Star Runners Read Online Free Page B

elite. It's like an online club where you get kicked out if you suck."
    "Yeah," Josh laughed, "but we don't suck."
    "I see," Kadyn said, rolling her eyes.
    “You could play, too,” Josh said. “Girls can be pretty good.”
    “That’s the most sexist thing I’ve ever heard,” Kadyn said, still focused on her sweet roll. “There’s probably tons of girls on that server and you don’t even know it.”
    “I doubt it,” Josh said, leaning forward. “So anyway, I was racking up these kills for the first two days. I really didn't pay a lot of attention to my scores because I'd just play another game right after. I was grounded so what else could I do? Then, Mom and Dad came home from work on Thursday and wanted to have this big family meeting about how I shouldn't fight in school, how I could get kicked off the team and one game suspension could jeopardize my scholarship potential, blah, blah, blah."
    Josh took two sips of coffee and stared at the wall. Austin followed his gaze and saw Marilyn.
    "And?" Austin said, nudging Josh's shoulder.
    "Yeah, so I logged off and went through the lecture with my parents. When I logged back on before I was going to bed, I had an incoming transmission."
    "A what?" Kadyn asked.
    "It means a message in game," Austin said. "If Josh and I were on at the same time, we could send messages like texts. Sometimes the game will also make announcements that way."
    Josh backhanded Austin's arm. "Right! So this message was in game from the game."
    "So?"
    Josh crossed his arms and leaned back. "I've been offered a chance at a scholarship."
    Austin felt the air leave the room.
    Mom made no attempt at hiding the fact he would struggle to afford college. His father's life insurance policy allowed them to pay off family debt, but little more. While Austin was a good catcher for the baseball team, no colleges contacted him other than the local community college with a partial scholarship.
    "What do you mean?" Kadyn asked.
    Josh's head rocked as he allowed a tight smile. "Now you're interested."
    She leaned over the table. "It doesn't make any sense. It's a scam."
    "Nope," he said. "I got an email saying I’ve been selected for a prestigious scholarship to this private school in San Francisco on a probationary basis. A recruiter is coming by my house to meet with me and my parents on Sunday afternoon."
    "For real?" Austin asked.
    "I told you it was good news.”
    "But all you're doing is playing a game," Kadyn said. "What does that have to do with school?"
    "Look, man, I don't know. The message gave me a number to call and said I was being considered for a scholarship to this school. You know I hadn't made up my mind on where to go anyway."
    "What's the name of this school?" Austin asked.
    "LSE San Francisco."
    "LSD?"
    "No, stupid, L. S. E. Stands for 'Lobera School of Excellence' or something like that. It's an elite private college."
    "Never heard of it," Kadyn said.
    "Doesn't mean anything."
    Austin shook his head. "It sounds like a school for medieval re-enactors or something. I still don't understand why you're getting this for playing a game."
    "Oh, I got placed in a drawing for being number one on the server. That's all. I got lucky. The guy said I had a good GPA and a good record."
    "He knew that already?"
    "Records aren't hard to get for these colleges if they really want to know," Josh said and stood. "Look, I hate to cut this short, but my folks are still keeping me on a short leash after what happened this week."
    Austin finished his drink. "It's cool. I'll see you online later."
    Josh waltzed out of the coffee house.
    "Doesn't this sound like one of those emails you get from some prince in a third-world country who can't get access to his money?" Kadyn asked in a low voice.   
    "You mean the ones that will give you three million just to check an email or something stupid like that?"
    "Yep. I never heard of someone getting a full scholarship to anywhere for playing a video game."
    Austin