The Wikkeling Read Online Free Page A

typed her homework on her computer and sent it through the school’s automated grading program. Henrietta’s homework was generally done quickly and with plenty of mistakes because she didn’t proofread.
    As she worked, a thought occurred to her. The boy from the bus—what was his name? Gary. With a few keystrokes, she opened the school network. Every student at school had a public page that summarized their performance, which was intended to foster healthy competition.
    When Henrietta reached the network’s front page, she saw two RedAlerts at the top, and stopped to read them:
    REDALERT ONE
    AN ISSUE OF DISOBEDIENCE ON A SCHOOL BUS HAS NECESSITATED A CHANGE OF SAFETY HARNESS PROTOCOL. BEGINNING TOMORROW, AUGUST 26, STUDENTS WILL NO LONGER HAVE AUTHORIZATION TO UNBUCKLE THEIR SAFETY HARNESSES UNLESS THE VEHICLE IS IN A FULLY STOPPED POSITION.
    Henrietta knew this change had come because of Gary unbuckling his straps. He’d revealed a flaw in the system—that was interesting. She went on to read the next alert:
    REDALERT TWO
    BEGINNING NEXT WEEK, AUGUST 28, TEXTBOOKS WILL NO LONGER BE USED IN CLASSES. ALL CLASSROOM MATERIALS WILL BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE SCHOOL NETWORK. THIS CHANGE IS FACILITATED THROUGH A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WITH TINCAN TELECOMM: HELPING SCHOOLS HELP CHILDREN HELP THEMSELVES AND US ™ . TEXTBOOKS HAVE MANY DRAWBACKS. THEY CANNOT BE EASILY UPDATED, THEY ARE HEAVY, AND THEY COLLECT MOLD. AS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION DATE, DISPOSE OF ALL TEXTBOOKS IN A SECURE WASTE CONTAINER.
    Henrietta looked at her textbook. She wouldn’t miss it. It really was pretty heavy.
    She clicked around until she found Gary’s network page, with his picture at the top. When she saw his performance ratings, her eyes widened. He was number one in the whole class for both reading and math. His behavior on the bus hadn’t been suggestive of great intelligence, but there was no arguing with the statistics. Gary was as high up as she was far down. They were opposites.

    At the end of the evening, her mother arrived to tuck her in. She supervised as Henrietta donned her bedclothes, brushed her teeth, and got into bed. She pulled the warm blankets up around Henrietta’s ears.
    â€œDid you see the alerts on the school page?” her mother asked.
    â€œYes,” said Henrietta. “Actually, I saw why, with the seat belts.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œA boy unbuckled his, and the bus stopped right in traffic!”
    Her mom winced. “Why would he do that? Senseless.” She shook her head.
    â€œI don’t know,” said Henrietta. But maybe she did know. Maybe Gary had just been fed up.
    â€œStay away from that boy. Do you know his name?” said her mother.
    â€œNo,” said Henrietta. She didn’t often lie to her mother, but this seemed like an unusual case. She was curious about Gary, and didn’t want to be forbidden from finding out more.
    â€œI’ll just check the BedCam quickly,” said her mother, stepping over to the wall, where a small camera was mounted, aimed at Henrietta’s bed. The BedCam relayed an image to her parents’ room so they could keep an eye on Henrietta during the night. Her mother checked the operations light on the underside of the small unit, and looked at the tiny screen on the back. She frowned.
    â€œWhat is it, Mom?”
    â€œHenrietta, could you wave at the camera?”
    Henrietta waved. Her mother knitted her eyebrows. “I’m going to check this. Keep waving.” Her mother stepped from the room. She heard her call her father.
    â€œJust now?” said her father.
    Henrietta wondered what was going on as she waved at the blank eye of the lens. Soon her parents entered her bedroom again and her father inspected the camera, pressing some of the buttons on its back in various combinations.
    â€œWhat’s happening?” said Henrietta, finally putting her hand down.
    Her mother