Cameron Boxer, known as Cam to his friends and family, is an eighth-grade slacker and the protagonist of Slacker. He’s dedicated his life to doing what he wants, which is playing video games. When he isn’t gaming, Cam works to protect his lifestyle, doing the least amount of work possible so he can return to his video games undisturbed. Cam’s close friend Pavel describes him as “the Leonardo da Vinci of slackers” (21). At the beginning of the novel, Cam has two goals: practice for the Rule the World gaming competition and take down his online gaming rival, Evil McKillPeople. Cam is so preoccupied with his gaming goals that he neglects his mother’s instructions to remove ziti from the oven and nearly burns down his house, setting up a much greater conflict for Cam.

After the house incident, Cam must get involved in a club or activity besides gaming. His parents have given him an ultimatum, threatening to take away his console if he cannot do this. Motivated by his need to game, Cam comes up with a fake club called the Positive Action Group. He intends to fool his parents into thinking he’s involved, explaining, “When my folks try to ban me from gaming, I’ll show them the [club’s webpage].