Supergifted

The Daniels credit Donovan with being their “secret weapon against boredom” (88), as he is always ending up in trouble. This time, he has even managed to get in trouble by doing something good—a paradox they see as typical of Donovan.

The Daniels approach Noah with an offer: They will keep his superkid secret safe if he does their homework for them. Noah agrees immediately. To avoid suspicion, however, they must later “dumb down” the homework that Noah gives them. This starts taking a lot of their time, so they ask him to hack the school computer and change their grades. Noah reluctantly agrees and decides to design a bot to do the job.

Now that Noah has become a “celebrity,” everyone is scrambling to get near him. Teachers and students alike worship him. He poses for selfies, and his retelling of the story gets “more daring” every time. Even Hashtag has become kinder to Noah, forgiving Donovan on his behalf. With the superkid on the cheerleading squad, the lacrosse team is on a winning streak. Nobody sees anything to fault in Noah’s poor cheerleading routine, awkward posture, or whiny voice.

Donovan can’t talk to Noah about the situation because Noah does not seem to have time for his old friend anymore.