CHAPTER 5

Dev

Dev ran up to Lucy and waved his fingers in front of her face. “Check it out,” he said. “Pretty amazing, huh?”

“What am I looking at?” Lucy asked.

“My fast fingers,” Dev said. “I’m the best video game player on this side of the planet. Can you make me famous now?”

“What else can you do?” Lucy asked.

“Um… I can play piano.”

Dev took a seat at the classroom piano and began playing. He was so good, it brought tears to Ms. Linda’s eyes. It turned out that years and years of playing video games had made Dev’s fingers incredibly strong, fast, and agile. (He also happened to be a musical prodigy.)

“Now we’re cooking.” Lucy smiled. “I’m thinking Carnegie Hall.”

Dev auditioned, and the classical music judges wept. They agreed to let him play every night of the week—for the rest of his life.

To keep his fingers as nimble as possible, the Ace Agent Agency hired a piano coach. He was an old Russian man named Vladimir Vliolin, and he had a reputation for being strict.

How strict? Well, for starters, Vladimir told Dev he was no longer allowed to play video games.

“WHAT?!” Dev asked, freaking out. “But games are my life!”

“No. Music is life now! Your precious fingers must rest when they not play piano,” Vladimir insisted. “Video games in zee trash!”

So Dev did the sensible thing.…

“I quit,” he told Lucy.

“But you haven’t even played one show yet,” she growled. “Your music career hasn’t even started! You’re not even technically famous. And most important, I haven’t gotten any money yet!”

Dev didn’t care. Not when the hottest new game of the year was waiting for him at home. Tonight would be an all-night gaming marathon of Teddy Bear Bashers: Space Capades 2: Comet Cubs. He cracked his fingers and stretched. Being famous just wasn’t as fun as playing video games.