Morrison High: Final Exams

Final Exams Day Three

Eddie Singleton was deep in thought as he sat at the Cajun King drive through window. He couldn't make sense of the strange meeting he witnessed in the library conference room. He thought of the Hazleton boys and their odd testing sessions. A muffled voice interrupted his jumbled thoughts. Where was the voice coming from? It was the lady he saw every morning in the window.

"You need to keep the L key," she said.

"What?"

"I said, that'll be nine dollars and eighteen cents."

He rubbed his eyes and handed the lady a twenty. Minutes later he pulled into the Morrison High faculty parking lot. He was thankful he wasn't assigned any testing today. He placed his Cajun King breakfast on his desk and proceeded to the library. He unlocked the door for Ms. Dugan. She wouldn't miss her key as long as she could get in.

Back in his office, Singleton pulled up the Vance County Schools website. He clicked on administration and found Thomas C. Nettles, Assistant Superintendent of Facilities. He studied the picture. Yes, that was the man in the rumpled brown suit he witnessed coming out of the conference room. He clicked on Program Directors and scrolled down to Support Services and confirmed Dr. Threspi Cibus was also at the meeting. He remembered Jim Nettles was Thomas C. Nettles's son. Jim Nettles was in charge of facilities at Morrison High. Like father like son. But why had they been in a meeting that included Venus Roland and Mort the custodian? Curiouser and curiouser.

Singleton had a fresh stack of documents from the archives box which included the 1944 Morrison map with the small x's in red ink. Online he found a current map of Morrison. He clicked print and seconds later the guidance department printer chugged it out. He placed the current map next to the archives map. He compared the two and determined where he should draw the small red x's on his map to match the archives map. What did the x's mean? One x marked the spot of Morrison High. But what about the x on Maple Avenue? His research associated Maple Avenue with the train derailment.

Singleton studied the maps as he finished his coffee. In 1944, Morrison High School hadn't been built. It was simply the sight where the original Morrison Boarding School had been. What the x's had in common were sights of tragedy. He searched the location of Jingles Department Store and drew an x on his map. That was the sight of Camp Sessions.

Singleton heard the rear door to the guidance suite open and like clockwork Ana Gonzalez was always the second to arrive. "Good morning, Mr. Singleton!" "Good morning, Ms. Gonzalez." The school day began.

By 10:00 Mr. Singleton completed college evaluation forms for three of his seniors, met with a family who closed on a house in Morrison and would be attending in the fall, and replied to a number of emails. He also placed a phone call to the Hazletons.

"Hello, is this Mr. Hazleton?"

"Yes, it is."

"Hi, this is Eddie Singleton at Morrison High. How are you doing?"

"Fine, Mr. Singleton, how are you doing?"

"Fine. Do you have a moment?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Well, I administered your sons' exams on Monday and Tuesday and I just wanted to talk to you about them."

"Okay, sure. Was there a problem?"

"Not exactly, but there was an odd thing that occurred when I was testing Irving."

"And what was that?"

"He fell asleep during testing which I know is to be expected, but he spoke in his sleep. Have you ever heard Irving speak when he's sleeping?"

"No. What did he say?"