My Life as a Coder

by Janet Tashjian

  “We played for three hours!” Dad says later. “This game is a time suck!”

  I hastily sweep all the cookie crumbs off the sofa, hoping our Couch Potato Time won’t be too noticeable to Mom.

  At school on Monday, I can’t help but show off my hard work to Umberto. He runs his finger across the GitHub, studying my lines of code.

  “This is for Pirate Kittens 2?” he asks. “It looks nothing like what she wrote for the first one. She’s upping her game.”

  I kind of understand what Umberto’s talking about but because I don’t want to seem stupid—and don’t feel like listening to a long answer if I ask him to explain—I just nod and say, “Yup.”

  “If this is what she’s doing, I really have to revamp my program,” Umberto says. “I spent so much time doing the compression assignment that Sophie and I hardly got to work on expanding our app.”

  If I DO end up going into computer programming, I hope missing out on the compression module won’t impact my career. Who am I kidding—I got out of a big, boring assignment and got to work on a game with pirates instead!

  When I see Jade outside the gym, I open my laptop to show her all I did.

  “I’ll probably have to clean up the entire thing,” she says as she scans my work.

  Hardly the accolades I’d been hoping for.

  “Good thing Ms. Felix is giving me extra credit for working with you.”

  “WHAT?”

  Jade smiles. “Calm down. I’m kidding.” She scans the lines of code and nods her head. “Not bad. If we eliminate some of the typos, this might actually run.”

  Now THAT’S what I’m talking about.

  Jade tells me the dates in the second section should be in chronological order but the rest looks pretty clean. “Good job. We might make a coder out of you yet.”

  Is it pathetic to admit how much I crave her approval? I spend the rest of the day walking on air, proud of myself for trying—and maybe succeeding—at something challenging and new.

  ANOTHER MIX-UP

  As we skateboard to school the next day, Matt pitches me ideas for his comedy class presentation.

  “We’re supposed to come up with an original character and give them a funny monologue,” he explains. “I’m working on my impression of Jason’s sister. She’s a cheerleader at the high school who talks with a total Valley Girl accent that’s just BEGGING to be made fun of.”

  He gives me a sample of his exaggerated teenage-girl voice. It’s funny, but my laughter is forced. It sounds like Matt’s been spending as much time with Jason as I have with Jade. Is learning to code going to end up costing me my best friend?

  “I wonder if I’ll find another note from my secret admirer today,” Matt says when we hit a red light.

  “You have a secret admirer?” More importantly—how did I not know this?

  “I keep finding these purple papers in my locker,” he says. “Little notes like ‘Hope you’re having a nice day.’”

  “Sounds like something Carly would say.”

  “You don’t think it’s her, do you?” Matt asks. “I want it to be someone new.”

  “Maybe it’s Jade. She’s new.”

  “She’s weird,” Matt answers. “No, thanks.”

  We can tell from the top of the street that something’s different at school today. “I hope it’s not another locker break-in,” Matt says. “When a prankster starts to repeat himself, it’s time to throw in the towel and find a new line of work.”

  When we reach the circular driveway, I figure out what’s wrong. There are no buses anywhere. And hardly any kids.

  “We’re not early, are we?” Matt asks. “I can’t damage my reputation by being early.”

  I check my phone and tell him we’re on time. “Where is everyone?”

  We ask a few kids who got dropped off but no one knows why school is currently a ghost town. Principal Demetri paces up and down the sidewalk, barking orders into his walkie-talkie.

  “Is this a prank?” I ask Matt. “Or something more serious?”

  A queasy feeling rises up inside me. Matt’s eyes meet mine, and for once he doesn’t have a snappy comeback.

  We’re both visibly relieved when Principal Demetri finally waves one of the buses into the parking lot. The bus driver looks as confused as our principal.

  “Mrs. Sousa drove us to Brentwood!” Carly says when she gets off the bus. “Everyone was yelling that she was going the wrong way but she kept driving!”

  The shock on Matt’s face continues to grow along with the chaos. “This is DEFINITELY the same person who raided the lockers! This is anarchy!”

  “For a second I thought we were on some new reality show where we swap schools,” Carly adds. “The whole thing was very stressful.”

  Assistant Superintendent Menendez tries to clear the area around Umberto’s van so he can safely get out. Matt, Carly, and I hurry over to help.

  When we press Mrs. Menendez for details, she tells us someone pretending to be the superintendent sent a five AM email rerouting the buses to another school. “The poor drivers were running all over town,” she says. “Then parents calling in jammed the channels, so it took forever to let the bus drivers know the email was a hoax.”

  Since we’re the first ones with the scoop, Matt races around the parking lot sharing the news with the rest of the school. Carly seems overwhelmed by the commotion and heads inside.

  Umberto gives my sleeve a tug. “Do you know how hard it would be to hack into the school district’s computers to send an email from the superintendent? Not to mention the logistics of rerouting dozens of buses.”

  The queasiness in my stomach returns.

  “There are a handful of people who have the computer skills to pull that off,” he continues. “And one of them is someone we know.”

  I shake my head. “No way.”

  “Yes way,” Umberto says and nods his head. “Jade.”

  “Maybe TECHNICALLY she’s capable, but why? When she talked about being a hacktivist, she said she only did things that HELPED people.”

  Umberto looks around; it’s going to be a while before school will start today. “Maybe Jade’s bored with coding games and wants to create havoc instead.” He takes off his Dodgers hat and scratches his head. “You have to talk to her, Derek. You’re the one who knows her best.”

  “You want me to confront someone who might’ve orchestrated this giant mess? Thanks, but no thanks.”

  “Just talk to her and see what you can find out,” Umberto says. “Because I’m talking to Demetri.”

  Umberto wheels inside to join Carly, leaving me completely unsure of what to do. On the one hand I’m glad no one was hurt in today’s hacking prank, but these stunts are getting bigger. Who knows what the next one could be? On the other hand, the last thing I want to do is antagonize my lab partner, who’s spared me from several difficult assignments.

  Jade couldn’t be behind this chaos, could she?

  THE HARSH TRUTH

  The rest of the morning is one blunder after another. The superintendent visits the school but gets caught in the gridlock of the rerouted buses. Mr. Demetri doesn’t realize the PA is still on and lets out a curse word for all to hear. The only one who seems amused by the confusion is Jade, snapping her gum and twirling a new plastic wristband.

  “Were you dumpster diving at the hospital last night?” I ask. “Or were you up to a different kind of mischief?”

  “Like what?” She twirls her locker open with the speed of a safecracker. “Making my pet monkey jump out of the laundry basket?”

  Before I can answer, she tells me she spent last night watching my old YouTube videos. Her comment makes me miss Frank more than I already do, but I stay focused and forge ahead.

  “I was thinking about something more malicious,” I whisper. “Like hacking into the school’s server.”

  Her face remains passive but I notice a flicker in her eyes. “You think I’m the one who rerouted the buses?”
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  “I’m not the only one. So does Umberto.” I dig in my heels. “And he’s planning to rat you out.”

  “Let’s say, hypothetically, you were right.” She guides me down the hall away from the other students. “Suppose I DID hack into the district’s server. Wouldn’t I need help?”

  I shake my head. “You could do it alone. You’re THAT good.”

  Jade seems pleased. “Thank you.” She reaches into her parachutist backpack and takes out a piece of paper. “But if I DID hack into the server, wouldn’t it be more fun to do it with an accomplice? Especially an unwitting one.”

  I stare at the page in her hand and recognize my code.

  “You said we were working on Pirate Kittens 2.” My throat closes up; I can barely breathe.

  “If anybody rats me out, they’ll discover YOU wrote as much of that bus-route code as I did. The locker heist too. Unfortunately, there’s no way to program a wheelbarrow—I was up all night emptying every locker by hand.”

  “Are you telling me I helped write the code for these pranks?” My mouth hangs open as my mind races to Umberto—hopefully he hasn’t had his chat with Demetri yet.

  “How did you get into the server?” I ask.

  “Easy. Every school librarian has access, and Ms. Myers keeps all her passwords on a sticky note stuck to her desk drawer.”

  I gasp. “THAT’S what you were doing when I caught you behind her desk last week?”

  She nods. “Our next mission is to hack into everyone’s grades.”

  “WE don’t have a mission!” I shout. “Count me out.”

  “Like it or not, we’re in this together,” Jade says.

  I race down the hall toward the office before Umberto gets me expelled.

  I can’t believe it. I’ve been hacked!

  WHAT DO I DO NOW?

  When I spot Umberto rolling down the hallway, I grab ahold of his wheelchair and ask if he already spilled the beans to Demetri. Luckily, he was waylaid by Sophie on route to Demetri’s office and didn’t get a chance to share his theory about Jade yet.

  “Remind me to send Sophie a thank-you card.” I sigh with relief.

  “Is everything okay?” Umberto asks.

  I can’t tell if it’s nerves, but I suddenly feel like everyone’s eyes are on me. “I’ll tell you at lunch.” I turn my gaze to the floor and walk to my next class as casually as possible.

  Sitting in science, I’m so upset I barely catch a word of today’s lecture on conductivity. How could I have been so stupid to blindly follow Jade’s instructions without spending the extra time to UNDERSTAND them? Jade was smart enough to realize I’d do almost anything to get out of work, so she played me like a finely tuned fiddle. Making me part of her plan to disrupt the school was a surefire way to ensure I couldn’t turn her in.

  During lunch, I call an emergency meeting with my friends in the corner of the cafeteria.

  “Why can’t we sit at our usual table?” Matt asks. “Jason was going to run through his new stand-up act.”

  I feel another twinge of regret but I’ve got bigger problems to think about right now than somebody encroaching on best- friend territory.

  “You were right,” I tell Umberto. “Jade’s the one responsible for rerouting the buses, setting everyone’s lunch balances to zero, AND breaking into all the lockers.”

  “I told you she was trouble!” Carly whispers. “I never trusted her from day one.”

  “The Girl in Black?” Matt asks. “I knew she was weird but didn’t think she was such a criminal mastermind!”

  I take a deep breath; this part of the story is much less fun to admit than the first part. “Uhmm, I kind of helped her write the code that got her everyone’s locker combinations and rerouted the buses.”

  Carly and Matt seem confused but Umberto gets it right away.

  “Did you deliberately help her?” he asks. “Or inadvertently?”

  I’m not sure what inadvertently means but I tell Umberto I didn’t help Jade on purpose. “We’ve been partners for weeks; she does most of the work and I do the smaller parts she gives me.”

  Umberto shakes his head. “It’s actually a pretty genius plan—you can’t turn her in because you helped write the code.”

  “But WE can turn her in,” Matt says. “There’s no way she’s pinning this on you. I’m finding Demetri.”

  Matt gets up and grabs his tray, then Carly yanks him back into his seat. “If we turn Jade in, we turn in Derek too. We need a better plan.”

  Umberto moves his fork around his baked ziti, clearly upset. “I saw the code you wrote. I should’ve caught it.”

  “This isn’t on you, Umberto—it’s on me. I’m the one trying to skate by on minimal work.”

  “We ALL try to skate by on minimal work!” Matt says. “That’s what being in school IS.”

  Carly rolls her eyes and tells Matt to speak for himself. “The four of us are smarter than she is,” Carly says. “We can fix this.”

  “That’s nice of you to say but hardly true,” I answer.

  “There’s no way she’ll get away with this,” Carly continues. “My house—after school. Operation Save Derek begins.”

  As foolish as I feel for letting myself get caught in this scheme, it’s nice knowing I’ve got three friends who have my back every single time I need it—which unfortunately is a lot.

  OVER OUR HEADS

  We all meet up at Carly’s—even Umberto, who had to finagle an excuse with his van driver. “I told him we had a last-minute crisis with an assignment,” Umberto says, “which technically is kind of true.”

  Carly brings out a plate of her usual nutritious snacks: cut-up carrots, celery, and hummus. I’d rather have the cookies and licorice from my house but I’m not going to complain since everyone is dropping what they’re doing to help me out.

  “Here’s the thing I’m worried about,” Umberto begins. “Suppose the lockers, the lunch balances, and the buses were preliminary hacks—just to see what she could get away with. Suppose she’s got her eyes on something bigger?”

  “Like what?” Matt scoops a wad of hummus with his celery and slurps it off. Carly pulls the bowl away.

  “If she got into the district servers, she could access teacher information,” Umberto says. “She could hassle people online, steal their identities—all kinds of nasty things.”

  We talked about cyberbullying in Mr. Ennis’s YouTube class last year; it’s a serious offense and makes me afraid for what else Jade has up her hospital-bracelet sleeves.

  “Grades,” Derek says.

  “Grades,” Umberto echoes. It makes perfect sense. She’s already hacked into the district server. She could start selling A’s to the highest bidder.”

  “We have to stop her,” Carly adds.

  “Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Matt says. “Making A’s available to every student seems very democratic to me—almost a public service.”

  “I know I’m the LAST person who should weigh in on this, but instant A’s do sound tempting,” I suggest.

  Carly crosses her arms. “Derek, I know you helped her accidentally, but whose side are you on now?”

  “Yours!” I continue. “Jade even admitted she plans on hacking grades.”

  “She TOLD you what she’s doing and you forgot to tell us?” Carly cries.

  “It’s not that I forgot…”

  Matt shakes his head. “Part of you WANTS her to hack into our grades, because your grades have nowhere to go but up.”

  I’m embarrassed to admit it, but Matt is 100 percent correct.

  “Derek, come on,” Umberto says. “That would be every shade of wrong and you know it.”

  Carly seems almost wounded that I held back this vital piece of information, so I throw out something to get back in her good graces.

  “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought,” I begin, “and I think the best thing to do is for me to come clean and tell Demetri everything—even if I get in trouble too.”r />
  “I doubt you’ll get expelled if you tell the truth,” Umberto says. “Honesty is the best policy.”

  “Derek!” Matt interrupts. “You’ve gotten out of worse scrapes than this! You’re my hero! You caught a graffiti vandal, you did stunts in a movie, you solved the mystery of a babysitter who drowned, you had a monkey!”

  “I LOST a monkey too,” I say. “That hardly counts as an accomplishment.” But I am happy to hear Matt call me his hero. His vote of confidence in my skills—especially when he’s been spending so much time with a new friend—is the only piece of good news in this whole mess.

  Matt stands up and crosses his arms. “We’re ninjas, remember? What would Sensei Takai say?”

  I smile at the memory of our super-tough martial arts teacher.

  Carly sighs. “For once, I agree with Matt. You GOT this.”

  “WE’VE got this.” Umberto puts out his hand in an “All For One And One For All” Three Musketeers handshake. Even though there are four of us instead of three, our bond seems just as strong.