Minecraft:Minecraft: Battle of the Block/1CHP
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Chapter 1
Nzinga thinks back to when the the teenagers in her old neighborhood used to tell her that that she does too much as she sits in her red swivel chair staring at her computer screen at a build she is working on in Minecraft. Her avatar, named RedZinga, is dressed in red, her favorite color, and adorned with a golden crown. Nzinga leans forward and stares into the monitor, hoping that an idea would stare back at her as the deadline is approaching for her build. She then squeezes here eyes shut and opens them back up, willing for a vision to pop in her head, but all she sees is the same brick she has been using alongside her cousins, Jannah and Mir. Nzinga then says that she and her cousins made Honeysuckle Street to a tee, adding that she misses living here, as she now lives in the neighborhood of Great Valley, which is also the name of the school she goes to. Her mom and dad say that things went wrong on Honeysuckle Street because of her mouth, but she says to the reader that when she speaks, sometimes she doesn’t get what the other is saying and vice-versa.
Hoping for help from Jannah, Nzinga gazes at her phone for a bit, but she hasn’t texted back yet. Just then, Mir, via his avatar named EnderMirr, is breaking up some blocks connecting the house of Ms. Betta, one of their old neighbors, and the abandoned drug store. Nzinga considers hollering at him, but knowing it would lead to arguing, she instead types in chat, asking him as to what he is doing. He doesn’t respond, and Nzinga lets the thought go, thinking back to needing Jannah, who still lives on Honeysuckle Street. Nzinga thinks about texting Aunt Maryam, who is Jannah’s mother, but she lets that thought go as well, not wanting to snitch Jannah out for not responding to her texts. Nzinga then says to the reader that the project they are working on is for Phantasy Philly, a convention where kids get to re-create places from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in Minecraft with an imaginative spin. City leaders are planned to attend and might consider making changes based on the models made, mentioning the build used for Pristina, Kosovo being a skate park, as well as the local 30th Street train station rebuilt with an outdoor plaza. Another build mentioned was Jannah’s of the local art museum, with a miniature replica made off to the side as a shelter for homeless people. While city officials weren’t interested in building it, it caught the attention of the Crafties, a club for Philadelphia middle-schoolers who are experts in Minecraft. Nzinga mentions that she signed up for Phantasy Philly because of it, but hasn’t told Jannah yet.
Nzinga mentions that this year’s theme for Phantasy Philly is "Block Makeover", where players re-create their neighborhood block "into something unexpected". She starts to make a trench in the road when messages fly across chat from Mir, asking her as to what she is doing. She replies back, saying that she is making a waterpark, but Mir quickly objects to it, saying that it would interfere with others getting to work. Nzinga then asks him as to what he is making, and he replies that he is making an underground garden, but also says that it isn’t working because he can’t find ways to get the sun onto the crops. Although Nzinga suggests torches and glowstone, they decide to revert the street back to the way it was before. Just then, Nzinga gets a text from Jannah, seemingly saying that she is bored and asks her if it’s time to game, but the text is quickly deleted, making Nzinga realize it was for the Crafties. She sees a text bubble pop up, hoping it is an apology, but that quickly disappears as well. Enraged, Nzinga types out a wall of text berating Jannah for gaming with others despite having a project to attend to, how rude it is for not texting back, and for not including her in her new friend group, among other things. She closes it off by typing in all caps that she doesn’t have any friends, but stops short of sending it, and ultimately decides to delete it.
Chapter 2
Nzinga tosses her phone down and swivels in her chair for a moment. She then stares out the window to the left of her desk, reminding herself that it’s not completely bad living in Great Valley, but it feels bad for herself, saying to the reader that she and her family moved here because of a better autistic support program for Mir, allowing him to more freely enjoy the outside world instead of being isolated in his room because of the noise on Honeysuckle Street. Nzinga mentions that she has tried going outside and skating with her Heelys, but the roads in Great Valley don’t have a lot of sidewalks. She then mentions that she feels like the "middle school gods" did their worst and decided that everyone should ignore her during her first year of middle school, mentioning one time when she made her voice like a news reporter from CNN while reading an article about the Civil War; it was hysterical to the whole class that even her teacher, Ms. Harris, had to suck in her cheeks to keep herself from laughing. Nzinga then brings up another thing that happened during her first week of middle school, where during lunch on the Friday of that week, Principal McKinley got up on the stage in the cafeteria / auditorium and said that Fridays were time for community meetings to allow concerns to be heard. Nzinga’s hand flew up immediately and she began to speak, introducing herself to the other students and saying that to be a community, they would need to mix up the students, not having them in the same classes all day. Nzinga feels like she has more to say, but Principal McKinley quickly thanks her and has her sit down. As Nzinga walks back to her chair, nearly missing it, Principal McKinley thanks Nzinga for the suggestion, but adds that the sixth-graders stay in their assigned placements for safety reasons.
Back to reality, Nzinga thinks about what to do for her build in Minecraft, and starts building a gate. Mir quickly disagrees, asking in chat as to how Jalil and Kayla would be able to do "wacky wheelies", a bike stunt. Nzinga chuckles at this and starts to dismantle it, but she notices Mir planting a cherry grove in front of Ms. Berta’s house, and she starts to rebuild the gate. The two argue over chat once more before Mir storms into Nzinga’s room, where they continue arguing. Eventually, cooler heads prevail and they both remove the gate and the cherry tree. As they think on what to do next for their build, Mir gets his tablet from his room and dials Jannah for a video call. As Jannah answers and greets Mir and Nzinga, the latter notices Jannah’s face go flat when she sees her.
Chapter 3
Jannah’s flat expression makes Nzinga feel like she was punched in the stomach. Nzinga then clears her throat, not wanting to bring up the texts from earlier, and reminds her about the build being due by the end of the month. Jannah acknowledges it but quickly apologizes for the noise in the background. Nzinga and Mir both don’t hear anything and bring up the oddity, but Jannah says that it’s because of weekend school and the block being busy. Nzinga thinks that Jannah is just saying it to avoid brining up her get-together with the Craftees, but quickly forgets it as Jannah plans to join to help them with the build. Jannah suggests playing survival mode for thirty minutes as a refresher, and Mir concurs after initially objecting to it. He goes back to his room as Nzinga logs out of the Honeysuckle server and logs into a different server known as "The Sanctuary". Jannah (under her game name of JCraaaft) joins quickly after along with Mir, and Nzinga gets to work with getting supplies to build a shelter. She quickly finds a cave and gets what she can, avoiding a zombie in the process. As the sky gets dark, Mir and Jannah ask in chat about shelter. Nzinga has numerous thoughts in her head about questions to ask regarding Jannah, but she pushes those aside and just lets out an exclamatory remark. As the three go back to the village, Nzinga types in chat about using beds to skip the night, but Jannah says that they should play "fresh and noob". Nzinga starts sprinting through the forest, and Jannah types out in chat that they would have no time to make it to the village. As zombies approach them, Nzinga digs out a makeshift shelter in the ground, and Jannah joins her quickly after, apologizing for wanting to go after more zombies. After a breather, Jannah goes out to the sun beating down on the surface, and the two leave the shelter, rejoined by Mir, and shoot at some skeletons in the distance. A creeper comes out of nowhere, and Nzinga dies in the explosion after her medication alarm goes off on her phone.
Chapter 4
As Nzinga respawns in her bed, she quickly salvages the items that she lost and types in that they need to work on the build now. All three disconnect from the server and Nzinga and Mir reconnect on the Honeysuckle server. Jannah texts Nzinga quickly after, saying that her mom ratted her out for playing so late. Nzinga sends some text messages on what to say to Aunt Maryam regarding the project, but the texts get no response, and Nzinga puts her phone away in disgust.
Chapter 5
The next night, Nzinga is packing a suitcase as she reflects on what she saw on Honeysuckle that morning: the abandoned pharmacy was completely removed, and Nzinga suspects that Jannah was the one that removed it. As no progress was made on the build that would take its place, Nzinga goes back on The Sanctuary and starts over, playing some survival by herself to refresh her skills. As the music settles in and the sun begins to set, spiders begin to approach her. Suddenly, Nzinga’s bedroom door is thrown open, and she quickly quits the game and jumps onto the bed, appearing to be busy working on her pile of clothes.
Chapter 6
Nzinga’s mom starts helping her by separating her jeans into a pile on a nearby chair. Nzinga notices that she is folding the jeans really fast, making her realize that her mom is scared to tell her something. As her father starts folding the t-shirts, Nzinga focuses on folding the underwear. Her dad then asks her if she is excited about seeing Honeysuckle Street, and Nzinga says that she is despite having the feeling of a knot twisting in her stomach. Her mom then says that it’s been a year since the move and a lot has happened, and Nzinga quips about not visiting earlier when they promised they would. Her mom then says that they were always meant to go back, but it was planned out so Nzinga and Mir would stay with their grandmother the whole summer. After some more discussion about knowing that the kids on Honeysuckle Street may be more mature, Nzinga brings up the project she is working on in Minecraft with Jannah, and her crew named "The Crafties". Nzinga’s dad asks her if she has one, and she makes one up, saying it is named "The Smarties", like the candy. Nzinga’s mom and dad exchange looks of relief and the mom asks her to write down the names of the members whenever she can. As Nzinga talks a bit more about Minecraft, the knot in her stomach feels like it has been undone. Her mom commends her for keeping herself together, and she and her dad leave the room as Nzinga watches them.
Chapter 7
The next day feels cool, but also warm as Nzinga settles into the back seat of the car as Mir hums beside her. Nzinga pictures taking in Honeysuckle Street as she did when she was younger: sitting on the porch of her grandmother’s house taking in the action of the street around them, the sidewalk chalk creations, the stray cats walking around, and the honeysuckle bushes that the street is named after, among other things. As the family are two blocks away from the street, the sound of a drill is heard, rattling the car. Mir puts on his noise-cancelling headphones as a precaution as Nzinga’s dad parks across the intersection as cones block off the street. Nzinga’s mom says to her dad that his mother did mention about construction happening on the block. As the family get out of the car, they notice that then abandoned pharmacy is completely gone. Nzinga stands in shock before her dad pulls her forward away from the construction. Eventually, the family arrive at the grandmother’s house, and Grandma yanks the family in, saying to them that they can’t be listening to the construction noise for too long. Nzinga’s dad asks if it has been this loud every day, and Grandma says that its almost been a month since the construction started, adding that they are out here on a Sunday because a water main burst. Nzinga’s mom asks as to why Grandma didn’t tell them about the construction, and Grandma just has Nzinga and Mir settle down, looking over her cats Obsidian and Tinker Bell and their litter of kittens. Nzinga suggests talking to Jannah, but Mir says that now is not the time to do so as he goes on the computer and logs into Minecraft, joining "The Sanctuary", and begins speaking to himself. Nzinga immediately scolds him for making content for YouTube, which they aren’t allowed to do, and Mir plays it off as just pretending. As Grandma walks Nzinga’s mom and dad out, Nzinga decides to head out herself to talk to Jannah, wondering if she misses her as much as herself misses Jannah.
Notes from EnderMirr
Mir is talking to himself about Honeysuckle Street, referring to it as "the city biome" in "the everyday world". He adds that he is currently in Grandma’s basement, on the computer and going through the lands of The Sanctuary and does some work on "Mir Mansion". Mir begins working on a farm beside the mansion, and a few minutes later, it starts to rain as Mir is getting some wood for fences and a chicken pen. He then kills a zombie with his crossbow, but a creeper explodes by him, causing him to fall down a crevice. Thankfully, Mir saves himself by using a water bucket near the ground, and then attacks a spider before exploring the area around him some more, placing down torches before coming across some oak planks in the ground.
Chapter 8
Nzinga heads over to Aunt Maryam’s house, which is three doors down from Grandmom’s house. Upon arriving, Aunt Maryam warmly greets Nzinga and and has Jannah come downstairs to see her. Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Nzinga notices Jannah’s smile falter before she catches herself and puts on a fake smile. After engaging in a hug, Nzinga asks Jannah why she didn’t tell her about the noise, and Jannah insists that she did a few times. Switching subjects, Nzinga then asks about the Honeysuckle project, jokingly saying that they should add a construction site, and then brings up redstone. Jannah then says that she has to leave soon to meet with the Crafties, and although Nzinga understands, she feels like she doesn’t. Jannah then asks her if she has a group now, and Nzinga brings up the made-up Smarties. Jannah then asks if the two groups will meet at Phantasy Philly, and Nzinga makes up that it’s far away for them. Jannah then says that they should just come to the convention and not even worry about a project, leading Nzinga to again ask about the Honeysuckle project. Jannah affirms that she’ll get to it when she can, and Nzinga says that her grandma said that the construction will be over soon.
Jannah then says that she has to go, moving Nzinga to the door. As Nzinga puts on her sandals, she asks Jannah if tomorrow would be a good time to go over the Honeysuckle build, and Jannah says that she’ll text her. Jannah then says to her that her grandma isn’t exactly telling the truth regarding how long construction would last, adding that they themselves might not be able to live on the block for longer and are trying all they can to be against the construction, and says to Nzinga that she would be better off at home. Nzinga interjects, almost whimpering, saying that Honeysuckle Sreet still feels like her home and that they can’t drop Phantasy Philly. Guilt washes over Jannah as she reaffirms that she’ll text her with details on when she can join, asking Nzinga to promise that she and Mir won’t do too much with the project until she is ready. Nzinga nods as she looks down at the porch floor, and Jannah gives a salaam before shutting the door.