Chapter 12

Chapter 12 REINTRODUCING: ASH! AVATAR OF EXPLORATION! HERALD OF TEAMWORK! TOTAL NOOB! Ash was slightly nervous on her way to the computer lab. Morgan had been very secretive about what she would find there. And when she had asked Jodi about it at recess, Jodi had made a face like she might explode. "I can't tell you!" Jodi had whispered…loudly. "I mean, I can! It's not a secret from you anymore. But it's way cooler if you see it for yourself!" But what if Morgan had changed his mind? What if he'd decided he didn't want Ash around, after all?

Ash's worries disappeared the moment she entered the room. Morgan was there to greet her. And not just Morgan. Jodi, Harper, and Po all looked happy to see her. Even Ms. Minerva gave her a little wave from behind the windows of the office. "We're so glad you're here, Ash," said Harper. "Yeah!" said Jodi. "Morgan, do you want to show her the blueprint?" Morgan took a large sheet of paper from his backpack. It had an outline of a castle on it. He had made a lot of handwritten notes and what looked like directions along the edges. Morgan stared at the paper for a moment. Then he seemed to make a decision. He crumpled up the paper.

"You know what?" he said. "Let's just wing it." "Wow!" said Jodi. "Really?" "Wing it?" Ash echoed. "Wing what? What is the blueprint for?" Po turned his wheelchair toward her. "We're a sort of after-school Minecraft club. Our first project together is to build a castle." "I thought the best way to do that would be to follow a design," Morgan said. "I like having instructions to follow. But sometimes I forget that not everyone feels the same way." "A building project should be fun," said Po. "And challenging," said Harper. "I'd rather make something new. Something inventive."

"And I want it to be striking," said Jodi. "Like a work of art." "Okay," said Ash. She gripped her chin. She nodded, and paced a little. "So you all agree that you want a castle. You just disagree about… everything else." Morgan gulped. "Is it hopeless? Should we make four separate castles?" Ash stopped pacing. "Just because it's challenging doesn't mean it's hopeless," she replied. "My scouting troop went through the same thing when we made our tree house." "Really?" said Po. "But your tree house turned out totally amazing." "And we did that by having a plan, but also by letting each person bring their personality and skills to their task," said Ash. "Even if that meant the final product would be a little unusual." "I can live with unusual," Morgan said. "We need our castle to keep us safe from hostile

mobs." "Secure. Inventive. Fun. And striking." Ash nodded again. "We can do this." She smiled. "People say there's no I in team. But here's a secret: the best teams allow you to stay true to yourself." "I like that!" Jodi said. "What if there's been a silent I in team all along?" Morgan looked through the office windows, where Ms. Minerva was reading a fantasy novel and drinking a cup of coffee. "Just don't try it on a spelling test," he said. "But I'll try things your way, Ash." Harper patted him on the shoulder. "He's learning," she said, and everyone laughed.

"So should we get started?" said Ash. "Which monitor should I use?" "Oh man," Po said. "I almost forgot. This is the best part!" He shared a smile with the others. Ash wasn't sure how she should react. Po took a headset from a peg on the wall. Ash thought it looked strange—high-tech, but also a little bit otherworldly. It seemed to glow even though it wasn't plugged in to anything. He handed it to her. "Ready to give this a try?" he said, still smiling.