By now they were nearing the computer lab. “So, uh, you going to the gaming meeting?” Caleb asked. “You’re a gamer?”

“Who isn’t?” Emma said, feeling proud because she thought that sounded clever.

Caleb grinned. “Yeah, right?”

It felt good that Caleb appreciated her humor. Most of the time, the only person who got to appreciate it was Emma herself. Because she rarely said such things out loud.

“You psyched to play on those Providias?” Caleb asked.

“I’m psyched to play on a fast connection,” Emma said. “The joke in our house is that our internet’s so slow that…”

They walked a few more steps. Caleb glanced at her. “So slow that what?”

“We don’t know,” Emma said. “We’re still waiting for it to load.”

A laugh burst out of Caleb’s chest. “Good one!”

Emma felt herself glow inside.

When they got to the computer lab, the only other people there were Ms. B and that new boy, Nathan. Caleb and Emma sat at the near end of the long table where the new PCs had been set up. Ms. B stood by the door, waiting to see who’d arrive next.

“Know anyone else who’s coming?” Caleb whispered to Emma. She shook her head, but she was thrilled that Caleb kept asking her questions.

When the computer lab door opened and Gavin and Crosby came in, the smile on Ms. B’s lips shrank to a thin flat line. Emma doubted that either of the boys noticed. Crosby immediately went over to one of the Providia X-Masters. He looked at the big screen and then ducked down to check out the tower under the table. “Sick,” he said loudly.

Meanwhile, Gavin gave Emma and Caleb an impassive look. Then he and Crosby sat down at the far end of the table and stashed their backpacks under their chairs. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Emma got the feeling that battle lines were being drawn.

So far it had been a good day for Caleb. He helped stop Crosby from cheating on the geometry test, and the eSports club, which he had worked so hard on, had become a reality. Of course, he couldn’t have done it without Ms. B’s help, and he felt he owed her something for that. So if Zach actually showed up for the club, Caleb would feel like he’d paid her back.

Each time the computer lab door opened, Caleb watched Ms. B turn her head with an expectant look, but so far, the person they really wanted to see hadn’t arrived. When Mackenzie and Isabella came in, Caleb felt himself wince inwardly. When he’d pictured what the club would be like, he hadn’t imagined the mean girls, or guys like Gavin and Crosby, joining. Caleb’s afternoons were already packed. Almost every day after school he had an activity. Yearbook, debate club, piano lessons, Chinese club. For an instant, he wondered if he wanted to be in the eSports club with kids like that. But he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. The club was his idea, and it was about gaming, not about personalities. He was well aware that Crosby and Mackenzie were the kinds of kids who called him Extra Credit Caleb behind his back, but maybe, if they all gamed together, it would change.