Gamer Girl (20 page)

[SirLeo]
(Oh, and I picked up some manga, too. Good idea. Love it so far.)

[Allora]
(What did you get?)

[SirLeo]
(Ummm ... A bunch of hentai.)

I cocked my
head in confusion. Hang on a second, wasn't that... ?

193

[Allora]
(Isn't that, um, porn?)

[SirLeo]
(ROFL. Yes. I Wikipedia'd it just to freak you out.

Just kidding,
of course.)

[Allora]
(LOL. What did you get really?)

[SirLeo]
(Naruto
and
Hellsing.)

[Allora]
(Ah. Never read those.)

[SirLeo]
(That's 'cause you're a grrrrly grrrl.)

[Allora]
(!! Whatev. I could still kick your butt in a duel.)

Sir Leo
shivers.

[SirLeo]
Sorry, m'lady. I promise to show more respect for thee in the future.

[Allora]
He-he. That's better.

I lapsed into
our old banter without meaning to. It was so hard. He still acted and
talked exactly like Sir Leo. The guy I was in love with online. It
was hard to remember he was really Matt behind the character.

Well,
maybe
it was Matt. I still wasn't positive, of course. For all I knew the
similarities could all be a total coincidence. After all, Farmingdale
was a popular name for a town. He could be from Farmingdale, New
York, not New Hampshire. Or Farmingdale, Maine. Or Farmingdale--

[SirLeo]
(ZOMG, I totally forgot to tell you. They started a manga club at my
school.)

Then again, he
could be Matt from Farmingdale, New Hamp

194

shire, the
school where they just started a manga club this week.

[SirLeo]
(This new girl at our school named Maddy started it. She's really
cool. Into manga just like you. She was giving me some suggestions
after school on Thursday.)

My heart sank.
There was no use denying things any longer. Sir Leo was Matt. Matt
was Sir Leo. Definitely. Without a doubt. I stared at the screen, not
knowing what to type back. Should I let him know who I was?

[SirLeo]
M'lady? Where did you wander off to?

[Allora]
(Sorry. Mom's calling me. I've got to go. Catch you

later.)

[SirLeo]
(Oh. Um, okay... Later, I guess.)
SirLeo signs off.

Wow, I was such
a wimp. What was wrong with me? I should have just told him who I
was. It was the perfect opening and I'd messed it up.

I switched off
the computer, feeling like crap. If only things had turned out
differently. If only Sir Leo had turned out to be a real-life knight
in shining armor, too. But no. I just wasn't that lucky.

My phone
started ringing. Caller ID told me it was Dad. I thought about just
ignoring it, but I knew I had to face him

195

eventually.
Might as well get it over with while I was already in a bad mood.
"Hey, Dad."

"Maddy,
how are you?" He sounded happy to hear my voice. "I tried
to message you in-game a little bit ago, but you didn't answer."

"Sorry. I
must have been afk ..." I trailed off, realizing there was no
point in lying. "Actually, I saw your message. I was just
ignoring you."

The other end
went quiet. Then he said, "I see."

"I know. I
should have answered. I was just . . . well, I'm kinda mad at you,"
I blurted out. "You totally blew us off--your own kids--for your
stupid video games." I wasn't about to tell him that we'd
figured out a way to go without him. That would let him off the hook
and I wanted him dangling.

"I know.
I'm sorry," Dad said with a long sigh. "I messed up."

"Yes, you
did. And not only that, you had the nerve to lie to me about it."
"I didn't--"

"Didn't
lie?" I scoffed. "Okay, are you sick, then? Lying in bed
needing chicken soup? Should I send a doctor over?" "No,
but, I-"

"Or did
you just say you were sick 'cause you forgot we had plans and had
made arrangements to go raiding with your online friends?"

196

"Well, I
mean ..." Dad spluttered. "I really wasn't feeling very
good this morning. . . ."

"A
hangover doesn't count, Dad."

Silence. Then,
"When did you get so grown-up, Maddy?"

"Dad,
Emily and I love you. And we want to hang out with you and stuff. But
you can't blow us off like that. It's not fair. We're people, too,
you know."

"I know, I
know. I'm sorry. I really am," Dad said, sounding very upset. "I
promise to make it up to you. Next weekend we'll do something really
special, I promise."

"Okay . .
."

"Seriously.
I swear."

"I believe
you," I assured him. "And I'm looking forward to it."

I hung up the
phone, feeling much better already. Sir Leo was right--it was better
just to come clean. Too bad I couldn't do the same with him.

197

CHAPTER 18

THINK we're
going to need more chairs!" Ms. Reilly smiled as she scanned the
library for additional seating. Wednesday, week two of the manga
club, and it was packed to capacity. At least twenty people lounged
around the table, chowing on pizza and talking animatedly to one
another.

I studied each
new member closely, wondering who they were and why they had decided
to join the club. There seemed to be no common denominator--with
every school clique represented. From art geeks to prom queens.

"Great
turnout," Matt noted, nudging me in the elbow. I gave him a
small smile, feeling totally guilty. I wondered if he noticed I'd
been avoiding him in the halls and had been "too busy" to
log into the game all week. I knew I was being a total wimp and
should just suck it up and confront him, rather than let it eat away
at me and make me miserable, but I couldn't help it.

198

"Nervous?"
Ed asked from across the table.

"Hell
yeah." I looked down at my notes. I had expected to give my
little "How to Draw Manga" session to a handful of kids.
Not half of Hannah Dustin High. "Maybe we should postpone it for
another week or something. . . ."

"No way,"
Blackie chimed in from my right. "You are so not backing out
now."

"Yeah,"
Jessie agreed. "I want to learn to draw and you said you'd teach
us. And it would be completely unfair and not cool for you to change
your mind now and leave us totally art-challenged and stuff."

"Agreed,"
Ed said. "I had to trek all the way to the art room to get the
sketchbooks and pencils. And you know how I hate to burn unnecessary
calories."

I held up my
hands in protest, laughing. "Okay, okay!" I cried. "You
win. I'll teach." I couldn't help feeling secretly delighted at
their encouragement.

"Was she
trying to back out?" Ms. Reilly asked my friends. They all
nodded in sync.

"Of course
we didn't let her," Jessie assured the teacher. "After all,
she is the best artist at Hannah Dustin and it would be very selfish
of her to keep her talents to herself, don't you agree, Ms. Reilly?"

The teacher
grinned. "I do." She turned to me. "So I'm going to do
a little introduction and then hand things over to you."

I looked out at
the audience, my heart pounding in my chest. "Okay ..." I
said.

199

Black Raven
reached over to squeeze my hand. "Don't worry," she said,
"you'll be fine. Better than fine. I daresay, you will be kick
ass."

"Agreed,"
said David. Jessie and Ed gave me thumbs-up.

"Thanks,
guys," I replied, looking at them gratefully.

I smiled to
myself, looking around the room at all the new faces, intermingled
with more familiar ones. School had sure changed over the last week.
Between Blackie and her crowd and the rest of the manga club members,
I actually had a widening circle of friends at Hannah Dustin High.
People to sit with at lunch and say hi to in the hallways. People to
hang out with after school. It was a whole new world and I had to
admit, even though I still missed Boston, I was beginning to like it
here.

Suddenly a hush
fell over the room and I noticed everyone was staring at the library
entrance. I looked over and my jaw dropped to see Chad Murray and
about seven other kids walk into the library.

"Is this
the manga club?" Chad asked.

"Yes,"
Ms. Reilly said, beaming. "Yes, it is. Though we're running out
of chairs. So some of you might have to just sit on the floor."

"Sorry,"
Chad said, wearing an embarrassed smile. "Matt was going on and
on about the club in drama practice and we all decided we should
check it out."

"The more
the merrier," Ms. Reilly pronounced. "And it's a good day
for you guys to come. Maddy, our club president, is going to give us
all a lesson in drawing."

200

I could feel
the blood drain from my face. "I feel sick," I whispered to
Black Raven.

She grinned
wickedly. "Aw, Maddy's boyfriend came to watch her," she
teased.

"Shh! He
is so not my boyfriend."

"Mmm-hmm.
Then why's he here?"

"An
undying desire to explore the mysteries that make up Japanese
artwork?"

Black Raven
rolled her eyes.

I stole a peek
over at Chad and his friends. They all had settled in, cross-legged
on the library rug, and were passing around some of the comics and
graphic novels people had brought in. He caught my eye and gave me a
thumbs-up.

Did he really
like me? Was it possible? And if so, what would I do about it? At
least I didn't have the Sir Leo conflict anymore. Not that it was
really ever a conflict.

Something
nagged at my insides. Something sad. I glanced over at Matt, who was
chatting merrily with Ed. Truth be told, I'd missed Fields of Fantasy
and adventuring with Sir Leo the past few days. I missed my sweet and
gentle knight. How he'd ask about my day and really listen to my
answer. Silly one moment, supportive the next.

How could it
be? How could I be so completely in love with Sir Leo online and not
feel even the slightest interest in real-life Matt? It was so unfair.

"Um,
Maddy? Earth to Maddy?" Blackie waved a hand in front of my
face. "Time for some art lessons, sistah."

I blushed. "Um,
sorry," I said. I looked out over the room.

201

At all the
eager faces, ready to learn how to draw. I stood up from my seat and
walked over to the easel Ms. Reilly had set up at the front of the
room and pulled the cap off my marker.

"Hi, all,"
I said. "I'm Maddy Starr and I'm going to teach you to draw
manga."

202

CHAPTER 19

Everyone PUT
away your books, the midterm is about to begin." Thursday
morning in chemistry class and Mr. Wilks passed a stack of test
packets to each front row student, who took one, then passed the
stack to the person seated behind him. I grabbed mine and skimmed
through the questions, glad I'd studied so hard. Sure, it was mostly
because I was trying to avoid signing into the computer and facing
Matt/ Sir Leo, but hey, nice that my grades would benefit as a bonus
to my chickenness.

I could feel
eyes on me and turned to my left to see that Billy had seated himself
directly next to me. He caught me looking and stuck up his middle
finger in greeting. I turned back to my test. I wasn't going to let
him upset me right before an important exam.

"Good
luck, Freak Girl," Billy whispered.

"I don't
need luck, Idiot Boy," I retorted. "I studied."

"Everyone,
quiet. This is not a shared learning experince,"

203

Mr. Wilks
ordered, sitting down at his desk and opening up a copy of some
best-selling spy thriller. "Anyone caught talking will be asked
to leave the classroom."

The room fell
quiet. I started marking my test, answering questions about chemicals
and their appropriate symbols and what they'd become if mixed
together. The exam was pretty straightforward, luckily. No trick
questions. No stuff that wasn't in the book. For once, I was glad of
my teacher's lack of creativity.

"Hey!
Psst!" I could hear Billy whisper to my left. At first I figured
he had to be addressing someone else. Probably some poor sap who'd
allowed him to cheat off her test. Until, that was, he poked me with
the eraser side of his pencil. "Hey, Freak Girl," he
hissed. "I'm talking to you!"

"Don't
call me that," I hissed. I looked over at Mr. Wilks's desk.
Luckily, the teacher looked pretty engrossed in his book.

"Ooh, I'm
sorry." Billy grinned, not looking the least bit apologetic.
"What did you get for number three?" he asked.

"Your
mother," I muttered, turning back to my test. He had some nerve,
assuming I'd help him. I wouldn't have allowed my best friend to
cheat off me, never mind some jerk like him.

"Aw, come
on. Don't be like that. I gotta pass this stupid thing or I'll be
kicked off the basketball team."

"Poor
baby." As if I cared. I started working on the next question.

204

"Come on.
Just let me see...." He reached over and tried to angle my paper
so he could read my answers. Furious, I jammed my elbow into his arm.

"Ow!"
he cried loudly. Suddenly the entire class had their eyes on us. I
cringed. This was not going to end well for me, I could feel it.

Mr. Wilks
looked up, eyes narrowing. "What's going on here?" he
demanded.

"She's
trying to copy off me," Billy piped up immediately. "And
when I didn't let her, she hit me."

"Oh, give
me a break!" I cried. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to try
to get the teacher to buy such a lie. After all, there were probably
five other students who could attest to the fact that. . .