Chapter 15

Chapter 15 TO ALL THINGS, AN ENDING. BUT IN EVERY ENDING, A NEW BEGINNING. CAND CAKE, SOMETIMES! It was Ash's last day at Woodsword Middle School. She had emptied her locker. She'd returned her textbooks and packed up her gym clothes. All that was left now was to say goodbye. They all gathered in the computer lab. Harper had made a "science cake," which was what she called all cakes. Jodi had put up streamers. Doc and Ms. Minerva were there, and they told Ash how much they would miss her. Ash thought she saw Morgan cry a little, but he denied it later.

"I want you to have this," said Doc. She handed Ash a set of VR goggles with a big red bow on top. "Ms. Minerva tells me all the glitches have been fixed, thanks to you." "Yes, no more glitches," Ms. Minerva said, adding a very unsubtle wink. "What was that?" Doc asked. "Why did you wink just then?" "Oh, just being a bit chaotic, Doc," said Ms. Minerva. "I know how much you enjoy that." "Thanks for these," Ash said, holding the

goggles to her chest. "Thanks for everything. I've had just…just the best time here. My new school won't be the same." "But it's just a few towns over," said Theo. "We can see you on weekends." "And virtually every weekday," said Jodi, pointing to the headset. "We're never more than a call away," Harper added. She held up her old phone, which she'd had to quit using when the Evoker King had taken over the school's tech. Now, with a little help from Doc and Theo, it was working better than ever. Ash laughed. "Yeah. I guess so." "You're taking it well, though, Ash," said Doc. "This can't be easy for you."

"It's not," said Ash. "It's sad, and scary, and totally out of my control." She smiled, just a little. "But I've got friends to help me through it." "Aw, gee," said Po. "You're going to make the rest of us cry like Morgan." "I wasn't crying!" Morgan protested, quickly pulling his hand away from the corner of his eye. "I have allergies!" "And I have a present for you," Ash said. "All of you. The whole school, actually!" Ash led them outside and across the schoolyard. They passed the bat house they'd built together some time ago, and they kept walking. "I couldn't put it too close to the bat house," she said. "That might have caused some problems if the bats decided to take up residence." She laughed as she led them farther down the path and around the back of the school's mobile classrooms. She heard them all gasp when they saw her surprise. "It's your tree house!" said Morgan. "How in the world did you move it here?"

"Well, my mom's an engineer, remember?" said Ash. "I know how much you all love it. So I thought it would be a nice gift." "It's the best gift," Jodi said. And she giggled as the hamster she was holding twisted out of her grip and went running for the playset. "You've definitely made the Baron's day!"

"Aw, he looks all happy," said Morgan. "But you know he's gonna miss you a lot." "I'm going to miss him, too, Morgan," said Ash. "I'm going to miss all of you." Ash held open her arms, and Morgan and Jodi and Harper and Po all gathered together for a group hug. "You too, Theo," Ash said. "Get in here." Theo grinned from ear to ear, happy to be included. Ash smiled, too, even though she was crying.