And she was about to take down that old viin, the head of the Sigma Network. It was one troublemaker against another.


    ...


    The next morning, Juniper finished getting ready and went out to the living room.


    "Good morning, Ms. Payne," Dana greeted her with a cheerful smile as she arranged breakfast on the table. "Mr. Schwartz had an urgent matter at the office and left a little while ago. He asked me to have a car take you to thepetition venue after you eat."


    Today was the WKL eSports final. After breakfast, however, Juniper decided against the car and zipped off on her scooter instead.


    Twenty minutester, she arrived at the venue.


    Learning fromst time, Shanley had arranged for proper invitation cards for her and her ssmates. By the time she got there, most of theputer science students had already gone inside.


    After parking her scooter and getting her ticket scanned, Juniper was walking in when she noticed two furtive figures in the VIP section. A man and a woman, both wearing hats, masks, and sunsses.


    The woman on the left kept adjusting her sses, her eyes wide as she cautiously scanned the crowd. "Honey, do you think anyone will recognize me like this?"


    Hayden had never appeared in public, so no one knew who he was. But she was a different story. As a snack food connoisseur, her face was associated with everything from spicy instant ramen to beef jerky. Her face and voice were practically famous; she could be spotted in an instant.


    "No, no," Hayden chuckled, looking at his wife, who was bundled up so much only her eyes were visible. "I guarantee no one can tell it''s you."


    "Good." Miranda patted her chest, about to breathe a sigh of relief when a familiar female voice called out from behind her. "Miranda?"


    Miranda froze, the smile stered on her face. Busted! She''d been recognized. If Shanley found out she''d snuck back to watch a video game tournament, he''d lecture her for days.


    Miranda turned around slowly, her expression shifting to surprise when she saw who it was. "Oh, it''s you, Juniper!"


    Thank goodness. For a second, she thought it was a fan.


    "Are you two here for the finals?" Juniper asked, blinking with curiosity.


    "Yes, yes! I''m a huge Demon fan," Miranda whispered, pulling Juniper into a corner and grabbing her hands excitedly. "What about you? Whose fan are you? Oh my god Demon is so cook There''s a @mor he might actually show up today, so I came to try my luck."


    "Who started that rumor?" Juniper thought. "It''s surprisingly urate."


    "I..." Juniper licked her lips, hesitating, when Hayden interjected, "It''s getting crowded. We should probably find our seats."


    "Right."


    Before leaving, Miranda handed Juniper a bag.


    "Snacks," she said earnestly. "We''ll go halfsies. They''re perfect for watching the match."


    “Huh?” Juniper found the bag of snacks pushed into her arms before she could refuse.


    "Your seats seem a bit far back,” she said, concerned. "Do you want to move closer to the front?"


    “No, no, no!” Miranda quickly refused, pointing to a secluded corner nearby.


    "My son calls me a gaming addict, and forbids me from anything


    conspiratorally. "I can''t let el


    game rted, she whispered


    him find


    out I''m here."


    A gaming-addicted mom? Juniper had heard of kids with gaming addictions, but this was a first.


    "Well, I have to go," Miranda said, cutting the conversation short with a smile you''re in the frontrow, right Juniper? If you see Demon, you have


    to spam me on WhatsApp kay?"


    The person who was, in fact, Demon, managed to force out a reply. "Okay."