Lisa put down her pen. She got up from her seat, leaving the Coma Keeper open on her desk.

Sub:
-Target approaching.

I need to use the bathroom.
Uh, sure.

Lisa left the class.

-Target is going to bathroom.

Frank:
-get me eyes on the contents of that trapper

The substitute teacher walked right up to Lisa Heart's desk and took the Coma Keeper.

Lisa's desk neighbors noticed this and found it odd but said nothing.

Returning to the back of the class, the substitute looked through the Coma Keeper. The pages were covered with doodles, math, creative writing, geometry. The substitute took some pictures with his phone.

The substitute continued to the blank pages.
All the way to the end.

-good work

There was no backwards flag anywhere to be seen.
No writing that matched the communications made through the President.
Donald Trump had not awoken from his coma.
The Neural Early Warning System had not announced heightened activity.

Lisa returned to class to see the substitute teacher holding the Coma Keeper.
The substitute—acting as if it were completely natural—handed Lisa back her binder without explaining a thing.

After the film was lunch.

Beth-ann approached Lisa.
With all the questioning she had been through, revolving around Lisa, Beth-ann wanted to know what it was Lisa had done.

Back to your seat.
I was just-
Back to your seat.

The substitute was surprisingly strict about lunch.

After lunch was free study.

Lisa read a book of economic anthropology written by David Graeber.

The substitute called over Beth-ann and quietly spoke with her at his desk so that no one else could hear...

Beth-ann Miller, you were told you can't talk to LH about you-know-what weren't you?
Maybe? Wait, are you... them?
Would you like to help?
Yeah?
Could you get her phone?
I'll try...

After free study was recess.

Lisa was all alone as she had been since she started 5th grade.

Beth-ann walked over to Lisa.

Hey Lisa.
Hi Beth-ann.
I wanted to ask you something earlier but that dumb sub was dumb.
What did you want to know?
I wanted to know, like, where you got your phone case. It's cute.
I don't use a phone case. It's just stickers.
Let me see?

Lisa reached into her pocket...