Live From Room 12

Goldie just got handed the microphone for the school's daily morning announcements, and every single broadcast is about to spiral into glorious, unstoppable, live-on-TV chaos.

Room 12 smelled like dry-erase markers and the inside of an old camera. It was the smallest room in the whole school, but it had the biggest secret: a wall of blinking buttons, two wobbly cameras, and a microphone shaped like a melted ice cream cone. This was the broadcast studio, home of the Morning Mega Minute, the announcements that played on every TV in every classroom.

Goldie stood in the doorway with her backpack still on. Principal Vance grinned at her like she was a prize he had just won at a fair. 'Goldie,' he said, 'our old host moved to Ohio. The job is yours. You start tomorrow. Live. To the whole school.'

Goldie's mouth went dry. 'Live?' she squeaked. 'Like, no take-backs live?' Inside her head a tiny voice screamed, what have you done, but on the outside she just nodded. She had always wanted people to actually listen to her. Be careful what you wish for, the tiny voice added.