Without warning, his feet tangled with something large, and he tumbled to the floor, his backpack landing heavily on top of him.

“Chump.” Sean Parker and his cluster of oafish friends sniggered cruelly.

Heat flooded Thomas’s cheeks. He gritted his teeth and took a breath, fighting the urge to lash out. A hand touched Thomas’s shoulder, interrupting his darkening train of thought. Thomas looked up. Peggy Epelson was right in front of him, staring down at him. His blush deepened, but she didn’t seem to notice. She took his hand and helped him to his feet. “Are you okay?”

The laughter and embarrassment vanished from Thomas’s awareness. All he could see was Peggy. Everything else disappeared. He tried to speak, but his brain refused to send the proper signals. Somehow, he managed to nod.

“Good.” Peggy flashed a smile, spun around, and hopped into her seat. Her friends went back to their conversation as if nothing had happened.

Thomas resumed his walk toward the back of the bus, hardly noticing the wad of paper that hit him in the back of the head. He’d trade a little harassment for a moment like that any day. In a heartbeat. He flopped down into one of the last empty seats. It was one of the hump seats, with the wheel well taking half the leg room, but he didn’t care. He set down his backpack and looked around.

Across the aisle was a skinny kid in a checkered shirt. Akhil had transferred at the start of fall term and already had a reputation as one of the smartest kids in school. Unfortunately, intelligence didn’t hold much weight with Parker and his dunderheaded friends. There was a spitball in Akhil’s tousled hair and an ugly red welt on the back of his neck.

“Hey,” said Thomas, flashing a friendly smile.

An answering smile surfaced and retreated in a flash. Akhil turned to stare out the window. A second welt lit up the other side of his neck, wider and angrier than first. Thomas clenched his teeth. Parker! It wasn’t right. Nobody deserved to be bullied like that, especially not a new kid. As the bus pulled into traffic, Thomas set himself a new mission. Akhil would have at least one friend to watch his back before the school year got out. It was a done deal.