Caleb nodded at the Sephora window. “Don’t see much Under Armour in there.”

Zach’s face reddened. “Oh, yeah, I, uh, thought I’d get a few other things while I was here.”

“Like sun-kissed body glove oil?” Caleb teased.

“Uh, for my mother,” Zach quickly said, and changed the subject. “So how’s it going?”

“Hanging out with my cousins,” Caleb said. “I think I told you that I was going to meet them here today.”

“Oh, did you?” Zach mimed slapping his forehead. “Must’ve forgotten. So, what’re you guys up to?”

It struck Caleb that if Zach had been following them, he already knew exactly what they’d been up to. But he didn’t want to embarrass him by pointing that out. In fact, Caleb was tempted to ask Zach to join them. He really was. But that wasn’t what the day was about.

“Listen,” Caleb said. “I’ll see you in school, okay? I’m really stoked for the next match. Can’t wait to hear what your strategy will be.”

Zach stared down at the floor. He wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions, and Caleb could see that he was disappointed. Knowing how difficult these things were for Zach, Caleb began to debate whether he should change his mind and invite Zach to join him and his cousins after all. He looked toward the sunglass kiosk to see if his cousins were still there. When he turned back, Zach was gone.

Nathan lifted the brass knocker on Tanisha Proctor’s front door but didn’t let it drop. Are you ready for this? he asked himself. Because what happens in the next few hours is going to go a long way toward determining what your life is going to be like for the next few years.

Nathan thought he was ready. Tanisha’s UnPlug2gether was something he had prepared for. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror at home, he’d practiced thanking Tanisha for the invitation. He practiced complimenting Callie Potendo on the cool self-portrait she’d painted in art class. He planned to tell Bethany Willis that he’d seen her student council poster in the hall and was definitely going to vote for her.

And he had a strategy. He wasn’t going to smile too much because he thought it made him look goofy. And if he felt himself growing nervous, he wouldn’t start talking too much. Just be cool and listen to what the other kids say. The best way to get them to like you is to act interested in them.

Nathan let the knocker fall with a clank! A few moments later a woman he assumed was Tanisha’s mother welcomed him inside. Since the party theme was unplugging, he put his phone in an envelope with his name on it and left it in a basket by the front door. Then he went down to the basement game room. There were about twenty kids there, playing pool, foosball, and cornhole.

Because he was new, Tanisha took him under her wing and made a spot for him at the foosball table. It had to be pure chance that the other three players at the table were Gavin, Crosby, and Mackenzie. Tyler was across the room shooting pool, which meant the whole Axis squad was there. Meanwhile, Nathan was the only one from the Allied squad.