1 LOST LUNCH Lunchtime couldn’t come soon enough for Ava Rhodes By the time the sixth graders at Wheatley Middle School were scheduled to head to the cafeteria she was just about starving When the bell rang after fourth period she was the first out the classroom door Hungry Mao Chen asked following Ava out of the classroom Like you wouldn’t believe Ava said It doesn’t help that my brother Andre makes a killer sandwich 5
Funny Mao replied stopping at her locker When it’s meat loaf day I’m all about the hot lunch Ava laughed and waved good-bye to Mao as she made her way to her own locker She dialed her combination to unlock it The metal door rattled as it opened Taped inside were pictures of some of her favorite video game characters Some of them held swords Others had blue flames of magic swirling around their fingertips Come here Ava whispered reaching into her backpack for her two favorite things her lunch bag and her MyPad tablet Though she wasn’t really supposed to have it at school Ava had a hard time leaving her MyPad at home She’d saved her money for the better part of a year and always brought it with her to the after-school coding club she’d joined Her plan was to finish the 6
video game she was working on and port it to her MyPad As she walked down the hall she passed by Miles Patrick another member of the Codeheads the name the club members called themselves Miles was pulling everything out of his locker mumbling to himself Seriously Miles cried pulling two textbooks free I just had it Ava didn’t bother to stop and ask She was interested only in her sandwich and playing a quick game or two before lunch was over Hey Ava Can I sit with you Mao called from behind Sure Ava said as they headed into the lunchroom I’ll grab a spot over there As Mao made her way to the hot lunch line for her beloved meat loaf Ava set her 7
