Chapter 8

Chapter 8 IF YOU LOVE YOUR JOB, YOU'LL NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE. IF YOU HATE YOUR JOB... TOUGH! "ALL RIGHT, Block Headz. Face front! Your assignments…are ready!" Po put energy into his words. The ice cream truck had not been the grand slam he'd hoped for. But there was plenty of time to get his campaign in shape. He could still win all the votes he needed to become class president! And his friends had said they wanted to help any way they could, right? So he'd take them up on that. The good news: They all looked excited and ready to begin. The bad news: They had a lot of their own ideas already. "I've already been sketching some posters," said Jodi. "And I'm going to do the graphics for the website that Theo is building."

"I'm putting together polls so we can have accurate models to make predictions," said Harper. "And I've got Ash on the phone, like you asked. She said she'll help however she can." Harper propped her smartphone up against a juice box. Their friend and fellow Minecraft fanatic, Ash Kapoor, waved at them from the screen. "It's good to see you, Ash," said Po. "But everybody…slow your roll! I'm glad you're all eager to help, but I already came up with everyone's assignments." Morgan gave him a suspicious look. "Really?" "Posters and websites and that stuff—it's all kind of basic," said Po. "We need to think bigger. Bolder. We need a campaign that's truly one-of-a-kind!"

"Okay," Harper said, crossing her arms. "What do you have in mind?" "Well, let's start with you, Harper," he said. "You know how our morning announcements are all automated with Doc's technology? I want you to hack into the system and replace the normal announcements with pro-Po slogans." Harper frowned. "I'm pretty sure that's against the rules…like, all the rules," she said. "And anyway, that

sounds like a programming job, and that's Theo's area of expertise, not mine." "Unfortunately, Theo will be busy," said Po. "I need him to link up with my basketball teammates and lead them in a flash mob. I'm imagining coordinated dancing through the halls of the school! Music, fireworks, go wild!" "Me? Dance?" said Theo, going pale. "In public?" "And fireworks indoors?" said Morgan. "I haven't forgotten about you, Morgan," said Po. "You did such a good job on all that paperwork, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. Now I need you to put those skills to use and bake some cookies! If everyone in school gets a cookie, they'll forget all about that ice cream disaster." "Wait a minute," said Morgan. "What does paperwork have to do with baking?" "And what does baking have to do with Morgan?" asked Jodi. "The last time he tried to bake something, he set our kitchen on fire. And somehow the cake was still undercooked." Po turned to Jodi. "You're good at noticing details like that, Jodi. You're a master spy, after all." He grinned. "So I want you to spy on Shelly Silver. I need

to know every move she makes. If she puts up ten posters, I'll put twenty ads in the paper. If she hands out candy, I'll give away whole chocolate bars. Name- brand chocolate bars. Whatever it takes!" Jodi frowned and said under her breath, "I spy someone who is being ridiculous." "I'm almost afraid to ask what you have in mind for me, Po," Ash said. Po shrugged. "Easy. You're here for emotional support," he said. "You're good at it!" Ash breathed an immediate sigh of relief and said, "I can handle that."

Just then, a gleam of reflected light caught Po's eye. Morgan was eating gelatin with a shiny spoon. Po recognized that spoon. "Morgan!" he said. "How could you?" Morgan froze, a spoonful of gelatin halfway to his mouth. "How could I what?" "How could you use one of her spoons?" Morgan looked down at the spoon, then back at Po. The gelatin quivered. "It's just a spoon," he said. "It doesn't mean anything." Po harrumphed. Just a spoon! "Wow, Po," said Harper. "I feel like you have a lot in common with that spider mob we're after. If only you could fill the hallways with a mind-altering gas. Then you could just hypnotize everyone into voting for you." Po had to admit…he didn't hate that idea. "How does the science on that work, exactly? Would Doc have something we could use?" "Po!" exclaimed Harper. "I was only joking!" Ash cleared her throat. "As the emotional support expert," she said, "I'm feeling like your campaign is