‘We had problems with Skye,’ mumbled another female teacher, on his left. ‘We should have confronted the parents then.’
Mr. Smith motioned to the teacher to stop talking, but had turned to the opposite side by mistake. On realising, he flapped his hands.
‘Okay that’s it,’ he said, irritably. ‘Some of us are at work today. We’ll announce our decision at the end of term, but your chart will tell the story.’
The walls returned to wallpaper, and the room brightened.
‘What a nightmare,’ said Zak. ‘He creeped me out last time, and that was with good news. Do we have to entertain them in our own home?’
‘How dare you!’ shouted Mum. ‘We had to fight to get you into that school. And now you put us through this. Why did we bother.’
Zak recoiled. His eyes fixed on the Mind Mat. Tom and Van would have carried on without him. They could have activated the cheat by now. The situation required some serious tact.
‘I did do well at school,’ he said. ‘But now I’m working hard at the game, and I’m doing well at that.’
‘It’s always good to do your best Zak,’ said Dad. ‘But the game is not as important as your education.’
‘But what’s an education for – to get a job,’ said Zak. ‘If I get really good at the game, I can become a professional. I’d make a lot of money.’
Mum reacted as if hit by a bad smell.
‘You can’t give up your education because of some far-fetched idea of becoming a game star. It’s not a proper career path.’ She held up the Mind Mat. ‘I have to take drastic action. I’m going to confiscate this until I see your results improve.’
Zak simply froze.
‘Zak, you’re too young to commit yourself to such a gamble,’ said Dad. ‘Times are changing. We don’t know what the future will hold. You need a good education, so you can adapt.’
Zak did not know what Dad was talking about. Dad had never discussed the future with him, and so he had plotted his own course. All that mattered now was getting back to the game.
Zak put up his hands.
