The spinning disc whirled above Lucas’s head It aimed straight toward the front of the room and that huge painting of the shipwrecked Edmund Fitzgerald Lucas eyed the Frisbee totally aware of Connor’s size-ten sneakers slamming down on the creaky wooden floor in the next aisle Lucas his legs muscular from running bases whizzed past four desks jumped over a math folder a navy book bag a foot in the aisle and sprinted ahead of Connor This picture’s not a print he thought It’s an oil What’s an oil of a famous ship doing in McKinley Elementary School Doris Sampson yeah she was one of the artists who painted the freighter At least he remembered one name from all those trips to Keeping his eye on the Frisbee spinning higher and higher Lucas pushed off the floor with a burst of speed and leaped onto Ms Thompson’s worktable He gasped as the Frisbee slammed into the picture of the Great Lakes freighter In a split second his hand shot up He caught the Frisbee as it ricocheted off the painting and bounced into his palm Lu-cas Lu-cas classmates chanted behind him Math papers twisted under his Nikes and fluttered to the floor Lucas cringed at the disastrous scene if Ms Thompson caught them Go man go Evan yelled from the rear of the room seeming to congratulate himself on his well-thrown Frisbee Toss it back here But Lucas had stopped playing the game He blocked out the din of cheers swallowed hard and stared in shock at his hand still holding the Frisbee A fleck of reddish-brown paint clung to his wrist With a weird sinking feeling he knew big trouble had found him once again
Lake Superior’s North Shore with Nana Lou He’d read about the unsolved mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald which sank November 10 1975 People proudly called her the Mighty Fitz Lucas turned and whipped the Frisbee back to Evan glad the guys never found out he’d taken art lessons Still hitting a home run was more fun than drawing Lucas glanced back at the painting and scanned the frightening scene of the freighter struggling to stay afloat He couldn’t panic but where had that reddish chip come from The pilothouse looked creamy white That wasn’t it then Those waves held all shades of blue to gray to inky black The bow partly out of the water appeared reddish-brown Lucas studied the hull above the waterline Hurry his mind blared Come on come on He didn’t have a ton of time before the bell would ring Finally he saw a small area on the hull Yes that was where the Frisbee blasted the freighter His fingers itched to brush that spot to smooth out a loose chip It was only the size of a dime but he held back Lucas narrowed his gaze and studied that gray area surrounding it What the While the class cheered behind him Lucas stared in disbelief at a thin green line painted underneath the Fitz Lucas Sanchez called a shrill voice of authorityfrom the doorway Get down this instant Lucas spun around His dark hair flew in his face as he met Ms Thompson’s furious glare What had he been thinking He searched for Evan His friend stood beside the globe twirling it slowly as if he’d been studying it all morning As if he had no idea who threw that Frisbee A hush fell over the kids who had cheered him on Lucas
climbed off the table tucked the Frisbee in the back waistband of his jeans and shoved the math papers on the floor into a nice neat pile He took his time matching up the corners giving him seconds to search for a reason to have been standing on her worktable From his kneeling position he watched as Ms Thompson marched across the creaky floor He stared at her shoes saw the black straps and the scuff marks on the toes In his mind he could see her push her oversized glasses higher on her nose I am waiting for an explanation Lucas And that was the problem Where were all those clever words when he needed them Right now he was short of explanations Lucas pushed against the floor and stood Then he remembered the painting behind him and grinned congratulating himself on his brilliant thinking He motioned toward the painting above her desk That picture hung crooked Thought I should straighten it that’s all Lucas That picture hasn’t needed straightening in three years All four corners of the frame are screwed into the wall His shoulders slumped No quick-witted comment came to mind And he didn’t need another note going home to his mom this week You’re right he said lowering his voice Guess it didn’t need straightening after all Lucas looked at the handful of papers he still held Sorry he muttered placing them on the worktable behind him and feeling foolish He sensed his teacher’s steady gaze on his back the entire time he walked down the aisle toward his desk in the last row Listen up class Ms Thompson said removing her glasses Is it necessary to clarify what is meant by indoor and outdoor games A few kids ducked behind the person ahead of them The rest of
Ms Thompson began the day droning on and on about the two fraction worksheets Lucas had already finished His mind wandered back to that oil painting Something still bothered him kept spinning around in his head In seconds the answer hit him full blast Artists usually painted on clean canvases that was the difference With that news bursting inside he leaned across the aisle toward Evan Hey that painting in front of the room is chipped and Really Evan said That figures You tried to catch it and missed Or did you plan to put the blame on me the class turned toward Lucas Oh sure like he was the only one having fun Like they’d never played this game before Were they waiting for him to answer for the whole class Finally he said We know the difference Well I’m so glad to hear that Good Ms Thompson slid her glasses back on her nose Then the matter is closed You think I chipped it Well Evan muttered you didn’t get there in time I gave you guys a head start remember He frowned Come on did you think I’d tell on you Lucas shook his head and groaned Evan could never keep a secret anyway Telling him about that green line was like texting the whole school It’d be viral on the Internet by noon Lucas shook his head and shifted back in his desk The classroom door opened and a hush fell over the room Everyone held his or her breath as Elizabeth entered Lucas’s head didn’t budge an inch yet his glance strayed her way Queen Liz his secret name for her never lowered herself to talk to him Never looked his way Girls even mimicked the way she walked and wore her blonde hair Today must have been French braid day
