Dub is dropped off at school as the family returns home from Newcrest. He immediately spots his cousin, Bri, after she steps off the school bus. He hurries up to her.
Wade: Bri! You’re here.
Brianna: Hey, Dub. Yep, my first day. Good to see you.
They hug. Dub is glad to have an instant friend here at school with him.
Wade: Do you need me to show you around or anything?
Brianna: The place doesn’t seem very big. I was looking at the map on the bus.
Wade: It’s not, but maybe you can pick a locker close to mine.
Brianna: Okay, show me the way.
Dub leads Bri inside and points out his locker. After showing her, he walks over to greet his classmate Jules.
Jules: I need you to join the chess team!
Wade: Why?
Jules: Because there’s a tournament that I want to enter, but there’s a minimal team member requirement.
Wade: But I don’t know anything about chess.
Jules: Oh. That’s a problem.
Defeated, Jules slumps down on the bench next to them.
Wade: Maybe I can help you find someone else to join the team.
Jules: Think you can?
Wade: I can try.
Jules: Thanks, Wade.
Wade pulls out his cell and sends a group message on the Social Bunny app, hoping someone on his friend list would be interested in joining the chess team. He passes Bri in the hallway.
Brianna: Who’s that guy you were talking to?
Wade: *distracted* Who? Oh – that’s Jules.
Brianna: He’s cute! Does he have a girlfriend?
Wade: I have no idea. You should go and ask him.
Brianna: I can’t just ask him!
Wade: Well, do you play chess? He’s looking for a team member.
This stops Bri in her tracks.
Brianna: Hmmm, maybe I can get Terra to teach me.
Dub reaches the end of the hallway and runs into Bongani, who seems to be walking away from him.
Wade: Hey! Where you going?
Bongani: Away from you!
Wade: *stunned* Why? What did I do?
Bongani: Who’s that girl you’ve been flirting with all morning?
Wade: *confused* What girl? Are you talking about Bri? She’s just my cousin.
Bongani: Yeah, right.
Wade: If you don’t believe me – go and ask her!
Bongani scoffs to herself and walks away once again.
Wade: Wait! Are you going to ask her?
Dub doesn’t understand how Bongani can still be mad at him, but the bell rings for class, so he doesn’t have time to get to the bottom of it right now.
When they get to class, Dub is shocked that Bongani chooses to sit down next to him. He comes up with an idea that might help break the ice with her. He pulls out his phone and sends a message on the Social Bunny app that he’s sure Bongani and everyone else will be able to relate to.
After class, he takes a chance and approaches her.
Wade: I was just about to go to the lunch room. Want to come with me?
Bongani agrees to come, so they make their way to the cafeteria. Dub isn’t hungry, but he grabs a drink from the vending machine, while Bongani gets her food. They sit together at one of the tables, but Bongani seems more interested in talking to Pablo than Dub.
Eventually, she pulls out her cell phone. Dub is sure that she’s seen his message on the Social Bunny app. She’s usually one of the first to respond to his posts, but today she just glances and puts the phone away again.
Wade: Did you see my post?
Bongani: Yeah, I saw it while in class.
Dub pulls out his cell to see if she responded.
Wade: But you didn’t respond.
Bongani: Was I supposed to?
Dub wants to say, ‘yes – you always respond to my messages,’ but he recognizes the cold shoulder when he sees it. So he lets it slide and returns his cell to his pocket.
Wade: What’s going on with you, Bongani? I thought we liked each other.
Bongani: I thought we did too, but I’d like to explore other options.
Wade: What?
Bongani: *getting up from the table* See you in class.
Dub is confused and humiliated. He doesn’t understand what he did wrong. Bri, who observed the last part of the interaction, walks to the table with her tray.
Brianna: *sits down* Trouble in paradise?
Wade: I was trying to get to paradise, but things went left instead of right.
Brianna: What happened?
Wade: This morning, she accused me of flirting with you. I told her you’re my cousin, but she didn’t want to hear it.
Brianna: Yikes. Sorry to be the cause of your breakup.
Wade: It’s not a breakup. We were never together.
Brianna: Then there’s no problem.
Wade: Other than – I really liked her.
Brianna: Yeah, well – you can do better.
Wade: You think so?
Brianna: Of course.
Dub decides to take Bri’s word for it. He walks to his last class while checking the Social Bunny app once again for responses. His message received a lot of engagement, just as he predicted, but there’s still nothing from Bongani.
He gets to class and decides not to even glance in Bongani’s direction. If she’s choosing to ignore him, he’ll do the same to her. He opens up his notebook to take notes while listening.
After it’s all said and done, he still manages to get a good report from his teachers.
(Generation 3 Chapter Summaries)
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