Season 1, Episode 5 - The Boxtops VII - "The Scratch Tickets"

“Attention, everyone,” Mackenzie called out, standing behind the podium. As Vice Class Rep, Lynn took up her spot next to her best friend. Alfie stood off to the side of them, not exactly enjoying the limelight.

“This is Alfie Coonan,” Mackenzie introduced him, gesturing with her hand. “I won’t beat around the bush. Alfie was the student who was caught three months ago attempting to infiltrate the Academy...yes, Piper?”

Piper put her hand down and her eyes blazed with glory. “I took his picture!”

Mackenzie sighed. “Yes, we know, Piper. That’s why I’m not beating around the bush...that means I’m speaking directly, Audrey.”

Audrey put her hand down.

Mackenzie gestured at Alfie. “While we can’t erase the past, we can work toward the future. In the past three months, Alfie has served the Academy admirably. His information was vital in busting a drug smuggling ring that plagued the Pond, and he himself took part in that bust. For his services, Alfie will be allowed to partake in this class until the semester ends in February.”

Alfie tried to look like he didn’t care, but the stares made him look off to the side.

Isaac had to stifle a laugh at that. It’s not like he himself wanted to be famous, either, but he knew Alfie better than anyone in the class. He knew the New Yorker – new transfer, Isaac corrected himself – probably just wanted to be left alone in a corner of the classroom.

But that’s probably better than learning in an internment camp...right? It’s not like he has to wear an armband around us.

And truthfully, Class 2-C would be a good fit for Alfie. Isaac had already introduced him to his friends in the Naxtube Club. It was a little awkward at first, but Alfie kept quiet and chimed in occasionally, which gradually integrated him into the group Isaac brought him to every Thursday before Rddhi practice started. Dan simply didn’t care about Alfie’s past, Demetrius didn’t believe in judging a man until seeing him in combat, and Coleridge was just happy about not being the lowest on their unofficial totem pole anymore.

And going beyond that, to the rest of Class 2-C – Mackenzie took being Class Rep seriously, so any member of the class, no matter their ethnicity, would receive her full support; Lynn was just a pleasant person to be around; Reed didn’t like him, but she didn’t like everybody equally; Audrey always liked making new friends; Babs just kind of did her own thing; Piper appreciated Alfie for being her ticket to a week of fame as a photographer; and Oksana was...Oksana.

Everyone in the class had at least a mild dislike of New Yorkers. But Alfie certainly proved himself to be one of the good ones, and that made him alright with the members of Class 2-C.

“Alfie will be sitting in the back, next to me, so I can keep an eye on him,” Mackenzie concluded. “And so I can keep an eye on you guys.” Her voice grew softer. “He’s helped us out. He’s a member of our class now, so we should be willing to give him a chance.”

Still keeping quiet, Alfie moved down an aisle between the desks, arriving somewhere in the back, next to Mackenzie’s desk. Audrey’s eyes lit up in realization.

“...he can read English, Audrey,” Mackenzie clarified.

Audrey put her hand down.

With that business settled, it was on to the next topic of the day.

“Alright, everyone, listen up!” Mackenzie ordered from her podium. Lynn stood dutifully – yet completely cheerfully – behind her.

As Mackenzie droned about homework and academic expectations, Isaac yawned, resting his head on his raised palm. All the Rddhi adventures made school seem...so much more like school. With the excitement of Alfie’s introduction over, Isaac had to wonder why he needed to sit in a classroom all day when that time could be spent practicing or training or eating food or watching television...well, maybe not those last two.

Isaac supposed it could be worse. Next to him, Reed was out, stone cold, her head face down on her desk. By this point in the semester, everyone had realized trying to keep Reed awake this late in the day was a losing battle and let her sleep. Based on the bags beneath her eyes, Isaac supposed she needed it, though Isaac knew Reed didn’t exactly try to follow a normal, functional sleep cycle.

Isaac wondered if Mackenzie enjoyed being class rep. American schools didn’t even originally have class reps; that position – and a whole bunch of other customs – were brought over by the Asian educators hired to teach schools in the newly-independent former states of America over a hundred-fifty years ago. The Asian educators were long gone – the eruption of the Great Asian War had seen to that – but their customs remained.

From the way Mackenzie gripped the podium, with those eyes that, while sometimes looking exasperated, always had a twinkle in them, Isaac suspected Mackenzie did truly enjoy serving as class rep. The ten student-run minutes before Mr. Shokahu arrived couldn’t have been the easiest to lead, but Mackenzie seemed a natural fit for it.

Mackenzie cleared her throat. “First, some housekeeping duties. The newest members of the Technical Corps will be conducting a field exercise in Cushing State Park this weekend.”

Newest members! Isaac felt excited. That meant him!

“This weekend? But Thanksgiving break starts this weekend.” Babs had her legs up on her desk and her arms crossed in front of her chest, a bubble of pink gum rising and falling from her mouth with each breath.

“The field exercise is mandatory,” Mackenzie explained matter-of-factly. “Missing the field exercise will result in a loss of multiple privileges, including meal and parking.”

Babs looked out the window, eyeing her motorcycle in its premium parking spot right off to the side of the school courtyard.

“Man...”

Babs went quiet, chewing her gum with caged pride.

With that out of the way, Mackenzie continued. “The exercise will be a mission simulation involving two teams. Team Red includes Isaac Spallacio, Audrey Adzinoki, Alfie Coonan, and Lionel Coleridge.”

Isaac high-fived Audrey while exchanging a wave with Coleridge. Alfie looked at him mutely and, after thinking about it, nodded.

Mackenzie continued. “Team Blue includes Barbara Duran, Dan Turner, Lynn Falls, and Demetrius Diakos.”

Lynn smiled from behind Mackenzie, Dan and Babs dabbed each other up, while Demetrius took off his jacket and waved it in a triumphant circle above his head.

“Two veterans will also attend the training exercise as team captains. I’m the captain for Team Blue, and Reed is the captain for Team Red.”

Reed’s eyes immediately opened and she stood up from behind her desk.

“I break my arm for this school and they can’t even give me the common courtesy to let me live my Thanksgiving break in peace?” Reed’s voice was as calm and dull as usual, but there was an undercurrent of annoyance and tiredness within it.

“We all make sacrifices for the nation, Reed.” Mackenzie’s voice sounded tough but Isaac noticed a hint of sympathy in it. “I’ll be there, too. And afterwards we can grab ice cream or something.”

“I like ice cream!” Audrey exclaimed.

“Rocky road!” Demetrius cheered, waving his jacket again. With his free hand he fist-bumped with Audrey.

“Me too, me too, but we still got some announcements,” Mackenzie explained, quieting things down again. Reed sighed and put her head back down on her desk.

“We’ll meet at Tsukishima Station outside the Academy at 8 AM Saturday morning,” Mackenzie continued. “We should be finished by mid-afternoon, which leads me into my next topic – the boxtops. Our boxtop collection drive concluded today, and we collected enough boxtops that we can redeem them for...an Arnold Corporation Agricultural Department Single Decker Luxury Liner Party Cake!”

Demetrius stood on his desk with his shirt off before the rest of the class could even react. “Luxury Liner!” he cheered, and he was soon joined by the rest of the class, all chanting “Luxury Liner! Luxury Liner!” Even Mackenzie and Lynn from the front of the classroom joined in. Only Alfie, who rolled his eyes, and Reed, her head still down, ignored it all.

A soothing wave of Rddhi settled the class down. Mackenzie cleared her throat.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their help. While some people-” Mackenzie seemed to smile knowingly at herself - “brought in more boxtops than others, everyone in the whole class managed to bring in at least twenty dollars worth of boxtops. Everyone except Reed, that is, who instead brought in twenty dollars worth of scratch tickets.”

The members of the class looked at Reed. Their eyes let her know they were disappointed, yet not surprised.

“What?” Reed questioned, aware of the eyes staring at her. “You know what boxtops are? A marketing ploy by Big Cereal. Where do boxtops come from? Cereal boxes. You all bought at least twenty dollars worth of cereal boxes. Do you really need that much cereal? Can you really eat it all before it expires? It’s a marketing ploy, through and through, one I refuse to partake in.”

Reed grinned. “And since everybody played it safe, I thought I would play it risky. You already got enough for a Single Decker cake-”

“Single Decker!” Demetrius cheered. The class started chanting for the Luxury Liner again, forcing Mackenzie to calm them down.

Reed eyed them. “As I was saying, since we had enough, I thought I’d risk it. Maybe we can get a lot more boxtops with the winnings from the scratch tickets. I mean, I expect some of the winnings to go back to me, and I still don’t really want to support Big Cereal, but who says Hibiscus Reed doesn’t come through for her classmates?”

Mackenzie placed the scratch tickets on the podium. “Reed, you do realize that if none of these have winnings, you’ve contributed literally nothing to the boxtop drive?”

Reed leaned back in her seat. “Scratch ‘em first, and we’ll see.”

“Have you won anything before?” Lynn asked, genuinely curious.

Reed mulled it over. “...no.”

Mackenzie let out a long sigh. “Alright, let’s see. Anybody got a quarter or something so I can scratch these?”

Reed stood back up. Apparently awakened by the past few moments and current opportunity, she reached into her coat and pulled out a quarter, positioning it between her fingers. Having long-awaited the moment someone asked her for a quarter, she flicked the coin with all her might in a certain scientific matter. The quarter limped along for about a foot and a half in the air until it struck Oksana, sitting in front of her, in the back of the head.

Oksana mutely rubbed the spot where it hit her.

“Oh...sorry, Oksana.”

“...”

“Yeah, you’re right...I guess there’s a time and a place for everything.” Reed found the quarter on the ground and tossed it normally to Mackenzie.

Mackenzie caught the quarter and gave Reed one long, dry look that ended with an even longer sigh. Reed frowned and sat back down.

“Oh, what a surprise,” Mackenzie said with fake sarcasm as she started scratching the tickets. “No winnings here.” She threw the first ticket away and then kept scratching. Her free hand gripped the side of the podium, shaking slightly. “Who would’ve guessed, no winnings here either!”

Reed started to sweat.

Another ticket completely scratched. “Wow! Another empty ticket! Reed, your foresight amazes me!” Mackenzie almost tore that ticket in two.

Mackenzie scratched the last ticket. “And wow, I’m completely shocked! I...I’m completely shocked...”

Mackenzie brought the scratch ticket to her face, not quite believing what she saw.

“Did Reed lose again?” Coleridge asked.

Mackenzie lowered the ticket, her face an equal mix of delight and horror. “This ticket...we won two hundred dollars off of it.”

The class erupted in cheers. Audrey and Isaac flashed Reed a grin, while Demetrius gave her a firm nod backed by two thousand years of his warrior ancestry. From the front of the class, Lynn showed her two thumbs up.

Reed crossed her arms nodded proudly. “I always come through for you guys.”

Mackenzie did the math out on the chalkboard. “With two hundred dollars worth of boxtops...that’s enough for an Arnold Corporation Agricultural Department TRIPLE Decker Luxury Liner Party Cake!”

Demetrius shot out a party popper while everyone in the class started hugging each other. “I’ve dreamed of this day,” Coleridge exclaimed, crying as Dan gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. “A Triple Decker...that’s three times the normal number of decks!”

“That’s correct,” Mackenzie confirmed. She cleared her throat again. “However, per the rules and conditions of the boxtop collection, we will be distributing the Triple Decker based on how many boxtops were donated by each person.”

The class settled down, hearing that. Mackenzie’s face was filed with smugness. “Since - I – brought the most boxtops in, I’ll receive...thirty percent of the cake.” Mackenzie did some math on the chalkboard. “Let’s see, next most after me was Lynn, then Isaac, then...oh wow, Audrey, good for you...and everyone else, who all brought in twenty dollars worth each.”

Reed stood back up. “Where’s my percentage?”

Mackenzie tapped her hand against her diagram of the bottom, twenty percent group. “In here.”

Reed’s voice remained dull, but her eyes narrowed. “I brought in two hundred dollars worth of boxtops, though.”

Mackenzie crossed her arms. “No, you didn’t. To be more precise, you brought in zero boxtops, and only through a lucky gamble did you technically bring in anything of value. And those scratch tickets costed twenty dollars. Nothing more than that. That’s the value you get.”

Reed looked around for help. “But I...I’m being nice enough to let you use all of my winnings for the boxtops, and I can’t even get more than the bottom percentage? Think of everything I’ve done for this class.”

“Everything you’ve done?!” Mackenzie pointed a rage-filled finger at her. “I baked you a cake, Reed, because you said your father was dead! And was he dead?”

Reed sank back into her seat. “...no.”

“And afterwards, what did you spray paint around town?”

Reed slouched further down, her voice growing weak. “...Mackenzie smells.”

Coleridge snickered at that; Dan smacked him on the arm.

Mackenzie spoke firmly. “Think of everything you haven’t done for this class. You’re lucky you’re getting any cake at all.”

Reed spoke quietly. “But this is different...ain’t this like a personal attack?”

“Because you’ve made it personal,” Mackenzie warned her. “Keep it up, and more things like this will happen.”

Reed slouched so far down in her seat that only her head appeared above her desk.

Isaac and Audrey looked at her sympathetically. They wanted to say something, of course, but in New England, you defer to authority, and Mackenzie was authority at that particular time. And it’s not like she was completely wrong. Maybe she should’ve said it nicer, but she made some good points.

The doorknob turned and suddenly the whole class went quiet. In the doorway, Mr. Shokahu looked back and forth blankly, sensing the tension in the air.

“You seem to be in the middle of something.”

He backed out of the classroom and closed the door.

Mackenzie sighed. “We can discuss this later, Reed. I get where you’re coming from, but rules are rules and what’s fair is fair.”

Reed eyed her then placed her head down on the desk.

“Anyway,” Mackenzie said, getting the class back on track. “Since the combat simulation is Saturday, I suggest both teams meet up ahead and plan out some strategy. I know my team certainly will. I’ll give everyone a handout detailing the...details, I guess, at the end of class.”

She saw the way Audrey looked at her. “And then after the combat simulation we’ll get ice cream, then redeem all these boxtops.”

Audrey pumped her fist.

“Redemption late on Saturday, huh...” Reed mumbled. Isaac shook his head, because he recognized that look on Reed's face, the look that said she would potentially perform a nefarious act in the immediate future.

"Reed...you're not gonna do anything stupid, right?" Isaac whispered to her.

Reed kept her head planted on her desk, but she waved him away with a raised arm. "Isaac, let a girl get her beauty sleep, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Isaac let her go, since he had far more important things on his mind - a Triple Decker cake was indeed three times the normal number of decks!

Mackenzie shuffled all the paperwork she already went through in the student-led part of class. “Alright, it seems like we have a couple of extra minutes, does anyone have any questions or comments?”

Audrey immediately raised her hand. “Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!”

“Yes?”

Audrey crossed her arms and closed her eyes like an old sage at a far-off temple. “Johnny’s mother had three kids – April, May, and someone else. Who’s the third kid?”

Mackenzie just looked at her. “...is that a question?”

Coleridge put her hand up. “It’s June, right? Has to be June.”

Audrey’s eyes lit up. “Coleridge, you got it!”

As the two least academically-capable in the class congratulated themselves on a riddle well done, Mackenzie pinched the bridge of her nose.

“It’s Johnny...” she mumbled.