View source for Minecraft:Minecraft: The Tournament/1CHP

=== Chapter 1: All Expenses Paid ===

A boy by the name of [[Minecraft:Jontre Warner]] (who prefers to be called as [[Minecraft:Jett]]) is standing inside a greenhouse at his school, [[Minecraft:Hurston Preparatory School]]. He is by himself, as no one else considered volunteering for gardening club after school for today, and is holding his breath to avoid breathing in the aroma of mulch. Eventually, Jett finishes has tasks and decides to play [[Minecraft:Minecraft]] for a bit on his handheld. Going into a new world with a random [[Minecraft:seed]], Jett notices a [[Minecraft:village]] above a [[Minecraft:cave]] and an open coastline. Going for the latter, he soon finds a [[Minecraft:shipwreck]], collecting [[Minecraft:Iron Ingot|iron]] and [[Minecraft:gold]] from the [[Minecraft:chest]], and swims back to the surface to head to the village, where he collects some [[Minecraft:bread]], [[Minecraft:carrots]], and [[Minecraft:flint]]. Jett then finds a [[Minecraft:ruined portal]] nestled between a [[Minecraft:river]] and the base of a [[Minecraft:mountain]], and upon completing it, enters [[Minecraft:the Nether]] and finds a [[Minecraft:bastion remnant]] within a minute, but is soon killed by a [[Minecraft:fireball]] from a [[Minecraft:ghast]]. Just before he starts a new world, [[Minecraft:Mr. Alvarez]], who is set to be Jett’s geometry teacher next year, bursts into the greenhouse and asks for Jett to check his email as responses are going out regarding a [[Minecraft:Southwest Regional Tech Fair's Minecraft Tournament|tournament]]. Jett then checks his phone, and sure enough, there is an email from the Southwest Regional Tech Fair regarding the Minecraft tournament. Reading it out load, Jett is shocked to find out that his footage he sent at the last minute brought him to the final round of consideration to be the winner of the tournament. He is already jumping up and down as he skims over the rest of the letter, finding out that the prize is an all-expense paid trip, as well as a cash donation to an organization of the winner’s choosing. Jett then begins to wonder as to what the tournament will be about, but then quickly realizes that it will be held during the school’s week on spring break, knowing his parents always set up a family vacation around that time, and he didn’t bother to tell them about the tournament because he honestly didn’t think he would be selected for it. Mr. Alvarez then says to Jett that he is sure that everything will work out fine, and to promise him to find some time to stop and smell the roses. With that in mind, Jett picks up his backpack and hurries off to soccer practice, and he is already feeling like he just wants to get that over with.

=== Chapter 2: That Was Easy ===

At soccer practice, Jett’s thoughts swirl between his parents, his sister, [[Minecraft:Dri Warner|Dri]], and what the rules of the tournament would be, as he struggles to focus on preventing a soccer ball from making it in the goal net. Fortunately, the coach understands that Jett is excited about the tournament and congratulates him on being selected. Later, as practice wraps up, Jett decides to surf the internet to learn more about the tournament, as his sister Dri (full name is Adriana) is busy at dance class at the school. He finds a blog post which says the rules for the tournament change from year to year, and finds more questions than answers the more he searches for more information about the tournament, as it doesn’t seem to be promoted on social media. As Dri leaves the dance class, she meets up with Jett, who informs her about the situation with being selected for the tournament. Upon arriving back to the family household, Jett has a video call with her [[Minecraft:Piper Warner|mother]], later named Piper, on the family tablet, as she is currently in New York on a business trip. He explains about being selected for the tournament and how it would conflict with the annual family vacation, and Piper, his [[Minecraft:Mr. Warner|dad]], and his [[Minecraft:Granny|grandma]] all congratulate him on being selected for the tournament. After the video call, Dri heads up to her room for a bit, and Jett heads up to his, turning on his laptop and opening up Minecraft. Dri then logs into her account, and the two join their local world, attempting to kill the [[Minecraft:ender dragon]] quickly with [[Minecraft:beds]], but the two are interrupted as pizza is served for dinner.

=== Chapter 3: An Open Mind ===

With spring break only a few weeks away, Jett decides to change his afternoon routine to prepare for the tournament, knocking out homework each day after soccer practice and then heading home, making a sandwich for himself before heading up to his room and doing whatever he could in Minecraft, ranging from redstone and note blocks to recreating paintings or making a skyscraper filled with villagers. Jett also makes excuses to his other friends for hanging out, saying that he’d be available after spring break, and he also carves out time for Dri when she isn’t busy work or dance class. One evening, Jett mentions to his grandma that the organization involved in sponsoring the tournament, if Jett wins, will help other people hit by floods, including his grandma, whose house was badly damaged in a recent flood. Jett then re-reads his acceptance letter, noticing that it barely says anything about his skills, so he decides to stop playing for a bit and look across some messages and forums for clues about the tournament. Eventually, after two days, Jett comes across a user named obsydian438, who makes murals out of lava. He sends the user a message, and they reply back quickly, saying to Jett to go in with an open mind, and gives him a few other usernames to check out. Jett then asks the user as to what they are supposed to do in the tournament, and the user says that it would ruin the surprise. Jett then searches up the usernames before his dad brings in a bowl of dirty rice for him to eat. Jett wonders as to why no one will tell him anything about the tournament, and his father believes that they may have signed non-disclosure agreements to keep stuff a secret.

It is now a day before the family leaves for the tournament, which is located at the Red Mountain Retreat. Jett has all of his clothes packed, along with toothpaste, toiletries, and chargers for his phone, laptop, and handheld game console. He decides to check on Dri, but she gives off a muffled groan, believing she caught something from what she ate at Cielo Burrito. The family sans Jett and his grandma rush her to urgent care at the local hospital, and the dad texts Jett later in the evening that she is being headed to the emergency room. Jett then falls asleep on the couch, but is later woken up by his dad returning home with Dri in his arms, confirming that it was a stomach bug, and that Piper will be cutting her business trip short, heading home in two days. Realizing that Dri will not be able to drive Jett to the tournament, his dad offers to replace her as his partner. He politely thanks him before heading off to bed, but even then, he doesn’t feel great about the change of plans at all.

=== Chapter 4: Warner in My Corner ===

The next day, Jett’s dad hastily packs a suitcase and calls the Southwest Regional Tech Fair to inform them of the situation, giving Jett a thumbs-up to know that they are fine with the substitution. Dri then gives Jett a weak hug and requests him to bring her back a rock from the gift shop, and he decides to do so. Later, Jett and his dad leave early to beat traffic, and Jett considers making a lifelike picture of Dri in Minecraft for the tournament, but is forced to turn off his console as the battery is running low. Eventually, Jett and has dad make it to the highway exit for Red Mountain Retreat, and the two briefly discuss about the area, noting that a fire ravaged it a few years ago. Jett then records an osprey as a souvenir for his grandma, and soon, he and his dad arrive at Red Mountain Retreat, with Jett being hopeful about winning the tournament.

=== Chapter 5: Forget the Pool ===

Heading inside the resort, Jett and his dad, revealed to be named Julian, are greeted by Cecilia Flannigan (preferring to be called Cece), the host for the tournament, giving them orientation brochures. The two, Jett and Julian then check in with concierge and head to their room on the third floor. After getting settled into the room, they check out the rest of the resort, which has a pool, hiking trails, a game room, a workout room, and a small market and gift shop. The two then head to the main dining area, where Cece waves at them from a podium. Jett and Julian then head to a table reserved for them and greet two other students there, and then head for the buffet line.

=== Chapter 6: No Time for New Buddies ===

Jett decides to go to the taco line, preparing to take the last spoonful of guacamole, but another hand, belonging to a boy named Drake, grabs on to the spoon at the same time as Jett. The two briefly discuss about the tournament before an employee named Claudia trades out the nearly empty bowl with a fresh one. Jett then mentions about his dad, Julian, subbing in for Dri, and Drake mentions that his aunt has joined him as well, due to his parents being tied up with other things. The two briefly discuss some more before parting, with Jett heading back to his table and being greeted by Ayan, a girl with a hijab. Cece then informs everyone that the winning team in the tournament will build a beacon, but with a few twists in the mix. She adds that she will speak to everyone regarding their team assignments, and that the team that wins overall will be scored on resourcefulness, creativity, and teamwork, noting that sessions will begin tomorrow. Jett drowns out her voice as his mind is already strategizing on what to do.

=== Chapter 7: ''Hisssssss'' ===

Jett falls asleep that night, with the tournament dominating every single dream he has. In one example, he is mining away for diamonds in a cave bordered by three walls of lava and stares right into an enderman. Julian wakes him up, noting that he slept through his alarm, and the two discuss about their plans for the tournament as they clean up and get dressed, knowing that they would have to kill a wither to get a nether star to craft the beacon. The two head downstairs to the dining room just as breakfast is about to begin. After eating, Jett and Julian head to the conference room, set up with rainbow LEDs etching the Minecraft logo into a wall, and the other wall hosting a giant screen. With just under thirty minutes til the tournament starts, the two find their seats, adorned with top-notch monitors, keyboards, chairs, and wireless mice.

The tournament begins soon after, with Jett and Julian spawning in a jungle biome, restricted to a single chunk. They quickly get used to their surroundings, getting set up with tools and a small cave nearby. As the sun sets, the two go after some skeletons, dealing with them quickly. As the sun rises again, their chunk expands to a 32x32 area. They then consider using beds to go ahead of everyone else, and surprisingly, it works the second night around, expanding their chunk further. Scouting the new terrain, Jett and Julian come across some more trees and turtles, but Julian gets attacked by a drowned. It is dealt with quickly, however. Sleeping once more, the chunk expands further to show a ruined portal, and other teams quickly catch on to their strategy of using beds. In the chest is two obsidian, just enough to completely frame the portal. After mining away the crying obsidian, Jett uses flint and steel to light the portal, and the others in the room gasp in surprise. Jett and Julian then get some diamonds to craft armor for their run in the Nether, but Julian is soon blown up by a creeper, causing Jett to die as well. Even worse, the chunks reset, spawning them back to where they started. As lunch break begins, Jett wonders as to what he and Julian will need to do now.

=== Chapter 8: Sneak and Steal ===

Jett and Julian decide to eat outside for some fresh air as murky clouds loom overhead. The two discuss their strategies some more, making sure not to die, or perhaps doing so as a strategic maneuver. Heading inside, Julian informs Jett to check his phone, and he responds to Dri’s texts, who says to him to keep at it. As the afternoon session begins, it rains in their chunk, which is ironic because it is raining outside the resort. Jett and Julian sleep a few nights to expand their range and make up for lost progress as one team is already in the Nether fighting a ghast. Later on, Julian notices a gap in the barriers on the northeast boundary of their chunk, believing that the chunk next to them belongs to another team. Julian quickly turns around so they don’t get noticed on the giant screen, and he and Jett decide to steal some items from it. They then consider either attacking them with a bow and arrows, or breaking the portal so the other team gets stuck in the Nether, but Jett doesn’t seem to agree with either, believing that there should be a better way to deal with this.

[[Category:Minecraft: The Tournament chapters]]