Total O.P.M.

AUDIENCE: Teens, video-game addicts. Capsule Summary: No one at Wahoo High School can stop playing a video game named O.P.M. Some joke that it's as habit forming as opium. After all, what's more addictive than spending Other People's Money? Summary: Fifteen-year-old Tim Jacobson's life has been upended twice in the past four months: (1) The night his mom died. (2) The moment he typed in www.OPM.com. O.P.M. - or "opium" as the guys call it - is hard to resist. After all, what's more addictive than spending Other People's Money? Tim wants to impress Emma, the only classmate who's his equal in both brain-power and game-playing. But he mistakenly believes that the only way to get closer to her is to befriend her pal Sami. Heartbreak is guaranteed. Tim and Emma are modern kids with major problems. Tim's mother died recently; his father turned to alcohol and is now living in homeless shelters. Em's dad left the house one day and never came back. She's gradually uncovering the reasons why, and all of her discoveries are painful ones. Tim is forced to confront the hackers who got him hooked on the game of O.P.M., Bzar and Vlad. Additionally, Em, Sami, and Tim must outwit their Orwellian principal. VIDEO-GAME TIE-IN: No one at Wahoo High School can stop playing a video game named O.P.M. Some joke that it's as habit forming as opium. After all, what's more addictive than spending Other People's Money? Curriculum Tie-In: George Orwell's 1984 is being studied in Ms. Kwai's English classes as Wahoo High School's new principal installs cameras to monitor every movement. WEBSITE: www.LeeSmyth.com