Gamer Girl (21 page)

I looked behind
me. At the ones who could defend me. Lucy. Chelsea. Chad. A chorus
line of Haters.

Crap.

"Mr.
Wilks?" Lucy chimed in, waving a well-manicured hand in the air.
Her silver bangle bracelets flashed under the fluorescent light. "I
saw her do it."

"Me too,"
Chelsea added confidently. "And it's not surprising either.
After all, she hates Billy. Remember when she hit him in the
cafeteria?"

Oh, great. Now
that was going to come back and haunt me, too.

"She's a
menace to our school," Billy said, giving me a disgusted look.
"She ought to be expelled."

Mr. Wilks got
out of his chair and walked over to my

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desk. "Young
lady," he said, staring down at me with his beady eyes.
"Obviously detention has not straightened you out. We don't
tolerate cheating and we certainly don't tolerate violence here at
Hannah Dustin. I want you to go see Principal Miller. I'm going to
recommend that you be suspended."

"It's
about time," Chelsea exclaimed, followed by murmurs of agreement
from her friends.

My heart sank.
Suspension? Mom would kill me if I got suspended. Not to mention it
would go on my permanent record. It could screw up my chances of
getting into a good college. Especially if they wrote down that I had
cheated to boot.

"I didn't
do anything!" I retorted, feeling the lump rise to my throat. I
chocked it back.
Don't cry. Whatever you do, don't cry.

Mr. Wilks
frowned. "You've got two witnesses saying otherwise."

"But
they're Billy's friends," I protested. "Not exactly a jury
of my peers."

"Fine."
Mr. Wilks looked around the classroom. "Is there anyone here
that will speak out for Madeline? Did anyone see Billy try to cheat
off her test?"

The room was
silent.

"Just one
person," Mr. Wilks said, a small smile quirking at the corner of
his lips. He was enjoying this far too much. He and Billy would
probably share a big laugh about this on the basketball court after
school. "Is there even one person here that will speak out in
Miss Starr's defense?"

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The other
students kept their eyes averted, staring down at their own tests,
not willing to risk Billy's wrath by sticking up for me. "Come
on," I begged the class, scanning the room for members of the
manga club, but seeing no friendly faces. "Someone tell him. You
can't let Billy bully you all forever. You have the power to tell the
truth."

"You're
the bully," Lucy scoffed, picking at her pink polished
fingernail. "You hurt our friend. And now you want someone to
lie for you about it?"

It was then
that I noticed Chad, staring down at his hands, gnawing on his lower
lip.

"Chad?"
I begged, latching on to my one hope. It was a long shot, I knew.
Still, he'd promised that day at the restaurant he wouldn't stand by
and watch anymore. Was that just lip service? "Please," I
begged. "Tell him the truth."

Mr. Wilks
turned to Chad. I watched, holding my breath, as Billy's lapdog
swallowed hard. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Come on,
Chad," Billy said, twisting around in his chair to face his
friend. "Tell them you saw her cheat off me."

Chad's face
grew red. He opened his mouth again. "I . .." he began, his
voice trembling. "Billy was trying to cheat off Maddy," he
blurted out. "He tried to grab her paper. She elbowed him in
self-defense."

I let out a
sigh of relief.

"What?"
Billy's face was red as a tomato. "Chad! What the hell, man?"

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"It's the
truth," Chad retorted. "And you know it. Don't be a baby
'cause you got caught." Mr. Wilks sighed deeply.

"God,
retirement couldn't come too soon," he muttered, running a hand
through his thinning gray hair. "Fine," he said, addressing
the class. "Everyone go back to your test. But I'll be watching.
If I see even one person glance in the direction of someone else's
test, you're all going to fail. There will be no passing Go. No
collecting anything higher than an F grade."

"But,
Coach--" Billy protested.

Mr. Wilks
glared at him. "Shut up, Billy. Or I'll send both of you down to
Principal Miller's office right now and let him figure this mess
out."

Billy clamped
his mouth shut.

I glanced back
at Chad, relieved and grateful beyond belief. He gave me a small
grin. I smiled back, then looked down at my test, not wanting to get
in any more trouble or end up making the whole class fail on my
account.

I marked down
the next answer. Trying to focus and concentrate on the rest of the
test while butterflies tripped through my stomach. He stood up for
me. Chad Murray, Hater, stood up for me. He saved me from being
suspended. Even at the risk of catching total hell from Billy after
class.

I knew he was
different from the rest of them. I just knew it.

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Later that
afternoon, I passed Chad in the hall and was surprised to see him
sporting a black eye. A black eye he definitely hadn't had earlier
today when he was defending my honor in science class.

"What
happened?" I asked, though I had a pretty good idea as to the
answer.

"Three
guesses," he said with a small laugh. "And the first two
don't count."

"Billy,"
I replied, stating the obvious. "Does it hurt?"

"Nah."

"Look, I'm
really sorry," I said, feeling guilty. "Why? You didn't do
it."

"I know.
But it's not like it would have happened if you hadn't stood up for
me in class."

"I told
the truth, as I promised," he said with a sheepish shrug.
"Anyone would have done the same."

"Yeah,
right. No one would have. No one did, in fact. Except you."

"Look,
Billy may have been my best friend for a long time, but let's face
it, he's a jerk. A bully," Chad replied. "And someone had
to put him in his place. I figured maybe as the best friend it was my
job to do it, right?"

"Well, I
just wanted to thank you," I said, not sure what else to say.
"You're like . . . my knight in shining armor today." I
could feel my face burning in a blush. But it was true. And he had
really saved me. If I'd gotten a suspension . . .

Chad chuckled.
"I don't know about that," he said, and I suddenly realized
he was blushing pretty hard himself. "But

209

you are very
welcome all the same." He stared down at his feet for a moment,
then looked up, catching my eyes in his beautiful blue ones. "By
the way?" he added. "Yeah?"

"If you
think my eye's bad, you should see the other guy's."

I started
laughing. Chad had punched Billy back? I would have so liked to have
seen that. I held out my hand and we slapped high fives. Something I
never in a million years would have expected to do with Chad Murray.

"That is
the best thing I've heard in . . . well, like, ever," I said.
"In fact--"

"Maddy!"
a voice down the hall suddenly interrupted. I cringed. Matt. Way to
ruin a moment. The guy seriously had a knack.

"I've got
to run to class," Chad said apologetically. "I'll see you
around?"

"Uh, yeah.
Definitely."

"Maddy!"
Matt again, more insistent this time. And closer, too. There was no
way to avoid him now. I waved a good-bye to Chad and reluctantly
turned to face Matt. This was it. I had to come clean. Be honest. Let
him know the truth about Sir Leo and Allora so we could move on past
this weirdness. It was the only fair, right thing to do.

"Did you
see Billy?" he asked in his most giddy voice. "Rumor has it
Chad punched him out after chem class." He paused and looked at
me pointedly. "After defending you," he added. "So
spill. Since when is Chad Murray all hero boy?"

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My heart ached
for Matt. He was going to be disappointed when he found out. I so
didn't want to hurt his feelings. Was there a way I could break it to
him gently?

"Matt, we
have to talk."

He laughed.
"Ooh, sounds ominous. Okay. Talk."

I looked around
the crowded hallway. "Not here. Let's find an empty classroom."

We settled on a
language lab that wasn't currently being used. I sat down at one of
the stations and Matt sat across from me, curiosity clear on his
face. Poor guy. He had no idea what I was going to say.

I took a deep
breath. This was it. Might as well get it over with.

"Matt, I
don't know how to go about this, so I'm just going to say it," I
started. I paused, then blurted out, "I'm Allora."

I waited for
his reaction. Horror, delight, confusion, maybe a little of each?

Or ... a blank
stare.

"Um, I'm
Allora," I repeated, in case he hadn't heard me. "You know,
from Fields of Fantasy."

Matt continued
to look at me with a confused expression. "Uh, congratulations?"

"Look, I
know you're Sir Leo. I figured it out."

"Sir who?
What?"

He wasn't
making this confession any easier. "Come on, Matt. Fess up. I
know you're him. It's okay. You don't have to pretend."

Matt held up
his hands. "I have no idea what you're talking

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about. But I
can tell you for a fact, I'm definitely
not
Sir Leo, whoever
that is."

I stared at
him, confused as all hell. I couldn't be wrong. There was no way.
"B-but..." I stammered. "But you have to be him.
You're in drama. You like comic books and you play video games. You
met someone online."

"Maddy,
can you back up a bit? You've completely lost me. What does my being
in drama have to do with this Sir Leo guy?"

And so I
explained. About my adventures in Fields of Fantasy. My online
romance with Sir Leo. How I figured out that Sir Leo had to be Matt.
"Which was really confusing," I confessed. " 'Cause I
don't feel anything for you. I mean, I love Sir Leo online, but in
person . . . well, there's just no spark between us."

Matt stared at
me for a moment, then broke out in laughter. "Of course there's
no spark, silly," he said. "I'm gay." I did a double
take. "Wh-what?"

"Has it
escaped your attention that I like boys? No offense--you're a cool
girl. But you're still a girl. It'd never work out," Matt
clarified. "Oh, but the person I met online? Edu-ardo. Beautiful
olive-skinned Cuban who lives in Miami. I'm totally smitten." He
laughed. "I can't believe you thought I liked you!"

I couldn't
believe it. I'd been wrong. Totally and utterly wrong this whole
time. Matt wasn't Sir Leo! Not even close. I felt an overwhelming
sense of relief.

But the
question remained. Who the heck was Sir Leo?

212

"Then who
. .. who could Sir Leo be?" I wondered aloud, racking my brain
for a suitable answer. "I mean, he sounds just like you."

Matt shrugged.
"Give me what you know and I'll play Veronica Mars."

I counted off
the facts on my fingers. "He goes to our school. He's in drama.
Likes comic books. He joined the manga club recently. He lives with
his dad who works at a bank. . . ."

Matt rolled his
eyes. "Oh, that's easy," he said.

"You . . .
you know?" I asked, suddenly fearful of finding out.

"Sure.
Funny, too, considering today's events." "Huh?"

"Maddy,
you're describing Chad Murray."

My world
dropped out from under me. "Chad . . . Chad Murray?" I
repeated.

"Sure,"
Matt said. "Drama, check. Comic books--saw him reading one in
study hall--stuffed inside a
Sports Illustrated,
of course. He
joined your manga club last week and his dad works with mine at
Citizen's Bank."

I felt like I
was going to throw up. Sir Leo was Chad Murray? Chad Murray was Sir
Leo? I'd been playing Fields of Fantasy this entire time with Chad
Murray? Talking, sharing, laughing with Chad Murray? Chad Murray of
the Haters? Chad Murray the guy I'd had the biggest crush on since
day one of Hannah Dustin High?

Oh. My. God.

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CHAPTER 20

WHAT'S WRONG,
Maddy?" Ms. Reilly asked.

"Uh,
nothing," I lied, dabbing my paintbrush into a pot of shimmery
blue. After my conversation with Matt, I'd skipped study hall and
retreated to the library to work on my manga. I knew I must look a
mess, but I couldn't help it. All I could think of was what Matt had
revealed.

Sir Leo was
Chad. Chad was Sir Leo. It was like a beautiful dream and a horrific
nightmare all rolled into one.

My mind whirled
in never-ending circles over the situation and I still had no idea
what I was supposed to do about it. Should I tell Chad that I was
Allora? What would he say? Would he be happy or totally weirded out?
Would he still want to date me in real life like he'd mentioned in
the game? Or would he be horrified that his online gamer girl turned
out to be real-life Freak Girl? What if he reacted like I had when
I'd thought Sir Leo was Matt? I didn't think I could take the
disappointment in his beautiful blue eyes when he

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found out the
truth. And I knew I couldn't take the rejection that would follow
that disappointment.

Sure, he stood
up for me in class. Even got into a fight with his best friend over
it all. But just because he felt bad for me did not mean he'd want to
date me. He was Chad Murray, after all. He could have anyone in
school. Why would he waste his time with little old me?

"Your book
is coming out beautifully," my teacher commented, studying my
picture. "You must be almost ready to turn it in."

"Yeah,"
I said. "The judging is on Sunday at the Boston Public Library.
So I've got to be done by then."