Chapter 74

Being grounded definitely sucked, but luckily Riva had learned long ago that being stuck in her room didn’t mean she had to be alone. She sent Casey a text, then logged on to the MMO they’d been playing together.

It was refreshing to do something that offered clear rules and expectations. Riva maneuvered her character with skill, took out a few enemies, and checked her inventory while she waited for Casey to show up. When a notification informed her that Casey’s character had arrived, Riva activated voice chat.

“Hey!”

“Hey,” Casey said. “How pathetic is this?”

“What?”

“It’s Friday night, and we can both get on an MMO. How boring are our lives?”

“Well, my life’s been a little too exciting lately. I’m grounded.” Riva explained that Benton had been visiting for Spring Break.

“Hello,” Casey said. “How isMr. Hot?”

“It’s, um, sort of complicated.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, look, have you ever had a crush on a girl?”

“Wow. Let me close my bedroom door. Hang on.”