CHAPTER 1

First Day of School

What? The text books are gone! What will we do?

Hello. My name is Blake Sloan. My friends call me Blake theSnake. My dad is a grape farm manager. We just moved fromEugene, Oregon, and I'm a little concerned about my first day ofschool in this new place and meeting and making new friends.Well, off to school I go!

"Good morning, class. I am Ms. Rothchild, and I will beyour fourth-grade learning facilitator this year. I welcome youall to Grape Grove Elementary School, the newest elementaryschool in the Napa Valley area of California. I have good news.This school is the most technologically advanced to date. Lookaround the room, and you will see that there are no books. Allof the information from textbooks will be found online andaccessed from your individual student computer.

"As you can see, each student desk cubicle are a has a computer.The computer is located directly in front of you in the lockedcompartment. Each desk has an electric pencil sharpener and ismounted just to the right side of your desk. On the back left sideof your desk, you will notice a small, mounted container that willbe used for trash depositing. In front of that are two mounted,narrow containers that you will use to deposit completedassignments that are not computer related, as directed by yourstruly ... me.

"Further, hard-copy notes and letters will no longer be senthome to parents, as these will come directly to you throughyour e-mail, and you will be responsible to then forward them toyour parents. If you will look directly behind and at the rear ofthe classroom, you will notice two very wide doors. Once thesedoors are opened, you will see a nicely furnished lounge. As eachperiod ends, you will have a ten-minute break and access to thisarea for your enjoyment and relaxation.

"This area is equipped with a surround-sound system that isconnected to a 105-inch flat-screen television and entertainmentcenter. The latest video games are available, as are light snackfoods. This is the area where we will, beginning tomorrow, startour morning activities and obtain announcements from themain office. I'll give you more information later, but for now I'dlike us all to introduce ourselves to each other. Let's begin withGeorgia."

"Good morning, Ms. Rothchild. My name is Georgia JeanHathaway. I was born and still live here in Napa. My daddy camefrom a banking background, and we live in the old Willfordmansion on Cotton Wood Drive just south of here. As I look outthe window, I can see the top of our home in the distance. It'sthe one on the top of the hillside. That's all I have to say."

"I'm Sy Wilcox, but my friends call me Slo-Mo. You can callme almost anything, but please don't call me too late to eat. Ilove to eat. My parents started the Hensley Steakhouse back in1973. We now operate three others as well. We enjoy skiing forfamily fun. We go skiing every December at Cloud Croft, NewMexico, for our winter vacation. I'm especially looking forwardto this year's vacation so I can get better at my skiing skills, as Iget to go on the big-hill ski jump this time."

"Hello, my name is Pricilla Kay Keaton. My grandmotheris Mary Kay, and she does cosmetics to help pretty girls lookprettier. My parents own and operate the distribution centerfor my grandmother's cosmetics. I won my first beauty contestpageant this past summer and expect to win many more."

"Hi! I'm Billy Mack, the Mackster, and I like to run and playfootball. I'm already the quarterback for the Pee Wee Giants.Coach Watkins says our team is going to go undefeated this yearas long as...