And that left Zach the Wack. The truth was, Nathan had come to respect Zach’s gaming abilities. He even thought their styles complemented each other. Zach had a way of leading the enemy right into Nathan’s sights. It was like Zach did the work and let Nathan take the glory. But, of course, that was because no one quick scoped faster than Nathan. Without his shooting skills, Zach’s strategy would have been useless.

But Zach was a weirdo and there was no way Nathan could allow himself to be seen with him. And that left no one for Nathan to hang out with. He knew what his mother would say. Be patient. Maybe she was right. Now that the matches were being streamed, more and more kids would see him and know he was a good gamer. He wouldn’t just have friends soon, he’d have the right friends.

But until that happened, there wasn’t much to do. Nathan turned on ITV. Once again, there on the TV screen was the eSports story, with Caleb sitting in a living room with his parents. Caleb was talking about why he’d decided to push for the eSports club and how, with Ms. B’s help, he’d gotten the grant for the Providias and fast internet. Then the scene shifted to Ms. B in the computer lab talking about how the school was benefiting academically thanks to the new computers. Finally, they showed a clip of last week’s match, with Caleb, Emma, and Zach staring at their monitors, each with one hand racing over a keyboard, the other hand on a mouse. The scene shifted to the Axis squad in their matching red T-shirts.

Even though the show wasn’t over, Nathan flipped to another channel. He’d already seen the ITV story half a dozen times. It turned out that he hadn’t had to worry about being seen sitting next to Zach. Why? Because there hadn’t been a trace of Nathan during the entire segment.

Squad tactician Goofy Foot moves stealthily through the halls. Few know that he’s the genius behind the recent string of Allied victories. They’ve seen him on ITV and streams, but they assume he is just another member of the Allied squad. Only today must Goofy Foot face his greatest challenge yet. Caleb “Xtra Credit” Arnett has bidden that Goofy Foot join the Allied squad…in the forbidden land of the cafeteria.

Except for lunchtime detentions, not since sixth grade had Zach voluntarily entered the cafeteria. But Caleb had suggested he give it a try, pointing out that if Zach didn’t like it, he could always go back to having lunch in the library. Zach reluctantly agreed, then nervously waited out in the corridor until most of the kids settled at their tables and were busy eating and talking with their friends. He entered the cafeteria and walked straight to the table where Caleb and Emma were sitting.

Caleb and Emma welcomed him with smiles. Zach had just started eating the bag lunch he’d brought from home when Nathan arrived with a tray. “So what’s our strategy for today’s match, Mr. Squad Tactician?” he asked in a taunting way.