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all of us,” Alex said with pain in her voice.
      Lilith closed her eyes. “No. Not all of you,” she agreed. “Some of the Gamers I sponsor climb high; they gain the attention of the world. They become superstars.” She opened her eyes and rested them sadly on Alex. “Sometimes they spend all of their credits on plays. Sometimes, they fail out of the Game.”
      “And then you just cut your losses and abandon them?” Alex asked with sharp scorn in her voice. After her last play Lilith hadn’t even agreed to see her. She had simply had a servant hand Alex a ticket that arranged for transportation to this school. All of the pain, suffering, and torment she had experienced this past year was because Lilith had put her here, and she couldn’t help but be angry at her old Patron for that.
      Lilith’s eyes grew glassy. “My dear girl, I did the best I could for you. If we are going to have any chance moving forward it’s important for you to believe that.”
      Lilith held out her hand and one of her security guards produced a pair of video glasses. She held the glasses in her hands and stared sadly at Alex, looking as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out. Finally she held out the video glasses to Alex, who took them.
      “When your avatar died in childbirth, I pulled in every favour that I’ve ever banked in the past 20 years to get you into the very best institution available to you. I had almost no time to get the deal done, since you went from hero to zero in just a few minutes, so unfortunately I couldn’t see you when you called on me. I did it, by the way. Got you into the very best institution available.”
      Alex laughed out loud, the tears coming freely now. “Oh, my god, you must be kidding me! This place is horrible , Lilith! I wouldn’t send anyone to be here. There’s no way this can be the best school!”
      Lilith nodded. “I’m going out of this office. Watch the video. It’s video from what goes on at most of the average and below average government-run schools.” She stood sadly and her guards walked to the door, one opening it, the other behind her. “It’s a ten minute video. I’ll be back in fifteen. If you still believe that I abandoned you after you watch it, I’ll leave you alone — forever.”
      The door closed. Alex calmly put on the glasses and began to play the video. Two minutes in she began to cry. Five minutes in she paused the video, went to the Toad’s garbage can, and vomited. Eight minutes into the video she screamed in rage and threw the glasses against the wall, tears streaming down her face at what she had just seen, at the atrocity that government schools had become. The door opened and Lilith walked in with worry on her face. Alex ran to her and gripped her in a fierce hug, sobbing and thanking her for saving her life. Lilith sobbed as she apologized for not being able to do more.
      When the tears had slowed down, they broke the hug. Lilith wiped her eyes. “Well, someone out there must like you, kiddo. I have some remarkable news. You’ve been invited to go back into the Game!”
      Alex stood there, speechless.
     

Chapter 9
      Brandon Strayne sat in the back of his private transport, watching the daily feeds of the Game as he drove to meet Zack. Today was the Angelica interview, and the entire world would be watching. Brandon was pleased; experts predicted the largest audience in years would tune in to this broadcast. Although money no longer mattered to him, some of his partners would certainly appreciate the profits generated from today's event.
      His phone buzzed and, as he answered it, Brandon heard a complex series of beeps and clicks indicating that the call was heavily encrypted to protect the privacy of the speakers. Recognizing the unique pattern immediately, Brandon sighed and raised the privacy glass between him and the driver.
      “Hello, sir.” Brandon said respectfully.
      “So formal, boy. By now you