Esme and Anton knew that they had to swing around to the right of the swamp to get back to the desert stronghold. I followed along with Lonnie on the rope, and Howl beside me. Esme kept looking back, and then getting close to Anton, clearly saying things. I tried not to let it bother me. But it did. I was tired of feeling like the outsider.

“Hey, Esme?” I called out.

“What?” she asked, already sounding annoyed.

“So, like, should we talk about your spiders or something?” I said in my most nonchalant voice. “Like, if you talked through your problems with us, we won’t get mobbed as much?”

At this, I gestured to Lonnie and Anton.

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you,” she scoffed.

“Es, be nice.” Anton had paused as well, and looked back and forth from me to Esme. I had the feeling that if he could have gotten his avatar to smirk, he would have. “I agree with Bianca. Just air it out already. It’s only going to get worse.”

Esme made a stabbing motion at Anton. “I’d like to air out my fist in your face.”

“For what it’s worth, you’re like a really great fighter,” I said. “I don’t think you have anything to be insecure about.”

That stopped Esme in her tracks.

“Um, thanks?” she asked, suspiciously, as if she wasn’t entirely sure I hadn’t meant it as an insult.

After a long silence, Esme sighed.

“Fine. I was just living my life,” she began. “Playing baseball, complaining about my siblings, and checking the bullies who messed with my squad. And then one day I started feeling sick, and I just wasn’t getting better, and then there was a blur of doctors, and my parents’ faces looked sadder and sadder. I would have to stay in the hospital for a day, or two days, or three. And then I would miss a whole week of school. Next thing I knew, I was practically living in a hospital, wishing my siblings were around to complain about or there was homework to distract me, or even a squad to stick up for.”

She sighed.

“I mean, I knew the chemo was always going to make my hair fall out. I’m not a dummy, I’ve seen all the pictures,” she began. “I just didn’t think it’d happen so slowly. Like clumps at a time.”

She paused as if she were struggling with her next words.

“It’s worse this way, you know? I’d rather just wake up with a bald head and have it over with.”

“Have you thought about getting a wig?” Anton suggested.

“Like an old lady?” Esme sounded unsure.

“It could be a cool color, like purple,” I said. “Imagine rocking purple hair in the ward. It’d just be like a Minecraft skin but in real life.”

“I guess I’ve never thought about it that way,” Esme said. “That’s kind of cool.”

I nodded, glad to be of help for once instead of a drag on the team.

“Speaking of looking cool, I need new armor,” Anton said. “Let’s go.”

He turned back to the path, and continued to his base. As soon as we got there, he started fiddling with the traps he had lining the path, and grunting again like he was in pain.

“You can make them again,” Esme said soothingly. “You like that anyway.”

We went into the house, and Esme got busy crafting arrows with all the sticks the witches had dropped. Esme and Anton were whispering with each other again.

“I really hate it when you two do that,” I said. “It’s irritating. If you’re thinking something, why not share it with everyone who’s here?”

“Meaning you,” Anton said.

“And Lonnie,” I said, as I deposited him into a corner of the room. Howl took up a position next to him.

“Right, Lonnie, who could turn on us at any second if it weren’t for that rope,” Anton said.

“Paranoid, much?”

“Paranoia is Anton’s M.O.,” Esme interjected. “Total paranoia.” She jerked her chin toward the traps outside of the house. “Who else does stuff like that?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Sometimes it’s fun to set traps and demolish your friends’ stuff.”

Anton nodded enthusiastically.

Esme huffed. “No, that’s not it. Some kid had checked him on the court and it made him a little paranoid.”

Anton tilted his head. “First of all, no, I am not paranoid. Second of all, that was an illegal check and that kid should have gotten thrown out and the entire team disqualified for the whole season. They always play dirty. And third of all, that’s why I don’t trust anybody. Because nobody’s worth trusting.” He glared at Esme.

I whistled to cut the tension. “Sounds like somebody else needs to talk to the group.”

“He never wants to talk about this stuff,” Esme said. “That’s why he built all those traps, to deal with the mobs he spawns.”

“Can you not talk about me as if I’m not right here in front of both of your faces?” he shouted.

“Well, technically, neither of us are near each other,” I said.

Anton aimed his avatar’s face directly at me. If this was a different game and he had some kind of laser-beam eyes, I would be toast.

“We’re together virtually,” he said. “There isn’t anything wrong with me outside other than I need to rest up.”

Esme guffawed and Anton jerked away quickly. Clearly there was more to the story. I waited.

“He’s not fine out in real life,” Esme said. “He’s hiding out in here, so of course he’s thrilled to stay inside the game for as long as he can.”

“Hiding from what?” I asked.

“His parents. He doesn’t want to face them and tell them that he’s not interested in basketball anymore.”

“That’s just an added bonus,” he said. “I’m not hiding out.”

“And!” Esme continued, her voice pitching lower as she gossiped with me: “He’s also hiding from his girlfriend, who he’s sure is going to break up with him the moment he’s better.”

“Really?” I asked, amused.

“Really,” Esme said.

“Quit it, you two,” Anton said.

“Look, we’re all hiding out in one way or another,” I said. “Basketball, nausea, broken bones, whatever it is. We might as well just play through it all in here. All four of us will play through to the End.” I nodded firmly and moved next to Lonnie.

Esme turned slightly toward Anton, but seemed to catch herself before she looked him fully in the face. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do for him,” Esme said. “He’s been a lump in that corner since we got here.”

“He’s just going to slow us down,” Anton said.

“It’s better to leave him here. He’ll be safe in the house, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Esme said. “And there’s a lot we have to do before we get to the End anyway. We can come back and get him.”

“Listen, I owe Lonnie,” I said. “He’s always been there for me, even when we were little kids. I can’t leave him behind now. That’s not how we do.”

Esme stepped forward. “Okay, I get it. But you have to be responsible for him the entire time. Okay?”

“Okay,” I said, glad to finally have convinced them to let Lonnie tag along.

“All right, if we’re going to play this thing, let’s play.”

“What’s the plan?” Esme asked.

I thought back to what Lonnie had been designing all those days before the accident. He was trying to make it to the End in five steps. If we started building his traps, maybe Lonnie would recognize them.

“We know what we need to do,” I said, trying to recall the designs. “We need to mine the supplies to make a run through the Nether, and then we need to make an end portal, go through, and kill the ender dragon. That’s it.”

“Okay, easier said than done,” Esme said. “We are low on supplies, we’re going to be dragging around a player who will need our protection, and who will be slowing us down at every moment.”

“The first part of the plan is we’re not splitting up,” Anton said. “I think we also need to get supplies for a group exit portal in everyone’s inventory.”

“We probably have enough blocks to make a basic portal, right?” Esme said.

“Right, but we should have extra materials on hand. We’ll also need diamonds to make weapons and armor,” Anton said. “But as long as we’ve been playing, I haven’t found many diamonds.”

“There are diamonds back at the hill,” I said. “We should start there. We’ll also need a diamond pickaxe for the Nether run.”

“Right, the Nether run,” Anton repeated, as if he still wasn’t convinced of my idea.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Esme said. “Before we go, let’s make all the weapons we can.”

“And get our health and food points back up to full,” Anton added.

“Right, smart ideas,” I said.

Esme smiled. “I know you’re not much for planning, but see? It’s not so bad.”

Ugh. She was so irritating.