Free Cool School by John Marsden Page B

goal. Norths have lost the premiership and it’s all your fault.
    Sadly you pick up your team scarf and walk away. It’s terrible. You feel like a real loser.
    You get outside the ground and to your amazement, there’s Alex, leaning against a tree and watching you. You rush over there. ‘I’m sorry,’ you say, ‘but they needed all the help I could give them.’
    Alex shrugs. ‘I don’t know about that. But I figure there’s five months to go before the next football season, and that gives me five months to persuade you that there are some things in life more important than footie.’
    â€˜You’re welcome to try,’ you reply, with a big smile, and the two of you walk away, hand in hand.

ook,’ you say, ‘I would be a pretty happy Vegemite if you could tell me something about the Cosmic Criminal computer game.’
    The kid looks kind of troubled.
    â€˜I know everything about that game,’ he says. ‘I can certainly teach you how to solve it. But are you sure you want to?’
    â€˜What do you mean? Of course I do.’
    â€˜It’s just that sometimes . . . sometimes the solution to a mystery can be more dangerous than the mystery itself.’
    The way he says it makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, but you push those feelings away.
    â€˜Of course I want to solve it,’ you say. ‘Every one wants to solve it. I don’t believe you know the first thing about it. I think you’re just bluffing.’
    He shrugs. ‘Come to the computer room,’ he says.
    You follow him there, wondering what you’re getting yourself into.
    In the computer room it only takes you a few minutes to get the game loaded. You play it fast and furious with the kid watching over your shoulder, until you get to the point that you always stick at, the point at which everyone gets stuck. There’s nothing in front of you but a blank wall and no matter what you try to get through it, you can’t.
    â€˜OK, what do I do?’ you ask.
    â€˜Are you still sure you want to solve it?’
    â€˜Yes! Stop asking me that.’
    â€˜All right,’ he shrugs. ‘It’s it on your own head. You have to fire bullets at the bricks in the following order: third from the top in the fourth row, fourth from the top in the third row, fifth from the bottom in the second row, second from the bottom in the fifth row.’
    He sounds so confident that you no longer doubt him. You do as he says, and to your astonishment the wall suddenly collapses. You’re looking at a wonderful new landscape. It takes you a while to realise what it is: it’s the Science block of your own school, right there on the screen. You look up at the kid with your mouth open. It’s amazing. You can hardly believe it. But suddenly you see mortar fire, coming straight at your character from a guerilla hiding in the window of one of the laboratories. You don’t hesitate. You aim your rocket launcher at the Science block on the screen and fire. ‘No!’ yells the kid, right in your ear.
    The building on the screen disintegrates. From outside the window there’s a rumbling noise. The computer room is rocked by a giant explosion.
    Bits of rubble go flying past the window. You hear screams and sirens.
    You look at the little kid again.
    â€˜Well,’ he says. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

K,’ you say. ‘Do it.’ Almost at once a row of A s appears on the screen. Not only have you now got A s for subjects like English and Maths and Social Studies, you’ve also got them for Divinity and Attendance. You’ve even got an A for Violin, and you’ve never touched a violin in your life. You can’t tell the difference between a violin and a guitar.
    But there’s no time for second thoughts. You can hear someone coming along the corridor, so you ask the kid how to save your new marks. ‘ F for