10th Muse: Blade of Medusa. Darren G. Davis
Emma.” Grayson approached her, ignoring Brett
and Dawn. “Would you like to be my partner on today’s field
trip?”
“I don’t think we’ve had to do the partners thing since sixth
grade,” Emma informed him.
“Then let me be your guide. My family practically paid for
the entire museum.”
Emma didn’t believe that, but she learned long ago that it
wasn’t worth arguing with Grayson. “I’ve already got my
guides.” She motioned to Brett and Dawn.
“You really need to hang around with more influential peo-
ple,” said Grayson.
“I do,” Emma agreed. “When they show up, can you intro-
duce them to me?”
“ T h e r e ’s gonna come a time when you’ll need me,”
Grayson said, “and if you keep treating me this way, I may not
be there.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to open that jar of pickles by
• 7 •
T H O M A S J . M I S U R A C A
myself,” Emma joked.
“You can try running it under hot water,” Brett said. “I
found that always works.”
“Or pound the lid on the counter,” countered Dawn. “That
should loosen that baby up.”
“Maybe I should write this down.” Emma leaned into her
locker and reached for her notebook.
“You guys really are a bunch of nerds,” Grayson said as he
turned to walk away.
The three of them began laughing. Grayson didn’t let on if
he had heard them or not.
“ So you’re not going to miss our daily fun with Grayson?”
Dawn asked.
“No,” said Emma. “I won’t miss that at all.”
She closed the locker and they all headed for their separate
homerooms.
The field trip was scheduled for second period. It would be
chaperoned by Emma’s first-period history teacher, Mr. Coco,
and her old Western Civilization teacher, Mr. Rivers.
Mr. Rivers was Emma’s favorite teacher. Emma enjoyed
• 8 •
C H A P T E R O N E
learning about ancient history and Mr. Rivers always made it
interesting. He appreciated having a student excited about the
world of the past.
Dawn suspected that Emma had a crush on Mr. Rivers.
Emma vehemently denied it. But they all feared that recent
events had made Mr. Rivers suspicious about Emma’s noctur-
nal activities.
Emma’s first class felt as if it might last a century. Mr. Coco
was reviewing some high points of the museum’s collection and
their roots in what they’d studied that year. The moment the bell
rang, Emma raced for the door.
Dawn and Brett were right behind her.
“Where’s the fire?” Mr. Rivers asked them as they flew
through the doors to the courtyard towards the waiting bus.
“It’s museum day!” Emma exclaimed.
“Good to see you’re excited,” Mr. Rivers said. “And I’m
sure that has nothing to do with you missing the rest of your
classes today.”
“No,” Emma replied. “ Not at all.”
To their horrible surprise, Grayson Bishop was already on
• 9 •
T H O M A S J . M I S U R A C A
the bus.
“I saved a seat for you, Emma,” he called out of his open
window.
Which was pretty funny, since he was the only one on the
bus at that moment.
Emma ignored him and took a seat with Dawn. Brett took
the seat in front of them and turned around to chat.
Slowly, the other students filed onto the bus. It was a rela-
tively small group — they’d all just fit on one bus — all select-
ed by Mr. Coco and Mr. Rivers, students they knew who would
appreciate the museum.
All the faces around them were well known. Most were
acquaintances. But just as the seats were almost full (the only
empty ones were next to Grayson and Brett), an unfamiliar girl
stepped onto the bus.
All chitchat stopped, and everyone stared. Not only was she
a stranger, but she was a beautiful stranger.
She had long, red hair that glistened like velvet. Her eyes
were brown and sparkled in the light. She had a thin, very well-
defined figure, highlighted by the navy blue designer suit she
wore. But though all eyes were upon her, hers were focused
• 10 •
C H A P T E R O N E
upon the ground.
Mr. Rivers stepped onto the bus behind her.
“Can I have your attention please?” he bellowed, assuming
he had to quiet the bus down, but they were already silent and
staring at the new arrival.
“We have a new student with us today,” Mr. Rivers said.
“She just moved here from the midwest, and though she won’t
officially begin school here until next year, she’s going to attend
some classes to get familiar with us. Her name is Gloria
Merrick, and I expect you all to welcome her to our school.”
There was a murmur of greetings from the students on the
bus. Gloria made her way down the aisle looking for an empty
seat.
“I think the new girl needs to sit with me,” Grayson bel-
lowed.
Gloria quickly sat next to Brett.
“Good choice,” Brett told her.
Gloria smiled shyly.
“So where are you from originally?” Dawn asked.
“The