Fifteen year old Zelda Kovac was sitting in her homeroom staring at her phone. Normally she liked study hall, it gave her time to think, time to do homework, whatever she wanted. However, lately the teen felt she'd had too much time to think. Over the past two weeks the next round of Video Game High School acceptance emails had been sent out, and Zelda had been waiting with bated breath for an email of her own. Mom and Dad had insisted She'd be a shoe-in for one of the coveted spots on the VGHS acceptance list, but as time had gone on, there still was no email from the school's dean, Sergeant Ernie Calhoun.

"Come on, refresh...refresh!" She mumbled while rapidly tapping the refresh button on her email app. After what felt like the hundredth page refresh, a new email popped up. Nervously, Zelda peeked at sender; Dean Calhoun. "Oh my god! Oh my god!" Zelda burst excitedly.

"Miss Kovac? Is everything all right?" Zelda's eye's shot up at her homeroom teacher before she could read the subject of the email.

"Uh yeah, everything is fine." Zelda promised before stuffing her phone in her pocket. "Can I um..have the bathroom key?" The teacher nodded, holding the key out for Zelda to take. She did her best to remain calm as she got up from her seat took the bathroom key. New England Academy was as far from VGHS as any high school in the US could get, both literally and figuratively. Located on the eastern coast of the country, NEA boasted some of the strictest rules in the country; hence the locked bathrooms. Walking calmly towards the second floor girls bathroom, Zelda passed classrooms full of unformed students, seated in separate classes for boys and girls. She was relieved to find the bathroom empty but ducked into a stall just in case anyone stumbled in. "Ok, Email..." Zelda unlocked her phone an tapped her email app open again. Oh No...where'd it go...no, no, no...Zelda started to panic because the email from Dean Calhoun had disappeared. Old mail folder, duh! She could have slapped herself. "There it is!"

CONGRATULATIONS! The subject of the email proclaimed. Zelda's heart was racing as she opened the email. As expected there was a video clip with a thumbnail of Dean Calhoun. Zelda was prepared for exactly this sort of thing, and she slipped a set of earbuds out of her cardigan pocket. Well that's one use for the school uniform. She mused, plugging the headphones in and pressing play on the video. Immediately the imposing figure of Dean Calhoun came to life on her cellphone screen.

"You will not study physics! You will study physics engines!" Calhoun's voice bellowed. "You will not study art! You will study the art of war! You will learn about biology by bathing in the blood of your enemies! Sound good? Well welcome, to VGHS!" Dean Calhoun disappeared, and was replaced by the VGHS logo. A banner of yellowed letters filled the screen. "You Have been ACCEPTED!" they promised. The rest of the email was information about when to show up, how to confirm her acceptance, but Zelda was far too excited to get through all that just then. Saving the email to her favorites so she could show it to her parents, Zelda stashed her headphones and her phone back on her pockets and returned to her homeroom.

"Uh, Miss Gershwin..." Zelda moaned dramatically as she returned the key to her teacher. "I'm not feeling too hot, so I think I'm going to call my driver and have him take me home for the rest of the day."

"I suppose you'll want a hall pass." The teacher groaned dryly. She scribbled out at note and thrust it in Zelda's direction.

"Thanks!" Zelda smiled as she slipped the note from her teacher's hands. "I, mean...uh thanks." She frowned remembering she was faking sick. Emptying everything out of her locker, which really only contained her backpack and a jacket anyway, Zelda phoned Leo. Leo was the family driver who took her anywhere she needed to go. "Hi Leo, It's Z...Yes everything's fine, Just can you pick me up from school. Awesome! I'm meet you in the office!"

"Can I help you with something? " The main office clerk questioned upon seeing Zelda.

"Just waiting for my driver to pick me up." She explained. "I've got a hall pass from my teacher." The girl explained for extra assurance.

"Just have a seat over there then." The office clerk pointed to a row of chairs before returning to her work.

Zelda didn't have to wait long for Leo to pick her up from school. He arrive just under ten minutes after Zelda had called him. Leo signed the required forms to excuse her from school, but he waited until the two were in the car before asking what was wrong.

"Miss Z, may I ask why you wanted to leave school early?"

"Yes, you may!" Zelda smiled. "Leo, today was my last day at NEA."

"You finally got your acceptance letter to Video Game High School?" Leo was genuinely excited for Zelda. After all he'd been working for Mr. And Mrs. Kovac before Miss Z was even born, he'd watched her grow up over the years and he knew what this acceptance meant to her.

"Did you ever doubt I would?" Zelda was still beaming when Leo snuck a glance at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Not for a second Miss Z."

"Oh Leo this is the best day ever!" The teenage girl gushed. "I can't wait to tell Mom and Dad!"