There are three things in life I try to avoid at all costs: public speaking, waking up before 6 am, and school assemblies.
Unfortunately, on Thursday morning, I had to face all three… at once.
Principal Diksakins had summoned the entire student body into the assembly hall for a "special announcement." Spoiler: it was about LearnArena. Or, as Kwame dramatically called it, "our public execution."
I stood behind the dusty curtain backstage with sweaty palms and a heartbeat that sounded like a malfunctioning washing machine. Sarah stood next to me—calm, confident, clipboard in hand, dressed like a teen CEO on career day. Javier casually munched a granola bar like we weren't seconds from being judged by five hundred teenagers. Kwame looked like he was seeing his life flash before his eyes. Zoey had duct-taped a power button onto her hoodie and declared herself "Lead Brand Vibes."
"I can't do this," I muttered. "What if they boo? Or worse… what if they yawn?"
Sarah didn't even blink. "Manuel, you've survived public humiliation, a cyberattack, and facing down the school board. You can handle a crowd of sleepy teenagers."
"I almost vomited during the school board pitch," I reminded her.
"And you didn't. That's growth."
A mic check echoed from the stage: "Testing. One, two… is this thing on?"
"That's Diksakins," Javier whispered. "We're next."
We peeked through the curtain. The hall was packed. Students fiddling with their phones. Teachers sipping lukewarm coffee. Miss Dicshard sharpening a pencil like it was a weapon. And sitting dead center—Derek Torkon, AKA Certified Goofball, glaring at us like we'd stolen his cookies and his dignity.
Principal Diksakins stepped up to the mic. "Good morning, students. Today, we're here to witness the official launch of something new. Something student-built. Something… ambitious."
He paused, locking eyes with us behind the curtain.
"That's your cue," Sarah whispered.
I stepped out onto the stage, blinking under the bright lights.
Showtime.
"Uh, hey," I said into the mic. My voice cracked. A fantastic start. "I'm Manuel, and this is our team—Javier, Zoey, Kwame, and Sarah. We're the students behind LearnArena."
A few murmurs rippled through the crowd. I kept going.
"We built LearnArena because, let's face it, school can be boring. Tests, worksheets, lectures—same thing, every day. So we decided to change that. To make learning feel more like… a game."
Sarah stepped forward. "LearnArena transforms quizzes and lessons into fun, skill-based challenges. You can battle classmates in trivia, logic puzzles, science duels, vocabulary showdowns—anything that makes your brain sweat."
Javier plugged his phone into the projector. The giant screen lit up behind us with a demo match between Kwame's avatar (a nervous robot in a lab coat) and Zoey's sparkly wizard character with laser eyes.
The app's voice-over echoed through the hall:
"Question! What's Newton's third law?"
Zoey buzzed in. "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."
"Correct! +50 XP. Kwame, step it up!"
Laughter erupted. Not mocking laughter—genuine amusement.
Students sat up straighter. Phones were pointed at the screen now, not TikTok. Even Miss Dicshard was smiling. Smiling.
"We added ranks, badges, and unlockable avatars," I explained. "You level up by learning. Win points, earn streaks, and see how you compare in the leader board."
Sarah added, "And don't worry—cheaters are caught and punished. We've built in anti-hack tools, and if someone tries to break the rules…"
The screen flipped to an avatar in a sparkly unicorn onesie dancing badly.
"...this happens."
The laughter doubled.
Even Diksakins chuckled.
Sarah straightened. "This isn't just a game. It's a platform. A new way to learn—created by students, for students."
"We believe in it," I said. "And we think you will too."
The projector displayed our new tagline, bold and proud:
"LEARNARENA: LEVEL UP YOUR LEARNING."
Silence.
Then applause.
Then cheering.
Javier's jaw dropped. Kwame blinked. Zoey whooped and threw both arms in the air.
We'd done it.
Principal Diksakins returned to the mic. "Well. That was… spirited."
He adjusted his tie.
"Effective immediately, LearnArena will expand to five more classrooms. If it continues to perform well, we'll roll it out school wide."
I blinked. Sarah smiled. Javier fist-pumped. Kwame almost fainted. Zoey cried, "We're going viral!"
As we stepped offstage, students surrounded us.
"When can I get access?"
"Will there be leader board tournaments?"
"Can I add anime-style avatars?"
"Can I challenge my teacher to a math battle?"
"Yes to all," I said, still dazed.
Then I noticed something strange.
At the back of the hall, three students sat away from the crowd. Not cheering. Not smiling. Just… watching.
One of them lifted their phone, made eye contact with me, and smirked.
For a second, I caught a glimpse of the screen.
It was our app.
Except it wasn't LearnArena.
Different logo. Slightly different colour scheme. Same features.
My stomach dropped.
Sarah noticed. "Something wrong?"
I nodded slowly. "We've got copycats."
Her expression hardened. "Then we stay ahead. We don't slow down."
Because this wasn't just our app anymore.
It was a movement.
And we weren't just players in the game.
We were the ones building the arena.