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
At lunch Lucas wolfed down a thick piece of lasagna drank two pints of milk and thought about the Fitz and that thin green line To what had that line been attached A plant A serpent’s tongue Maybe part of Jack’s Beanstalk He laughed And maybe absolutely nothing at all Lucas Evan said let’s take our mitts out after lunch and toss a few Sure Lucas’s mind strolled through the rooms at home There wasn’t a wall his mom hadn’t crammed with pictures A print even hung in the bathroom some kid searching for shells on a beach He knew oils were expensive So how could this school afford a genuine oil painting Want to catch grounders Evan asked Hmmmm Lucas muttered half-listening What that painting covered another painting like a Picasso Maybe an important document had been hidden underneath like in that movie National Treasure if Lucas Did you hear me Evan asked Yeah sure Give me five and I’ll meet you outside Lucas said Needing to wash lasagna sauce off his hands Lucas rushed down the hall toward the boys bathroom In seconds he had dried his hands with a paper towel tossed it into the barrel for a three pointer and raced out into the hallway Had he simply imagined that green line and now started to believe it was there Lucas moved quickly down the corridor and entered his empty classroom He closed the door pulled down the shade to cover the
narrow window alongside the door and hurried toward Ms Thompson’s worktable There before him stood the powerful Edmund Fitzgerald seven-hundred-twenty-nine feet long and in a fight for her life Lucas remembered learning that she weighed over thirteen thousand tons and carried more than twenty-six-thousand tons of ore pellets as she plowed through a gigantic storm One of his neighbors had even met James Pratt the second mate who went down with the ship On that frightful night all twenty-nine crew members lost their lives without anyone hearing their cries for help Climbing up to stand on the table Lucas realized he’d never been this close to a painting at the Art Institute He could almost feel the misty spray of the waves hear them crashing into the hull If only he could paint like this artist He’d love to sketch an awesome scene like this make it leap off the canvas and come alive to tell a wild story Lucas stared at the small spot the Frisbee had chipped off the freighter just above the water line He knew the rules about touching a canvas Rules He’d already damaged the painting A light-gray color had been painted underneath Shivers went through him as he saw it again that small green line Leaning forward Lucas blew gently at a loose chip Tiny bits of reddish paint flecked off the canvas and sleepily floated downward He sharpened his focus Huh The area around the line had been exposed He gasped and braced both hands against the front wall for a closer look No way Lucas shook his head not believing what he saw and continued to stare at the canvas A small green eye stared back
