Ms. B’s eyes settled on Caleb as if she expected him to be captain. Emma suspected that Caleb wanted to keep a low profile. Still, being captain meant Emma would stand out and be in charge, things she always tried to avoid. She was the kind of person who wouldn’t even post a selfie for fear of not getting any likes. She could already imagine the nasty “Who Does She Think She Is?” comments Mackenzie and Isabella would post. But Caleb had asked her to do it, and he was probably already disappointed in her because he thought she hadn’t saved him a seat in the assembly. Did she really want to disappoint him twice in the same day?

Emma raised her hand. For an instant, Ms. B couldn’t hide the look of surprise on her face, but she quickly recovered. “All right, Emma. You’ll be the other captain. Now go ahead and pick your squads.”

In Caleb’s mind, there was no doubt that Gavin, Crosby, Tyler, Mackenzie, and Isabella would be one squad because they were all sort of in the same social crowd. And he, Emma, Zach, and that new kid, Nathan, would be the other squad because they weren’t in that crowd.

The problem was that for most of the meeting Zach kept his hoodie pulled so low over his head that his face was mostly hidden. His feet were tapping nonstop, and his knees bounced rapidly. His hands were jammed as deep as they could go into his pockets, and he kept sniffing loudly. It was obvious to Caleb that Zach didn’t want to be there and that once he left, he wasn’t coming back.

Ms. B had everyone set up gaming accounts, and then the meeting ended. The first match would be the following week. Now kids were leaving to catch the late bus. Caleb expected Zach to blast out of the computer lab, but instead he dawdled in the back of the room. Was it because Zach didn’t want to go out into the hallway while Crosby was around?

Caleb gathered his things. He’d just pulled on his backpack when he heard Ms. B clear her throat. Her eyes darted at Zach and then back to Caleb. She gave him a look that said Try to get Zach to join.

No sooner did Emma volunteer to be captain than she regretted it. Especially with Mackenzie and Isabella on the opposite squad. She decided that she would talk to Caleb on the late bus, but when she left to catch it, he was still hanging around the computer lab.

On the late bus, Gavin, Crosby, Makenzie, and Isabella were sitting in the back. The only open seats were right in front of them. When Mackenzie saw Emma, she narrowed her eyes as if she’d already thought of the meanest thing she could possibly say and couldn’t wait to deliver it.