"Someone actually got tickets," another student chimed in. "It was that loser from the art ss—the one who cheated in the shootingpetition, lost to Juniper, and ended up crying for his daddy. I heard his dad knows the organizers and got him a few tickets."


    "Yeah, and the guy''s been unting them all over the ce."


    "Where''s thepetition being held?" Juniper asked casually, resting her chin on her hand.


    "Huh?" The guy quickly pulled out his phone to check the address. "North District Arena. It''s hosted by Infinite Media."


    Infinite Media? Juniper mulled over the name, a sense of familiarity nagging at her. A quick search on her phone revealed why-it was a gamingpany under the Schwartz Group, and also the biggest investor in Neverfall Navigators. Which meant Shanley probably knew all about thispetition.


    "You guys want to go?” Juniper''s voice wasnguid as she looked up, her lips parting slightly.


    "Of course," her ssmates nodded eagerly. It was the first time WKL was holding apetition in their country, and for many fans, seeing a match live was a dreame true. But the event was so popr that tickets had sold out the second they went on sale. The only ones left were VIP seats reserved for important people, so for them, it was just a fantasy.


    "Oh," Juniper responded nomittally, stifling a yawn. "I''ll see what I can do."


    Everyone stared at her. What did she mean? The tickets were all gone. Juniper couldn''t possibly just walk them in, could she?


    ...


    After school, Juniper was heading toward the gate with her backpack when she ran into Ferdinand Malone, the “loser," talking to Ynda Sherwin.


    "My dad has connections, so they gave him two tickets personally," Ferdinand bragged, his face alight with smug satisfaction. "You couldn''t get these tickets now for ten times the price."


    "Wow, really?" Ynda started to say, then spotted Juniper nearby. She knew Juniper loved this game and was probably a fan of Neverfall Navigators. The thought of Juniper knowing she was going to the live event, green with envy, was too good to pass up.


    “Okay, I''ll go,” Ynda said, deliberately raising her voice for Juniper to hear. "So many people are dying to go but can''t. I''ll take it."


    "Especially those guys in theputer science ss, they talk about it all day," Ferdinand added with a sneer, shooting a nasty look at Juniper. What kind of fan can even afford to see a live match?"


    Juniper walked past without a nce, muttering a single word under her breath, "Idiots."


    At Cloudscape Community.


    Juniper got home early since she had a light afternoon schedule. Bored, she


    sprawled on the couch, ying games while waiting for Shanley.


    ét


    It wasn''t long before he walked in, carrying a box of her favorite dessert which he handed to Dana. "Could you put this on a te Dana? Thank you."


    "Of course," Dana smiled, then nced toward Juniper and lowered her voice. "Ms.


    Payne doesn''t seem to be in a very good mood."


    "I see," Shanley said, his brow furrowing slightly.


    He took off his coat, sat down on the sofa, and gently touched the girl''s forehead


    with his warm fingers. "Not feeling well?"


    “I''m fine,” Juniper replied tly without looking up, her hands never stopping their movements on her phone.


    "You really like this game, don''t you?" Shanley''s lips curved into a small


    smile as his gaze fell on her phone.


    "There


    apetition this weekend.


    Want to go


    At his words, Juniper''s hands stilled. She looked up at him, her bright eyes wide. "Can I bring someone?"


    “Hmm?” Shanley assumed she meant a friend or two and readily agreed. "Of course. Who?"


    "My ssmates," Juniper said, blinking earnestly. "There are about... sixty of them." Shanley froze.