Old Mr. Walker tallied twelve sixth graders fiddling with phones, seven chatting, two shoving each other, and zero displaying any interest in the ancient artifacts. He sighed. As the teacher’s aide led the class into the next gallery, Mr. Walker remained behind, receding into the shadows among the other relics.

Tracy Royce’s work appears in 101 Words, Blink-Ink, The Dribble Drabble Review, Five Minutes, and elsewhere.