This is bananas! I’m scared to even turn my baku on.

Seriously man, I’m accessing these apps on an old smartphone like some kind of millennial.

It’s clear I’ve missed a load of messages, and I attempt to scroll backward to find out what was said in the beginning. I scan for handles I recognize, like Tobias’s or Ashley’s. But key messages are missing.

Carter leans forward. “That’s odd. There were loads of messages complaining about the update yesterday.”

“Look!” I point at one of the latest messages.

They’re erasing these boards as fast as we can post! What are we going to do?

Did you see that they’ve made it mandatory for all level ones and twos to update before the New Year?

I just saw that too.

I stare at Carter. “They actually do care.”

“It’s the same on the St. Agnes forum,” says Zora. “And my sisters are firing up all the upper grades right now. If we figure out a plan, then I can totally post a message there and get Linus to send out a call to action before the New Year.”

“So not all St. Agnes kids updated last night?”

Zora shakes her head. “I guess a lot of kids are smarter than Eric thought. He released it too quickly, too widespread. We might want to fit in, but most of us definitely don’t want to be forced into what to do.” She looks up at the screen and tuts. “Okay, while you two think of a plan, I need to properly concentrate to come to grips with this code,” she says. “And since I don’t have Linus, I’m going to have to block you out the old-fashioned way.” She swings around, searching my shelves. “I know I stashed a pair of heads around here somewhere. Aha!” She reaches behind one of my boxes and pulls out a pair of garish pink headphones, each ear-covering almost the size of her face. “They’re noise canceling as well. No disturbances.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” I say to her.

Then, just like that, it’s just Carter and me once more. We eye each other across the table, both of us awkward.

“Any ideas?” I ask him. To distract myself while Zora is working, I pull the wrecked remains of Hunter back toward me, going in for a closer inspection.

Carter sighs with relief when I start working on Hunter, and I realize how worried he must’ve been that I wouldn’t uphold my end of the bargain. This is someone not used to trusting anyone else.

For a second, I feel sorry for Carter. Growing up with a dad who constantly puts him down, his mother gone, always having to put up a front, never knowing if anyone was his friend because of him or because of who his father is.