Jake Drake is a 10-year-old fourth grader at Despres Elementary School and is the narrator of the story. He loves computers. He recalls his family’s first computer, a Mac Classic, and the games that he played on it. As time passed and computers became more sophisticated, he enjoyed the games more and more. He and his best friend, Phil Willis (Willie), would play computer games as much as they were allowed to. When the Internet became available, Jake was amazed at everything his family’s computer could now do. Jake notes that he wants the reader to understand how much he loves computers because this helps explain his actions in the story he is about to tell.

Because Jake was good with computers, he was allowed to use his classroom’s computer as early as kindergarten, and he was often called upon to teach other students how to use it. Two students resisted letting Jake teach them anything: Marsha McCall and Kevin Young. Jake explains that Marsha and Kevin are “know-it-alls” and always want to seem like they are the smartest and most skillful students in every subject area. In third grade, when Jake’s story takes place, Marsha and Kevin are both in Mrs.