Three large ATN trucks dominated the teachers’ parking lot. Students gawked at them like they were looking at Taylor Swift’s tour bus. Jackie knew what was going on even before the principal—a balding man with a rumpled suit, mismatched socks, and an old ketchup stain on his tie—pounced on her at the front door.
“Good morning, Miss Stone!” he offered with too much enthusiasm. “Isn’t it wonderful? Your television show has come to our school!”
Jackie clenched her jaw. “This can’t be real. Don’t you have to get parents’ permission or something?”
“Apparently the ATN legal department worked on that all night, and we’re good to go. The few students who didn’t want to participate are attending another high school until this is all over.”
Jackie locked eyes with the principal, the scowl on her face making him realize the horror of what he had just said. He put a hand to his mouth the way a bad actor feigns surprise and regret.
Jackie rolled her eyes and tried to brush past him. The only thing she wanted was to go to her locker.
“But you don’t understand,” he said, blocking her way and trying to regain his footing in the conversation. He looked up at the ATN camera suspended from the ceiling like he was starring in a soap opera. “The network is going to build us a new gymnasium, and we have you to thank!” He stood in front of Jackie holding his arm up, palm facing her.
Does he actually want a high five? she thought. Lame! This time she squirmed past with force and ran inside.
Everywhere Jackie turned, she saw cameras, and everywhere she turned, students were staring at her. A gaggle of the school’s most popular girls had formed a semicircle around her locker.
“Hi, Jackie,” one of the girls said. They all wore the same basic outfit, the same hairstyle, the same makeup, and had the same affected speech; Jackie had trouble telling them apart and wasn’t really sure which one was talking. “Isn’t this exciting? Now we know how special you must feel every day!”
“Why, is your father dying, too?” Jackie couldn’t help herself. She knew the smartest course of action was to keep her head down and her mouth shut, but this was too much. Ethan was pulling out all the stops, and it was getting to her.
Before the stunned popular girl could think of a response, a high-pitched whine originating from deep inside someone’s sinus cavity was saying, “Let me through; let me through!” An instant later, Jason Sanderson pushed his way into the center of the crowd.
“Hi, girls,” he said, grinning like the village idiot.
“Go away, geek,” the same popular girl said.
“Congratulations, Brie,” Jackie answered, having sorted out which queen bee was which, “you were just a primo bitch on television’s most popular show.” Jackie pointed at the camera aimed directly at her locker.
Brie’s cheeks turned the same color as her cherry lip gloss, and she stormed away. The gaggle followed her.
“Thanks, Jason,” Jackie said. “It’s really good to see you.”
Jason blushed, shook his head, and got right to his point. “Did you see it yet?” Jason asked.
“See what?”
“Oh, boy!” he said. “Come with me!”
Jason led Jackie to the computer lab.
“Hi, Miss Onorati,” Jason said.
“Mr. Sanderson, Miss Stone,” the teacher answered, unable to stop from grinning.
“Jason,” Jackie whispered, pulling his arm, “we’re not supposed to be here. I have history now. So do you!”
“It’s all right, Miss Stone,” Ms. Onorati interrupted. “I spoke to Mr. Egloff a few minutes ago, and he understands that you might need to miss history this morning.”
Jackie looked from Jason to their teacher. “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on,” Ms. Onorati offered, “is that the young squire here has a small bit of treasure to impart to Gerald the Generous.”
“What?” Jackie looked closely at her teacher. She was a pretty woman but didn’t seem to know it. Long but stylishly unkempt brown hair with a touch of gray; bright, hazel eyes made large by a pair of round glasses too big for her vertically orientated face, its long nose holding court over a wide and smiling mouth. She looked like a short, disheveled version of Angelina Jolie.
“Surprised?” Ms. Onorati asked.
Jackie was too surprised to speak. She nodded.
“Jackie, I’m a forty-one-year-old, unattached computer science teacher. Do the math.”
“Her name in Warcraft is Onan the Arbarian,” Jason snorted. “Isn’t that great?”
“Were you at the guild meetings?” Jackie asked.
“No, but when you’ve been in the game as long as I have, word travels fast. I’m here to help you in any way I can.”
“But what about them?” Jackie asked, pointing to the camera in the corner of the ceiling.
“What about them?” Ms. Onorati said. “Let them watch. I think they’ll want to see what Jason has to show you, too.”