Chapter 18

GOOD FRIENDS

In the daylight the next morning, Lucy and her friends were able to inspect the damage from the battle the day before. They walked past Lucy’s room, still filled with rubble. The center of the campus was destroyed, and there was a large hole in the ground.

“What is that hole?” Lucy walked over to inspect it, “Looks like it was created by a TNT explosion.”

Phoebe explained, “Last night, Jane and I used blocks of TNT to destroy a large portion of the rainbow griefer army.”

Maya added, “You should have seen them fight the griefers. They are real warriors.”

Lucy smiled at Phoebe and Jane. She was impressed with their skills. “You guys saved Minecrafters Academy.”

“No,” Phoebe clarified. “We all saved Minecrafters Academy.”

Stefan and Victoria stood outside the dining hall and greeted all the students, thanking everyone for helping keep Minecrafters Academy safe.

Stefan approached the girls, “We’re moving ahead with auditions for the talent show today, as planned, and I hope you will all attend the planning meeting right after. We don’t have a lot of time to plan the event, so we need everyone there to help. We are meeting outside on the lawn, since we are in the process of rebuilding the hall.”

“Of course,” Lucy replied. “We can’t wait.”

When they entered the dining hall, Adam waved and walked over to Lucy. “I’m so psyched the battle is over.”

“Me, too,” Lucy said. “I feel better knowing that Liam and Dylan are in jail.”

“And Isaac,” added Adam.

Lucy’s jaw dropped. “Wait, Victoria and Stefan put Isaac back in the prison? But he’s changed! We have to get them to let him out—it’s not safe for him to be there with Liam and Dylan.”

Adam agreed, but just then, Phoebe walked over. “We have to finish breakfast quickly or we’ll be late for our auditions.”

The gang devoured bread, apples, and cake, and Lucy thought about the best way to convince Victoria and Stefan that Isaac should be allowed to go free. She wished her friends good luck as they left for auditions, and then walked outside to stand on the lawn near the jail. She thought about Isaac in his cell. He was all alone. She had to do something.

At the planning meeting after auditions, Stefan announced what roles everyone would play in running the talent show. “There is one more role we need to fill: we will have a judge pick the best performance in each category, but we need someone who’s familiar with every subject we teach at Minecrafters Academy.”

That was it! Lucy raised her hand. “I think Isaac would be the perfect judge.”

The students assembled in the room gasped.

“He fought with us in the battle against the rainbow griefers, and he risked being put on Hardcore mode when he refused to help them spawn the Ender Dragon,” Lucy argued. “I think he deserves a chance to show he’s changed.”

Stefan paused and looked over at Victoria. She nodded, and Stefan replied, “Okay, Lucy. We’ll give Isaac a chance.”

“Should we tell him now?” asked Lucy.

The group walked into the jail. Isaac was shocked when he saw everyone appear outside his cell.

“What are you doing here?” Isaac asked them.

Victoria said, “We’d like you to judge our talent show.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You were the headmaster here for years, and you know everything this school teaches inside and out. You’ll be the perfect judge.” Victoria smiled.

Isaac was thrilled. “I’d be honored.”

Everyone exited the jail and prepared for the talent show. Debbie ran over to her friends, “I’m in! I was chosen to be in the talent show! I’m going to be in a battle.”

“That’s fantastic news!” exclaimed Lucy.

Stefan announced, “Tomorrow we will have our first rehearsal.”