Chapter 2

Chapter 2 A SPOONFUL OF COMPETITION NEVER HURT ANYBODY—BUT A FORKFUL OF BAD IDEAS WILL POKE YOU IN THE EYE EVERY TIME! The next day at school, Jodi was still thinking about the llama. "You should have seen it, Baron Sweetcheeks," she said to the class hamster. "It was the meanest llama of all time. Eight feet tall…with red eyes, and fangs…" Baron Sweetcheeks trembled in her hands. At first, she worried that she had frightened the hamster. But then she realized he was just excited to be surrounded by so much food. (It was lunchtime, and Jodi had brought him to the cafeteria.) "You're exaggerating," said Theo. "The llama did not have fangs."

"She's right about the eyes, though," said Harper. "They were as red as rubies." Morgan was clearly troubled. "I don't know what it means," he said. "But I wonder if it has something to do with the Evoker King. And I also wonder…is it sanitary to have Baron Sweetcheeks at our lunch table?" Po gasped. "How dare you!" he said. "The Baron is immaculately clean. He bathes more often than you do!" "And I need him here for emotional support," said Jodi, hugging the hamster close. "I see that llama's mean old face every time I close my eyes!"

Harper shrugged. "To be honest, I'm glad he's here, too," she said. "Because I've got bologna for lunch, and there's no way I can eat it all." "Ooh," said Theo. "I love bologna." "Well, now I've heard everything," said Harper, and she handed him half her sandwich. The hamster squeaked with envy. "I'm glad you could join us today, Baron Sweetcheeks," said Po, suddenly sounding gravely serious. Jodi giggled. Po only sounded gravely serious when he was being silly. "You're a hamster," Po continued, "but you're also part of our team. So it's only fitting that you're here for my big announcement. I, Po Chen…have decided to run for class president!"

Baron Sweetcheeks didn't seem especially impressed by this news. He was fixated on Theo's gelatin dessert. But everyone else around the table gave a little cheer. "That's exciting news!" said Jodi. "Totally," said Theo. "YOU'VE GOT MY VOTE." "How can we help?" asked Harper. Morgan scratched his chin. "Po…are you sure you have time for this?" he asked. Jodi elbowed her brother. "What?" he said. "Class president is a lot of responsibility! And Po has a lot going on, between schoolwork, basketball, drama club, and, you know…" He lowered his voice. "Searching the Overworld for

the missing fragments of a sentient artificial intelligence so that we can put him back together again." In response, Po waved around a homemade "Vote for Po" pennant. "It's fine," he said. "Drama club is on break for a little while. And as class president, I'll be able to set the schedule for the whole student government. That means no meetings on days we play Minecraft." "All right then," said Morgan, and he smiled. "I'm in. And I'm impressed. I heard you have to fill out a lot of paperwork to get your name on the ballot. I don't know when you had time to do that." "Paperwork, you say?" Po gulped. "Sounds like…I should get on that." "Po!" said Harper. "That paperwork is due this week!" "Well, how was I supposed to know that?" asked Po. "The student council mentioned it on the morning announcements," answered Theo. "Every morning. For the last three weeks."

Po just shrugged. "Maybe the paperwork can get done quickly if we all pitch in," he suggested. Jodi reached across the table to pat him on the shoulder. "We'll help you, Po," she said. "Don't worry. I've got a good feeling about—" Before Jodi could finish her sentence, an amplified voice boomed across the cafeteria. "Good afternoon, fellow students!" Everyone turned in their seats. At the front of the room was a girl holding a megaphone. Jodi had never met her, but she recognized her outfit. The girl was wearing a Wildling Scout uniform similar to the one their friend Ash used to wear, and a sash full of merit badges. "I'm Shelly Silver," said the girl. "And I'd like to announce my candidacy for president of student