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sleep mode, not wanting to continue the pointless argument with Jennifer. Once she set
her mind on something, nothing could change her mindset. With no
annoying instafications to bother him, Troop’s thoughts wandered to
the topic of the upcoming VicDay.
    VicDay—short for Victim Day—was a day of
entertainment for some. For others, it was a day of humiliation.
Troop had established VicDay a few years ago to secure his position
on the social ladder. Once a month, members in Troop’s circle would
cast names of students who had in one way or another crossed paths
unfavorably with them to be their next target. The purpose of
VicDay was simple: to send a clear message to everyone warning them
not to upset Troop and his crew.
    Richie Honston was last
month’s victim. He had been caught kissing Darrel’s girlfriend. As
a result, Troop had sent Jack, the school’s chief hacker, to hijack
Richie’s electro-slate. All the answers of the test Richie
submitted for the next three days were misordered, thanks to the
virus Jack had implanted. Richie was expelled from Ludus High due
to the five F’s he received on his test. A Perfect failing a test
was frowned upon. A Perfect failing five tests in the matter of
three days was unacceptable.
     
    “ Maya,”
Tompkins said. “That’s the name of
the girl who I think should be the next VicDay target.”
    Troop completed a
double-handed 360 on his snowboard then replied, “Did Jennifer set
you up with this?”
    “ Yeah. How did you know?”
Tompkins cleared a wide gap jump, catching a lot of air as he did
so and obtaining a smattering applause from his peers.
    Not to be outdone, Troop flawlessly
completed the same jump with a midair corkscrew. Darrel let loose a
wolf whistle and shouted, “I rate that a ten out of ten.”
    “ So?” Tompkins
said.
    “ Jennifer has a grudge
against Maya,” said Troop.
    “ For what?”
    “ Jealousy.”
    Tompkins’s eyes boggled
and he almost swerved into another snowboarder. He veered away just
in time.
    “ Jealousy? What does Maya have for
Jennifer to be jealous of?”
    “ Long story short: Jenn
thinks I’m into Maya.”
    “ But you’re not,
right?”
    “ Right.” Troop’s eyes
scanned the area, searching for his guys.
    They skidded to a stop,
sending a wave of powdery snow spraying before them. Troop
unfastened his feet from the snowboard and ambled over to join the
rest of the gang, ignoring the sycophants trying to impress him
with their measly tricks.
    “ Alright, does anyone want
to have one last go on their boards or are we ready to choose our
VicDay target?” said Troop.
    No one answered so he took that as a sign
the guys were done snowboarding for the day.
    “ Names?” said
Troop.
    “ Elise Lighters,”
suggested Parker. “He wouldn’t let me copy his
homework.”
    “ Samson Tuckerson,” said
Charles. “Because he took my lab partner on Wednesday.”
    “ Timothy Garcia,” said
Bruno. He carelessly blew a spitball into the back of an
unsuspecting passerby. “Just because I hate his face.”
    Troop inwardly frowned. Personally, he
disliked Bruno but kept him around for two reasons: 1) he helped
maintain Troop’s reputation and 2) more than once, Bruno had hooked
Troop up to useful connections. Bruno’s father owned Ludus
High.
    “ Maya Abels,” said
Tompkins. “Because Jennifer said so.”
    Some of the guys shot each other knowing
looks. The fact wasn’t lost on them Jennifer was one of the
prettiest girls in school and winning some favors from her wouldn’t
cause any harm.
    “ Jay Allgood. She didn’t
turn off the lights in the study lab and Mr. Marlin blamed it on
me. Got an after school detention.” The corner of Mason’s mouth
twitched, the standard of Mason’s grin forming. Mason rarely smiled
outright. He paused, then said, “Actually, Jay’s pretty cute. Maybe
I can convince her to date me—I heard she just broke up with that
slug, Gary Whitman.”
    “ So, do you want Jay to be
a VicDay