Tony, a black boy living in Harlem, New York with his single mother, finds a pair of spex — technology to enter a virtual world — in a virtual classroom. Through this, he can escape his impoverished neighborhood and the constant threat of gun violence. As a result, Tony impersonates the original owner of the spex, a boy named Andrew, concealing his true identity from his teacher Miss Ellis and his classmates. For lunch, the other kids log out of the system, but he stays behind to enjoy the school. Eventually, the real Andrew shows up as his father's avatar, Mr. Drummond, exposing Tony to the class when he demands Tony return his spex. Miss Ellis asks Tony to explain himself to her, and he, in tears, tells her the truth about his identity and the reason why he tried to impersonate Andrew. Tony expresses his desire to not return to his old school where the teachers and students commit violence and act abusively. In a private simulated room within the virtual school, Miss Ellis offers to help by arranging for Tony new spex so he can still attend school, secretly spreading the cost of his attendance fee among the rest of the students' bills, and creating his new identity as Howard, an upper middle class boy. She is understanding, saying how the system was supposed to help poor kids but ended up only helping those who had funds. Howard makes friends with the class but eventually shares his secret with Andrew. Mr. Drummond, a lawyer and member of the school board, meets with Miss Ellis and Tony, firmly maintaining that Tony cannot continue attending the school. Mr. Drummond highlights the lack of fairness towards those who are paying the raised price to allow Tony to attend school, as well as those who experience situations similar to Tony's but still cannot attend these private schools. Tony becomes distraught, but Miss Ellis gives him a new solution. At the beginning of the following week, Tony takes the subway down to Miss Ellis' house, surprised to find that she too is Black in real life, and delighted to discover she created a mini-classroom in her home—a real, in-person school where Tony is finally safe and welcome.