The class erupted into laughter. It was classic Zach Cook. Even as he’d said it, his eyes flicked for an instant toward the class to make sure they were listening.

Ms. B stiffened. “Zach!” she snapped. “What did you just say?”

“I said I spit myself.” Zach repeated the word with emphasis.

The class was still tittering, but Ms. B relaxed. “Oh, I thought you said something else. Take your seat. And maybe tomorrow, by some miracle, you could be on time?”

Zach went to his desk at the back of the room. Caleb returned to wondering what he should do about Crosby’s plan to cheat.

The class might have found Zach’s antics funny, but to Emma Lopez they were deeply disturbing. Emma couldn’t imagine drawing attention to herself like that. Just the thought of all those eyes on her made her want to slide down in her seat and disappear. If she ever made a spectacle of herself, what would they say about her? What if someone had their phone out and posted it to Snapchat? Think of the memes! The idea of being singled out online terrified her.

Just then the morning announcements began. “Heard about the new eSports club here at Ironville Middle School?” the student announcer asked. “What? Did you say eSports? You heard right. Thanks to Ms. B and Caleb Arnett, we just got eight brand-new fully loaded Providia X-Master gaming PCs. If you’re a gamer, you’ll want to hit the informational meeting in the computer lab after school today to learn more.”

As usual, half the class wasn’t listening, but Emma’s ears perked up. An eSports club? She glanced at Caleb, who sat a few seats away. He was a tall, slender boy with light brown hair and ears that stuck out just a tad too much. At that moment, he was grinning with pride. As if feeling Emma’s gaze, he turned and looked at her. Emma felt her face grow warm and hoped that it didn’t look like she was blushing. She mouthed the word “Thanks” to him. Caleb’s grin grew broad.

Meanwhile, those who had listened to the announcement started chatting with their neighbors. From a few rows away came Crosby’s loud voice: “What’s the point? We can play all the video games we want at home.”

A reply came from an unexpected source: a new kid at school whose name was Nathan. “On a Providia X-Master? That’s the fastest, most powerful gaming computer there is. It’s what all the pros use.”

Crosby raised his hand. “Ms. B, how fast are the processors?”

“What’s the refresh rate of the screens?” asked Nathan.

“Do they come with gaming mice?”

“And those cool LED keyboards?”

“You’ll have to come to the meeting to find out,” Ms. B said, pleased to see that at least some of the students were interested. She rose from her desk. “All right, everyone. There’s an assembly in the gym. Let’s go.”