Risen by Lauren Barnholdt, Aaron Gorvine Read Free Book Online Page B

right corner stand for?”
    Jay looks at me and then back at the screen. The logo says MHSO in bright red and black school colors.
    “Ahhh—that stands for Middlebury High School,” Jay replies.
    “Online,” I finish. “Middlebury High School Online.”
    Jay grins. “What a team we make. He even finishes my sentences for me.”
    Ms. Gedwell’s lips tighten like she’s holding back the world’s nastiest burp.
    “Middlebury High School Online is basically Facebook for our school. But it’s not just a social website,” I say.
    Jay shakes his head. “No. Heck no.”
    “It’s really one-stop shopping for all your Middlebury school needs. Whether it’s asking a question of a teacher, turning in a book report, making a suggestion to the Vice Principal, or even just sending a friendly email to a classmate. MHS Online has it all.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Candice Simmons watching me attentively.
    Candice is one of the hottest—and probably meanest—girls in school. Something about the way she’s looking at me is weirding me out.
    I think she might hate me.
    “That’s a very professional presentation,” Ms. Gedwell says. “Everyone, notice how clearly and concisely Mr. Richardson states his website purpose and customer base.”
    I quickly move on. “So once you give your screen name and password, you’re in.” I quickly enter into the main site. “It’s a fairly basic layout with limited functionality at the moment,” I say.
    “Yeah, we’re planning on getting a lot more functionality on there soon,” Jay chimes in. “Lots more.”
    “Exactly,” I agree, nodding like a bobble-head doll. I use the mouse to show the main features. “Right here every student has their own mailbox which contains personal communications whether it’s from teachers, other students, or even school administration.”
    “Very nice,” Gedwell says, smiling a little despite herself.
    I point the arrow to the right of the screen where there’s a large blackboard (that took me a full day to design). “This is the “blackboard” where other school students and faculty can write public messages and so forth.”
    “Like a Facebook Wall,” Jay says. “That was my idea.”
    “That’s right, it was,” I say, shooting him a grin.
    Jay smiles triumphantly. He’s managing to catch on to what I’m explaining and add just enough that it’s possible we’ve been working together on the project.
    “And this link here,” I say, clicking on an icon that looks like a graduation cap,
    “brings you to your class list. This page is under construction but eventually it will allow each student to view their own grades and see all their test scores, what homework they owe, future assignments, that sort of thing.”
    “And we’re also planning on having a link so you can check out the schedule of the football team and get up-to-date game scores and player stats,” Jay says.
    I want to punch him for adding a ton of work to my plate, because I’d never considered having any of that stuff on the site. At least not until version 2.0 comes out.
    “This is all very impressive,” Gedwell says, adjusting her glasses. “It has the makings of a project that I’d be more than willing to show to the Principle as something to be implemented next school year. You’ve got a great talent for this work.”
    “What about me?” Jay says. “We worked on it together.”
    Gedwell turns on him. “And what exactly did you DO, Mr. Stevens, other then run that mouth of yours? As far as I can tell, it’s your little sidekick who did all the real work and innovation on this project.”
    Jay raps his knuckles on his desk. “I admit I’m more of an idea man. Kind of a big thinker. But that’s what makes me and Richardson such a great duo. Like Batman and Robin.”
    “Or Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling,” she replies.
    “Huh?”
    “You probably never heard of them, but they were the two men behind Enron, a company that had a lot of