“Not really,” Crosby said.

His aunt leaned forward. “Not really?”

Crosby knew he’d made a mistake. “I mean, no, never,” he said, although that wasn’t quite true.

“That’s hard to believe, considering there’s sexism all over the internet,” Aunt Mary said to Crosby’s mother. “Men assume that technology is their domain and a place where women can’t be their equals. A place where they don’t want women to be their equals.” She turned to Crosby. “I assume you follow professional gaming teams. Are there any women gamers on them?”

“Some,” Crosby said.

“A tiny minority,” said Aunt Mary.

Crosby was so tired of her attitude. “I guess you’d say women should be on professional football teams, too?”

“No,” said Aunt Mary. “They can’t. Their physiologies are different. Men have larger skeletons and more muscle mass than women. And even among men, only about one in a thousand is exceptional enough to play professional football. But the reason there are so few women gamers isn’t physical. It’s because they don’t see themselves on screens. Look at the hero in most video games and what do you see? A strong, white male with a fast car and a gorgeous girlfriend.”

“What about Lara Croft, Zelda, Calamity,” Crosby shot back.

“Let me guess. All skinny girls with big chests and pretty faces?” countered Aunt Mary.

“Please. I think we’ve argued enough about this tonight,” Crosby’s mother said wearily. Crosby leaned back in his seat. His eyes met Aunt Mary’s and they instantly shared an understanding. If there was one thing they could agree on, it was that all this arguing wasn’t doing his mother any good.

MATCH TALLY

GAVIN’S SQUAD: 3

EMMA’S SQUAD: 1

Caleb got on the bus to school feeling worried, stressed, and excited. He was worried because all week long the yearbook portrait photographer had been at school, and the guy seemed disorganized and scattered. Umbrella lights fell over in the middle of shoots. The photographer got the names of students mixed up. He tripped over power cords. Was Caleb’s father right when he said cheaper didn’t always mean better? Had Caleb made a mistake recommending him? That would really hurt his chances of becoming the yearbook’s managing editor next year.

But Caleb was also excited because last night a reporter from the local Ironville TV station came to his house to interview him and his parents about the eSports club. And later today a crew would video the club in action. The story angle was about Caleb being only in seventh grade and having been the force behind the creation of the eSports club and the grant for the Providia computers.

Caleb reminded himself that ITV, which stood for Ironville Television, reached only households in Ironville. But still, how many seventh graders had ever had a story done about them?

When Gavin and Crosby got on the bus a few stops later, they were wearing matching red T-shirts with short, jagged white lightning-bolt logos on the front. Caleb immediately wondered if the shirts had something to do with the match that afternoon. Crosby stopped in the aisle just past Caleb’s seat and told the sixth graders who sat there to move. Caleb heard the kids quickly scoot from the seat and Gavin and Crosby slide in.