CHAPTER 3
That night after dinner, Noah headed up to his room.
“Are you doing your homework up there?” Noah’s dad called up the steps a couple of hours later.
It was almost eight, and Noah’s school books sat unopened on his desk. Noah glanced at them, then back at the screen of his laptop.
“Um, yes, Dad,” Noah called back. But he wasn’t doing his homework. He was looking at the website for his fantasy football league.
With Noah’s love of football stats, his team was having a great season. Suddenly his computer dinged.
It was an instant message from Adam. Noah and Adam had become good friends because they sat on the bench together for most of every game.
ADAMINATOR: Noah, you there?
NOAHPOTOMUS: Hey, Adam. Just looking at the fantasy football scores. Your team isn’t doing so well.
ADAMINATOR: Yeah, yeah. Tell me about your meeting with the coach. Did he scream at you
or what?
NOAHPOTOMUS: He was angry, but I’m not worried.
ADAMINATOR: You’re not? Don’t you remember last year? Coach French kicked those two eighth-graders off the team for leaving the field during a game.
NOAHPOTOMUS: They went to get hot dogs! I was reading about football.
There was a knock at Noah’s door. “Just a minute, Dad,” Noah called.
NOAHPOTOMUS: Hey, I have to go. But remember, I haven’t played more than two minutes in one game all season. What difference does it make?
“Noah, open this door!” his dad said from the hall.
“Just a second, Dad!” Noah called.
NOAHPOTOMUS: Oh, one more thing. Did you see the fantasy football scores? My team is still undefeated!
ADAMINATOR: I’m not surprised. I’ll see you tomorrow.
NOAHPOTOMUS: Bye.
Noah slammed his laptop closed. Then he opened all his schoolbooks and jumped up to open the door for his dad.
“Hi, Dad,” he said. “What’s up? I’m working hard in here. I was just finishing a math problem.”
His dad looked around the room. “Yeah, I can see you’re working hard,” he said. He frowned, but then his face relaxed. “All right, kiddo,” he said. “Let me know if you need any help. I’ll be downstairs.”