Noah wrinkled his nose. “That’s all kinds of nasty. I feel sorry for Mr. Jacobs having to empty that thing.”
“No kidding,” I agreed.
Mr. Jacobs was the school custodian. A while back, a few of us had to help him with his custodial duties. It gave me a new respect for his job of cleaning up after an entire school of messy students.
Noah and I made our way to our first class and quietly stepped inside. We handed Mr. Jenkins our tardy slips and took our seats. Luckily, he was in the middle of going over our algebra homework, so we hadn’t really missed anything. Several completed math problems were projected on the screen at the front of the classroom.
While he helped a student across the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder and then heard a familiar voice in my ear. “All right, Swift,” Sam whispered. “What have you two been up to?”
Noah and I spun in our seats to face our good friends Samantha Watson and Amy Hsu.
“Check it,” Noah whispered. “They’re going to make a reality show here!”
“What?” Sam asked. She peered over her glasses, looking skeptical. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
When she glanced at me for confirmation, I nodded. “It’s true.”
Amy wrung her hands and lowered her head. Her long dark hair obscured part of her face, her occasional shield against the outside world. “They’re going to film us? All of us?”
It turned out that Noah didn’t have to explain further. At that very moment, Mr. Davenport’s voice sounded over the intercom system. “Pardon the interruption, faculty and students,” he said. “I have a few brief announcements. First of all, beginning tomorrow, a small crew will be here filming a new reality program based on our academy’s students.”
A murmur of excitement rippled through our classroom. I imagined similar scenes happening throughout the rest of the school. Noah grinned and nodded at Sam and Amy in a What did I tell you? sort of way.
“I’m told that the crew won’t be disruptive and, after a few days, we won’t even realize they’re there,” Mr. Davenport continued. “Either way, your last-period classes will have release forms for you to take home and have your parents sign. If you don’t want to be on the show, I’m told that the production will blur your face or something similar.”
Amy’s shoulders relaxed a bit. She sighed and pulled her hair away from her face. I couldn’t imagine Amy, one of the shiest people I knew, wanting to be on a television show of any kind.
“Not only will this be great publicity for the academy,” Mr. Davenport continued, “but I’ve been told the production company is donating a state-of-the-art editing suite to the school. They’ll be using the equipment to edit the show on-site, and once production is complete, they’ve generously agreed to provide it for student use.”
Amy smiled, no longer self-conscious at all. The three of us knew about Amy’s small collection of short films and animations. Actually, I think we were the only ones who knew about them. Her meticulous nature and near-perfect internal clock helped make her a talented editor and animator.
“Do you think they’ll let students help with the editing?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe.”
“My second brief announcement is about this month’s invention convention,” Mr. Davenport said. “As another public relations opportunity, we’re going to expand it into a public event called the Inventors’ Olympics.”
More murmurs broke out in the classroom as Mr. Davenport went on to explain the event. The class seemed to be split between excitement and slight anxiety. It was one thing to show off a new invention in front of your fellow students, but the pressure was dialed up when you knew it was going to be seen by the public. I hadn’t planned on showcasing anything in the upcoming convention—it was difficult to show an audience my cool glasses unless I made a pair for everyone. Still, I imagined I’d be a bit anxious if I did have something planned.
“And finally…” Mr. Davenport let out a breath. “I’ve been asked to instruct everyone to dispose of his or her used chewing gum in one of the receptacles you’ll find in the hallways. This is part of a recycling invention created by our very own Miss Amy Hsu. Thank you for your time, everyone.”
My eyes widened. Amy was behind the gum thing? I glanced back at her, but she was already hunched forward in her seat, scrolling through the digital textbook on her tablet. Her hair curtains cut her off from the rest of the class’s gawking.
“No way,” Noah said. He glanced at Sam. “You knew about this?”
Sam didn’t get a chance to answer. “All right, everyone,” Mr. Jenkins said. “Let’s get back to it, shall we?”
That temporarily cut off the chatter about the film crew within our group, as well as the rest of the class. Even so, for the rest of the morning, the entire school was buzzing about the news. As expected, some students were apprehensive, but most were excited about being part of both the Inventors’ Olympics and a new reality show.
“I bet someone will see my invention and want to buy it,” Evan Wittman said during second period.
“Maybe I can be on Squatch Hunters after this,” I heard Ashley Robbins say during third period. “I love that show!”
Noah must have spread the word about what other reality shows the producers had created. Let me tell you, if you ever want to spread news, modes of communication include the telegraph, telephone, and tell Noah.
When the “formidable foursome” (as my dad likes to call us) sat down for lunch together, we were not immune to the day’s trending topics.
“It’s so not real,” Sam said as she plopped her lunch bag onto the table.
Noah set his tray down and pulled out a seat. “It’s right there in the name… reality television.”
“Don’t you think if the squatch hunters ever found Bigfoot it would be
