Tut by P. J. Hoover

the oversized Canopic jar.
    â€œLet’s have it,” I said.
    Imsety unfolded the piece of papyrus. “How many planets are in the solar system?” he read.
    I laughed out loud as images of Henry’s Pluto T-shirts came to mind. I didn’t care what Henry said. Pluto was not a planet.
    â€œEight,” I said, slouching back with my arms crossed. This was going to be a piece of cake. I could smell victory.
    Imsety scratched his head. “This says nine.”
    I yanked the piece of papyrus from his hand and crumpled it myself. “That’s because it probably hasn’t been updated. There are only eight planets.”
    Imsety narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t know. The quiz is never wrong.” He looked to Tia and Qeb for some sort of confirmation.
    Tia pouted. “I really want to see Tut with his head shaved.”
    Qeb put his hands up. “Dude, I know Pluto is a planet.”
    â€œOh, come on, Tia,” I said. “Back me up, here.”
    She put her hands on her hips. “Fine. There are only eight planets now. Pluto got demoted back in 2006. It’s officially a dwarf planet.”
    The purple ankh shimmered and also vanished like the blue one had.
    â€œNo way,” Qeb said. “That’s not fair. I always loved Pluto. How could they demote it?”
    â€œYou guys need to get out more often,” I said. I could almost imagine Qeb and Henry getting together to mourn Pluto over a spiced latte.
    â€œHorus told us we can’t leave,” Qeb said.
    â€œThen maybe watch the news?”
    â€œWe’ve thought about it,” Imsety said. “But then Qeb will challenge me to a game, and no way can I back down from a challenge.”
    I could understand the logic.
    â€œOkay, that’s two right,” I said. “Last one.”
    Imsety grabbed a third slip of papyrus and unfolded it. “What’s your favorite color?”
    â€œBlue,” I said with no hesitation.
    â€œWrong,” Imsety said, crumpling the papyrus and tossing it over his shoulder.
    â€œWhat do you mean, wrong? It’s my favorite color. I’m pretty sure I know what my favorite color is.”
    Imsety shrugged. “Sorry, little Tut. The quiz doesn’t agree.”
    I grabbed the piece of papyrus from the ground and smoothed it out.
    â€œGold,” I read aloud. “But that’s not really a color. I mean not a traditional color. I figured you were talking about the colors of the rainbow.”
    Imsety buffed his fingernails on his sleeve, like this whole trivia game was some sort of minor distraction. “At no point did I specify any restrictions on the color. You got it wrong. That’s your freebie.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Just read the next question.”
    â€œWith pleasure,” Imsety said. “And remember, this time we shave your head.”
    â€œI’m not going to get it wrong.”
    I hoped.
    He pulled a fourth piece of papyrus from the Canopic jar. After this one, there was only one piece left. He unfolded it and smoothed it out.
    â€œPieces of what dead king are buried in five sacred spots around Washington, D.C.?” he read.
    Pieces of a dead king? I had no idea. Sure, there were tons of dead people buried around the District, but as far as I knew, none of them were kings who had been dismembered and scattered around. I ran my fingers through my hair. Sweat sprang onto my forehead. Imsety and Qeb would really shave my head. Of that I had no doubt. But if I got this wrong, I’d only have one chance left to get into the Hall of Artifacts. The trivia quiz may have been stupid, but I still had to win.
    â€œCan you…” I started, thinking I could stall by asking for a clue.
    â€œSeti the First,” Tia said. “That’s simple. The new obelisks are built on top of the burial sites.”
    Imsety crumpled the papyrus. “That’s cheating. Your girlfriend can’t