“I think it’s stupid,” says Griggs. “You’re giving up some awesome stuff.”
Their warfighters are both perched alongside mine, in the tallest turret of the castle. We watch my army slowly empty out of the fortress and head off into the distance. Soon the mechanic will start taking apart the castle, virtual brick by virtual brick.
“It’s the right thing to do,” I say. “This game isn’t the same anymore. Or maybe I’m different. Anyway, I don’t need it the way I used to.”
“I guess Sudo isn’t going to be using it either.”
“Not for a while,” I say. “Dad said it’s going to take some time for him to get through the courts. He’s at some kind of facility until they get things sorted out.”
“Huh,” says Griggs. His warfighter scans the horizon. “You’re right. Tear it down. So, see you later?”
“Yeah,” I say. “But not here. At school.”
“You got it.” Griggs’s warfighter vanishes in a spray of pixels.
Jane and I leap off the turret and land in a cloud of pixelated dust at the base of the castle. I key in the final commands and we watch as the mechanic starts disassembling the massive structure. Soon nothing will remain of the castle—just the sketches in the margins of my school notebooks.
“What about me? When am I going to see you next?” asks Jane.
“Soon,” I say. “I won’t make you wait around.” She cuts her connection. I take off my headset and close the laptop lid. Beside it, on my cluttered desk, is an airplane ticket to Chicago. Just for a visit. But it’s a chance to see her. In real life.
Chapter One
Dear Son,
It has been a while since I wrote to you. I am sorry and will not make excuses for that. The last letter you sent to me was about how much you hate your new school. I think that I would hate it too, but your mother thinks it is the best for you. And there is not much I can do from where I am, is there?
So all I can do is give you some good advice. I think it is a father’s job to tell you how the world is. Not what it should be. And I tell you that you must fight every single day of your life. Whether with your fists or just the way you live every day, you will have to fight for everything. I know that I have.
And so when you wrote that you hate your new school, that is okay. In fact, I think hate is good.
Because in the end, the winner of any fight is decided by a few small things.
The winner is the one who doesn’t crap his pants.
The winner takes fewer punches than the other guy.
And the winner hates just a little bit more. And has enough control to let that hate out, hit by hit.
Dad
Chapter Two
“I don’t want any trouble,” I say.
It’s a lie.
I’m actually kind of hoping the bald guy makes the first move. It’s been one of my bad days, where my skin doesn’t feel like it fits. Like I’m just waiting for someone to come at me. I’m edgy. Pissed off. Looking for a fight. And I found one—this over-muscled chrome dome shoving around a skinny kid with glasses in front of the convenience store.
The bald guy in the Lakers jersey looks slowly over his shoulder at me and then snorts. He exaggerates letting go of his victim—his fingers snap open to release the kid with glasses. The kid’s wearing the same uniform as me. The uniform of Norfolk Academy.
Bald guy swaggers toward me. “What, you standing up for him? Private-school code of honor?” He laughs and shakes his head. “Would be funny, except your friend Jonathan here owes me money. So, you step off and let me finish my business.”
“Mason,” says the victim—Jonathan—from behind him. “Take it easy, bro. We can sort—”
I stand my ground. “Know what? I don’t know him and I don’t know you. And I don’t care what your business is with him. But you don’t do it on the street in front of me.”
“Or what? You gonna get your nice white shirt all dirty?” Mason gives me a shove, both hands on my chest. I stumble and then come back fast. Push him with one hand on his Lakers jersey. He doesn’t move, but his expression darkens. Game on.
Sean Rodman’s interest in writing for teenagers came out of working at schools around the world. In Australia, he taught ancient history to future Olympic athletes. Closer to home, he worked with students from over 100 countries at a nonprofit international school. He is currently the executive director of the Story Studio Writing Society, a charity dedicated to unleashing the creativity of young writers and improving literacy. Sean lives in Victoria, British Columbia. For more information,visit www.srodman.com.
Titles in the Series
Another Miserable Love Song
Brooke Carter
B Negative
Vicki Grant
Back
Norah McClintock
Bang
Norah McClintock
Battle of the Bands
K.L. Denman
Big Guy
Robin Stevenson
Bike Thief
Rita Feutl
Blue Moon
Marilyn Halvorson
Breaking Point
Lesley Choyce
Breathing Fire
Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang
Breathless
Pam Withers
Bull Rider
Marilyn Halvorson
Bull’s Eye
Sarah N. Harvey
Caged
Norah McClintock
Cellular
Ellen Schwartz
Charmed
Carrie Mac
Chill
Colin Frizzell
Comeback
Vicki Grant
Jeff Ross
Crash
Lesley Choyce
Crush
Carrie Mac
Cuts Like a Knife
Darlene Ryan
Damage
Robin Stevenson
A Dark Truth
Jeff Ross
The Darwin Expedition
Diane Tullson
Dead-End Job
Vicki Grant
Deadly
Sarah N. Harvey
Dead Run
Sean Rodman
Death Wind
William Bell
Desert Slam
Steven Barwin
Down
Norah McClintock
Enough
Mary Jennifer Payne
Exit Point
Laura Langston
Exposure
Patricia Murdoch
Fallout
Nikki Tate
Fastback Beach
Shirlee Smith Matheson
Final Crossing
Sean Rodman
Firewall
Sean Rodman
First Time
Meg Tilly
Foolproof
Diane Tullson
Grind
Eric Walters
Hannah’s Touch
Laura Langston
Heavy Freight
Sigmund Brouwer
The Hemingway Tradition
Kristin Butcher
Hit Squad
James Heneghan
Homecoming
Diane Dakers
Home Invasion
Monique Polak
House Party
Eric Walters
I.D.
Vicki Grant
Identify
Lesley Choyce
Impact
James C. Dekker
Infiltration
Sean Rodman
Laura Langston
In the Woods
Robin Stevenson
Jacked
Carrie Mac
Juice
Eric Walters
Kicked Out
Beth Goobie
Knifepoint
Alex Van Tol
Last Ride
Laura Langston
Learning to Fly
Paul Yee
Lockdown
Diane Tullson
Masked
Norah McClintock
Middle Row
Sylvia Olsen
My Side
Norah McClintock
My Time as Caz Hazard
Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Night Terrors
Sean Rodman
No More Pranks
Monique Polak
No Problem
Dayle Campbell Gaetz
Off the Grid
Lesley Choyce
One More Step
Sheree Fitch
One Way
Norah McClintock
Outback
Robin Stevenson
Overdrive
Eric Walters
Pain & Wastings
Carrie Mac
Picture This
Norah McClintock
Pinch Me
Gabrielle Prendergast
Plastic
Sarah N. Harvey
Rat
Lesley Choyce
Reaction
Lesley Choyce
Redline
Alex Van Tol
Refuge Cove
Lesley Choyce
Responsible
Darlene Ryan
Riley Park
Diane Tullson
Riot Act
Diane Tullson
River Traffic
Martha Brack Martin
Rock Star
Adrian Chamberlain
Running the Risk
Lesley Choyce
Saving Grace
Darlene Ryan
Scam
Lesley Choyce
Scum
James C. Dekker
Sea Change
Diane Tullson
Shallow Grave
Alex Van Tol
Shattered
Sarah N. Harvey
Skylark
Sara Cassidy
Sleight of Hand
Natasha Deen
Snitch
Norah McClintock
Something Girl
Beth Goobie
Spiral
K.L. Denman
Sticks and Stones
Beth Goobie
Stuffed
Eric Walters
Tagged
Eric Walters
Tap Out
Sean Rodman
Tell
Norah McClintock
The Way Back
Carrie Mac
Thunderbowl
Lesley Choyce
Tough Trails
Irene Morck
Triggered
Vicki Grant
The Trouble with Liberty
Kristin Butcher
Truth
Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Under Threat
Robin Stevenson
Up North
Jeff Ross
Viral
Alex Van Tol
Wave Warrior
Lesley Choyce
The Way Back
Carrie Mac
Who Owns Kelly Paddik?
Beth Goobie
Yellow Line
Sylvia Olsen
Zee’s Way
Kristin Butcher