Chapter 6

Chapter 6 UNEXPECTED LAB PARTNERS CAND OTHER DISASTERS) Harper was in full-on panic mode even before Ash's avatar caught on fire. Despite the column of bubbles all around her, she felt like she couldn't breathe. What would happen to Ash if she ran out of health here? Harper hated that she didn't know the answer to that question. She desperately wanted to understand the science that made this place work. She swam toward Ash with a loaf of bread in her hand. It was all she could think of to do. But Ash waved her away. She was standing on

the other side of the glass wall. The fire had burned away—and so had the water. Ash had created a shelter, a little pocket of air at the bottom of the sea. And she was still standing. She was okay. They watched as Ash placed a door in her structure. Once she had finished, Harper was the first one inside. "Ash, that was brilliant!" she said. "Clearing out all the water by burning wool. How did you think of that? YOU SHOULD EAT SOMETHING!" Ash munched on bread while the others entered the structure. It was cramped but dry. "I only wish I had thought of a way to do it without getting caught in the fire," Ash said. "But I knew I had enough health to handle it." "IT WAS SCARY TO SEE IT HAPPEN, THOUGH," said Morgan. "I'm glad you're okay." "And this place is awesome!" Jodi said. "It's like a reverse aquarium." "I suppose the view is nice," Ash agreed. "More important, there's room for our beds." "So we can finally disconnect for the day," Jodi

said with relief. She poked Harper playfully. "AND GET TO THAT HOMEWORK." "Arr," Po groaned, sounding like the saddest pirate in the world. The next morning, Harper woke and immediately started thinking about the previous day's adventure. She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd disappointed her friends when they'd been underwater. Morgan had looked to her to figure things out. He'd expected her to have solutions. But she'd just panicked. And because of that, Ash had put herself in harm's way. She decided that would never happen again. In quiet moments throughout the day, Harper used her phone to go online. She read everything she could about Minecraft's aquatic environments. Much of the information was new to her. "Kelp is really useful," she told Morgan at lunch. "Among other things, we can dry it out and

eat it. It's so abundant, we'll never go hungry!" "That's great," said Morgan. "And there are dolphins. If we feed them fish, they might lead us to treasure." "We already have a treasure map, though," Ash said. "In real-life news, that math homework was rough," Po said. "Harper, what did you get for the last problem? Please tell me it was a whole number between 422 and 424." "Oh." Harper felt her cheeks go warm. "I didn't do the homework yet." "You what?!" Po said. This was totally unexpected news. "Harper, it's due later today!" "I know, I know," she said. She put away her phone and pulled out her homework. "I'll do it now. I have plenty of time."

She saw her friends exchange a look. "Harper, were you reading about Minecraft all night?" Morgan asked. "Instead of doing the assignment?" "I was actually trying to make this clunky old phone work better," Harper answered. "But I may have spent some time reading about Minecraft as well." She bit her lip. "I JUST WANT TO BE PREPARED NEXT TIME. THAT'S ALL." Ash opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by the sound of a tremendous crash. The kids all looked over to see their

homeroom teacher, Ms. Minerva. The teacher was trying to shove a closet door closed. She leaned against it with her full weight. But the closet was too full. "Oh, it's hopeless," Ms. Minerva said. She let the door swing open, and dozens of colorful plastic cafeteria trays clattered out onto the floor. "Is everything okay, Ms. Minerva?" Ash asked. Ms. Minerva blew a frizzy strand of hair out of her face. "Everything's fine," she said. "I just need