Tut Read Online Free Page A

family and happiness.
    â€œSeth, you’re with Tia,” Mr. Plant said.
    No way. Seth got the new girl? And I was stuck with Henry?
    Tia wore baggy cargo pants, combat boots, and a bright pink athletic shirt. She had eyes that were as blue as lapis lazuli, which were stones used in all sorts of stuff from ancient Egypt, and a giant pink streak ran through her short dark hair. Her wrists were layered in bracelets, and at least five different necklaces hung from her neck. But the thing that won me over was the way she accidentally jabbed her elbow into Seth when she marched over to join him. He winced and opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. It was almost like they knew each other and already despised each other. Seth had that effect on people.
    â€œSomeone told me she got kicked out of Catholic school for fighting,” Henry whispered to me.
    â€œWho?” I asked, pretending I wasn’t just staring at her.
    â€œTia,” Henry said. “They say this is her third school so far this year.”
    Seeing as how we were only two months into the school year, Tia’s troublemaking skills must be the thing of legend.
    My chance to ask anything else about her was cut off when Mr. Plant blew his whistle. Yes, whistle. I felt like a two-year-old.
    â€œFirst, the project,” he said.
    Everyone groaned. Homework was bad enough. A three-week-long project was worse than hauling rocks around in the blazing hot desert to build pyramids for dead kings.
    â€œYour partners assigned here will be your partners for the project. Your job is to study the artifacts you see today and then pick one to present to the class. You’ll be graded not only on your research but on your originality, creativity, and presentation skills. The project will count for fifty percent of your final grade.”
    â€œYou’re in luck,” Henry said. “My presentation skills are awesome.”
    That made sense. He did talk constantly, so he had plenty of practice.
    â€œAnd now, I’d like you to meet our tour guide.” Mr. Plant motioned to a redheaded guy with yellow eyes standing next to him. I guess the tour guide was taking the whole King Tut exhibit thing pretty seriously. He was dressed in some toga-looking loincloth tunic that actually resembled the real thing. Maybe he’d patterned it off the images from my tomb. It had been all the rage back in the day. Now he just looked like some kind of Halloween reject.
    The tour guide caught me staring and smiled. My nerves prickled to the very edges of my skin. Coming to this exhibit was a horrible idea. I should have faked being sick today.
    â€œAre you feeling okay?” Henry said. “You look green.”
    â€œIt’s the lighting,” I said, and tried to make the green go away.
    Henry pulled his wiry glasses from his eyes and cleaned them with the bottom of his Pluto T-shirt.
    â€œNo, you still look green,” he said once he slid his glasses back onto his nose.
    Mr. Plant blew his whistle again and we followed him up the stairs in two lines, me next to Henry and Seth behind us next to Tia. When Mr. Plant got to the King Tut exhibit entrance, he put the whistle to his mouth like he was going to blow it again.
    Our tour guide yanked it from Mr. Plant’s mouth and threw it across the room. “Do not disturb the tomb of the pharaoh,” he bellowed.
    â€œTomb of the pharaoh,” Seth said from behind me. “I heard he was a puppet ruler. That he was too incompetent to make a single decision on his own.”
    I bit my tongue. I didn’t need to justify myself or my rule to some smelly eighth-grade loser.
    â€œI know you’ve all been waiting for this day,” Mr. Plant said, scowling at our overdramatic tour guide.
    â€œNot really,” I muttered. It wasn’t too late. I could pretend to twist my ankle. Or act like I passed out.
    â€œAre you kidding?” Henry said. “This is the best