True Confessions of a Middle School Video Game Addict

By Bonnie Noble

Zeb's fifth-grade existence of secret video game playing is in danger of becoming exposed with every passing day. He's obsessed with his video games and he'll do anything he can to hide his secret life. When the inevitable happens, Zeb is forced to figure out how to reprogram his life with the help of his parents who have struggles of their own. Will they find their way back to God, and to a life of purpose?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bonnie Noble
• Release date: Jul 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201137588

Bonnie Noble

Bonnie Noble is a curious traveller on the road to life. She has been a follower of Christ since she was ten years old. Through the writing of contemporary Christian fiction, Bonnie hopes to encourage others on their journey of faith. Bonnie parents eight wonderful children along with her husband. She works as a school principal near Toronto, Canada.

Book preview

Chapter One

Before I get started on this lame project of mine, I would like to state for the record that it was not my idea. It was Mrs. Norton’s idea. She’s the school’s guidance counselor. If you don’t know what that is, count yourself lucky. What I will tell you is that they try to be really friendly and nice to you until you spill your guts and cry and tell them why you’re always late and why you never get your homework in on time. It’s kind of a sneaky business if you ask me. I had no idea Mrs. Norton even existed until that day in class when she knocked on the door and asked me if she could have a chat with me. All the other kids stared at me as if I was being arrested for murder.

I’m Mrs. Norton, the guidance counselor, Mrs. Norton said to me as soon as we were in the hall. I didn’t say anything because I was trying to figure out what I had done to deserve this. She just kept smiling at me and it made me feel kind of weird because I remembered that the doctors and nurses at the hospital had smiled at me in exactly the same way just before they took my tonsils out.

Mrs. Norton took me to a small room beside the principal’s office. It had four big chairs, lots of kindergarten paintings in frames on the wall and a big bowl of Smarties on the round coffee table. 

Have some, Mrs Norton said when she saw me staring at the bowl. 

Thanks, I said. I took a handful and sat down on the edge of a chair. 

So, Zeb, she said. How are you finding fifth grade?

It’s okay, I said, trying to talk with a mouthful of Smarties.

Zeb, what’s in your pocket? asked Mrs. Norton, pointing to the bulge on the side of my jeans.

Oh this? I said, pulling out my GameZone Pocket Droid. This just happens to be the best portable video game on the market. My dad got it for my birthday. It’s got Ancient Warriors, Air Raid, Copter War, Karate Cobra, Alien mission, and twenty other great games. I can get to level thirty in Copter War and this morning I captured three drug lords in Drug Bustz.  It was totally awesome. The games are not as good as the ones on the Super V System I have at home. Now that’s power! You can hit multi-level rewards in SupaNinjaz and the robosoldiers in Danger Zone hardly have a chance.

I stopped for a minute as I thought about how I could probably use the T-missiles instead of the thunder bombs to get rid of more enemy ammunition in Danger Zone. Mrs. Norton was looking at me kind of funny and I realized that, like a fool, I had just rattled off a bunch of stuff that she probably didn’t understand.

It sounds as though your video games are very important to you, she said. You must spend a lot of time playing them. Am I right? 

You could say that, I replied. 

Well, Zeb, it’s interesting that this should have come up because it was about video games that I wanted to speak. 

This came as a bit of a shock to me. I thought it was possible she wanted some