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Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data is available on file.
Cover photo by Megan Miller
Cover design by Brian Peterson
Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-1817-3
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-1826-5
Printed in Canada
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Special Guests
Chapter 2: Down the Hole
Chapter 3: Treasures and Terror
Chapter 4: Rainy Days
Chapter 5: Zombie Strike
Chapter 6: A Question of Trust
Chapter 7: Announcements
Chapter 8: Looted
Chapter 9: Journey to Mushroom Island
Chapter 10: Snowballs and Shelter
Chapter 11: Deep Below the Sea
Chapter 12: Family Ties
Chapter 13: Look Up
Chapter 14: The Great Escape
Chapter 15: Thunderous Threats
Chapter 16: Accidental Answers
Chapter 17: Confessions
Chapter 18: Farm Life
READ ON FOR AN EXCITING SNEAK PEEK AT THE NEXT BOOK
Chapter 1
SPECIAL GUESTS
Julia’s heart skipped a beat when she walked underneath the gate that stood at the entrance to Minecrafters Academy. This was her second year at the school, but she still felt a twinge of excitement as she entered the campus. Julia was particularly happy because this year students were allowed to choose their roommates. After sharing a dorm room with Hallie, Julia was thrilled at the opportunity to pick her bunkmate, but there was one problem: she wanted to choose both Emma and Mia, but she could only pick one roommate.
“What are we going to do?” Julia asked her friends as they stood outside the dorm.
Headmistress Lucy stood in the middle of a group of students and called out, “Everyone stand next to the person you’d like to be your roommate.”
Julia looked over at Emma and Mia, who stood next to each other. She felt left out, and scanned the area for another friend who might want to room with her. Julia searched through the crowd, but there was nobody. Emma moved closer to Julia and whispered, “We want to be with you. Let’s just stick together and see if we can all share a room.”
Julia smiled. She knew her friends cared about her, but it was always tricky when three people were involved.
Lucy walked over to Julia, Mia, and Emma. “Would all three of you like to share a room? There’s an oversized room that has three beds. I can offer that to you.”
Julia unleashed the loudest sigh of relief and looked over at her two friends. Emma had already answered yes.
“Great.” Lucy led them to the corner room with four windows.
Mia rushed to the windows to gaze at the panoramic view of the great lawn, dining hall, and other campus buildings. “We have the best views of Minecrafters Academy. Thanks, Lucy.”
“All three of you were so helpful to the school last year, and I wanted to make sure you were rewarded.”
Emma hesitated. “But we didn’t win the Minecrafters Academic Olympics.” Tears filled Emma’s eyes. “We are a disappointment to the school, and it’s all my fault.”
“It’s not your fault,” Lucy comforted Emma. “You were skilled enough to be chosen. The Minecrafters Academic Olympics is a tough competition. We should be proud that our school was even chosen to participate in it.”
Emma said, “But I lost the battle. I came in last.”
Julia walked over to Emma. “You are a skilled fighter and a teacher.”
“A teacher?” Emma asked.
“When I came to Minecrafters Academy, I didn’t even know how to use my sword. I’d freeze every time I’d encounter a zombie or a skeleton, but you taught how to fight and to be brave.”
“Really?” Emma dried her eyes.
Lucy said, “I must excuse myself. I have to meet my friend Steve. He’s going to be a guest teacher here this year.”
Mia’s eyes lit up. “What will he teach? I want to move past alchemy and try something else.”
“Farming. Steve is one of the best farmers in the Overworld,” Lucy explained, and then exited the room.
Mia spoke as she decorated her wall with emeralds. “I’m glad there will be a good farming class. I might consider becoming a farmer. Once school is over, I can live on a small farm and sell potions.”
Sweat grew on Julia’s brow. She hadn’t thought about what she’d do after graduation. They had another year left of school, and she was just enjoying being back on campus. She assumed she’d just go back to the cold biome. However, when she came in first place at the Minecrafters Academic Olympics, people from the Olympic Committee asked Julia if she’d build various structures in the Overworld. During the summer break, Julia didn’t return to the cold biome, and instead spent the school break constructing a tree house that someone had commissioned her to build. Julia knew she could be a builder when she graduated, and this thought comforted her as she organized her section of the room.
Emma spent a long time in the closet. So long that Julia called out, “Emma, are you okay?”
Emma chuckled. “Yes, I was just inspecting every inch of that closet. After finding Hallie’s closet filled with TNT, I was worried there would be something sinister in this one.”
“Well,” Mia asked, “is there?”
“No.” Emma smiled. “It’s just a plain old closet that we can fill with our chests.”
The group carefully placed their chests on the closet floor as they heard footsteps approaching their room.
“Who’s there?” Julia’s heart raced. Even though all the excitement from last year was over and the school was rebuilt, Julia was still on edge.
“It’s Brad,” he answered and stepped inside. “Are you settling in?”
“Yes.” Julia was excited to see her old friend. “How are you, Brad?”
“Hungry. It’s the First Night Back Dinner. Do you want to go?”
Emma rushed to the window. “Wow, I didn’t realize how late it was. It looks as if the dinner has already begun.”
They walked toward the dinner as Julia told Brad about her summer and the tree house.
“You kn
ow what I had to build this summer?” Brad asked.
“No, what?” Julia replied.
“An igloo. I wanted to contact you for help, but I knew you were working on the tree house.”
“You should have asked me to help you. I love building igloos,” Julia said.
Emma interrupted. “This is the most lavish dinner I’ve seen in a while,” she said as she pointed at the tables of pork chops, beef, chicken, carrots, potatoes, watermelon, apples, cakes, and cookies. “This is nicer than a holiday meal.”
Mia wasn’t concerned with the food. She wanted to find Steve to ask him if she could volunteer to work on the school farm. She noticed someone she didn’t recognize talking to Lucy, Henry, Max, and Aaron. Mia walked over to them, assuming it must be Steve.
Lucy said, “Mia, this is our new visiting teacher, Steve.”’
Mia introduced herself, explaining that she would love to be considered to volunteer for the farm.
“I thought you were an alchemist,” Aaron said.
“I am,” Mia replied. “But I’d like to increase my skill set, and farming really interests me.”
“I’d love to teach you,” Steve said. “It’s so nice to see someone who cares about farming. Tomorrow I’m teaching a class on the topic.”
“That’s on my schedule,” Mia said.
“After the class, you can join me on the school farm. I’m looking for other volunteers, too, if you know of any students who might be interested.”
Mia didn’t have a chance to reply. Two lanky, block-carrying Endermen made their way toward her. One looked at Mia and let out a high-pitched shriek. Mia cried out for help as the Enderman teleported toward her. Her heart was racing. She was trapped.
Chapter 2
DOWN THE HOLE
“Run toward the pond!” Lucy called out to a scared and frozen Mia.
Mia stared at the pond as the Enderman struck her. She was shaking and wasn’t sure she could make it.
“You can do it!” Emma yelled, lunging toward the Enderman with her diamond sword.
Mia was still frozen in shock. She looked down at her feet, which seemed to have a life of their own as they sprinted toward the small pond. The Enderman was on her trail, she could feel the purple-eyed creature reach for her. She knew her only chance of survival was jumping into the water. The water splashed her face as the lanky Enderman fell into the water. The water instantly destroyed the block-carrying mob, and Mia was safe. As she stepped out of the pond, Emma and Julia stood waiting on the grass.
“It’s getting dark,” Emma said, relieved that Mia was okay, “Let’s head back before more hostile mobs appear.”
Mia stood in front of her, wet and still shaking a little. “Really? You never want to head home at dusk. Last year you used to stay up all night to see what mobs you’d encounter. You usually love battling hostile mobs,” Mia reminded her.
“Yeah,” Julia said. “Didn’t you destroy a chicken jockey on your own?”
“That was last year,” Emma replied as they walked back to the dorm.
“Is this because of the Olympics? I feel like ever since that competition, you haven’t been yourself,” Mia said.
“I just helped you battle an Enderman, didn’t I?” Emma was annoyed. She didn’t want her friends analyzing why she wasn’t fighting.
Mia said, “Yes, but I just sense that you don’t enjoy fighting anymore.”
“Maybe I’ll become a farmer with you,” Emma said.
“You can do both, but I want to see you battle again. You’re one of the best warriors I know, and it would be a shame to see you stop because of one incident.”
“Can we please stop talking about this?” asked Emma.
Students were leaving the First Night Back Dinner as the trio wove their way through the crowd and walked across the great lawn in the direction of their room.
Mia said, “Okay, then we’ll talk about farming. I’d love for you to farm with me. In fact, Steve told me he needs volunteers for his farm.”
“I’ll do it,” Emma replied.
“Me too. I’d be up for learning how to farm,” Julia said.
“Great. Tomorrow, we will meet Steve after class to work on the farm,” Mia said.
The girls crawled into their beds and said goodnight. In the dark room, Julia covered herself in a blue wool blanket and said, “I’m really happy we were able to get a room together.”
“Me too,” Emma said with a yawn.
* * * *
The next morning, Mia woke up very early to get ready for the farming class. She was excited to start learning about this new skill. Her friends were still sleeping. Apparently, they weren’t as eager as Mia. She looked at the clock and realized they had overslept. How could they oversleep on such an important day?
Mia called out to them. “Wake up. We don’t want to be late for Steve’s farming class.”
“Five more minutes,” begged a sleepy Emma.
“You need to get up now. You overslept!” announced Mia.
“Overslept? Really?” Emma rubbed her eyes and sat up to see the time on the clock.
“What about breakfast?” Julia asked. “Do we have time to eat? I’m starving.”
“I don’t think we have time,” Emma said, glancing at the clock.
“We’re running way too late.” Mia handed Julia an apple. “Eat this.”
“What about me?” Emma asked as she slowly sat up in the bed.
“This is my last apple.” Mia handed it to Emma. “We should pick some at the school farm. Are you guys ready?”
Julia and Emma walked alongside Mia to Steve’s class. Emma took a bite out of her apple. She needed energy for her first day at the farming class. Although she wasn’t as excited as Mia, she knew that picking up this new skill would mean she wouldn’t have to spend all her time focusing on battles. Emma knew that she would miss the thrill of the fight, but Mia was right. After the Olympics she hadn’t felt the same excitement about battling hostile mobs. Maybe it was because for the first time in her life, she had lost. Emma wasn’t used to losing and she didn’t like the way it felt. She convinced herself, that channeling all of her energy into farming would make her feel better. She wasn’t sure that it would work, but she hoped it would rebuild her confidence.
“You have to finish that apple before class,” Mia said. “I want us to make a good impression.”
“Don’t worry,” Emma said. “We will.”
The trio entered the class. Julia knew Hallie was in the bedrock prison on campus, yet she still searched for her face in the classroom. Julia wondered when she’d stop looking for Hallie around campus. It was something she did automatically, without thinking. She hoped by the end of the term, she could break the habit.
Steve entered the class and asked, “Has anyone ever built a farm?”
Shockingly only a few people raised their hands. A boy with orange hair said, “I’ve spent my entire life on a farm.”
“Great.” Steve smiled. “You will be very helpful to the class. What’s your name?”
“Nick.”
Another student with rusty brown hair raised his hand. “Do I really have to be here? Farming is so lame.”
“Lame? Do you like eating potatoes and having wheat?” Steve asked the student.
“Yes,” he replied.
“You can’t have any of those things without a farm.” Steve lectured the class on how farms are vital to everyone’s survival in the Overworld. He taught them the basics of farming. “Before anything, you must have a seed stock.”
As Steve spoke, Mia took meticulous notes. She wanted to learn every aspect of farming, and wanted to be prepared when she finally got to work on the farm. As the class came to a close, Steve announced, “I’m looking for a few volunteers to help on the school farm. If you’re interested, please meet me by the school farm following the class.”
Mia looked over at her friends and smiled. She enjoyed being in the class, but she was eager to get into the dirt
and start planting. Sitting around listening to Steve lecture wasn’t as thrilling as she’d expected. Mia thought farming was a subject that was best learned by doing. She also wanted to replenish her supply of apples, and she knew that there were a couple of flourishing apple trees on campus.
Class was over, and Julia walked over to Emma and Mia. “What’s up with the guy who told Steve farming was lame? That was incredibly rude.”
“Yes,” Mia agreed.
The trio entered the school farm, and Julia was shocked to see Nick and the boy from class who dismissed farming standing next to Steve. Steve asked the boy to introduce himself.
“I’m Jamie. We are all going to work together to build the best possible farm for the school. Are you guys ready?”
Mia looked over at Jamie. She doubted he was ready; he didn’t seem to enjoy farming at all. She knew it was a little early to judge Jamie, though. If they were going to work together, they’d need to learn to respect each other. Mia stared off into the distance as Steve began to explain the basics on farming.
Steve held a pickaxe and dug in into a patch of dirt. “We have to start building an irrigation system.”
“Yes, crops can’t grow without water,” Nick said.
“Very good, Nick,” Steve remarked as he dug deeper, but paused.
“What is it? Can we not dig here?” Nick asked.
“No.” Steve stared inside the hole he had dug. “We can, but—“
“Then what is it?” Nick questioned. “Why did you stop?”
Steve leaned over the hole and pulled out a large treasure chest.
“Cool!” Jamie exclaimed.
Steve cleaned the dirt off the top of the chest and opened it. “Diamonds.”
Julia looked inside. “And enchanted books.”
“I wonder who this belongs to,” Mia said.
Julia assumed it belonged to Hallie or some other criminal who was hiding their treasures, but also wondered, “Do you think this could have spawned naturally?”
“Possibly,” Steve replied. “Since you were all here when we found it, I think everyone in the group should share the loot from the treasure.”
“Wow!” Julia exclaimed. “That’s awesome.”
As Steve picked up the first diamond from the chest, a powerful thunderous boom shook the campus.
Hidden in the Chest Page 1