Free Over the Edge by Gloria Skurzynski Page A

Ashley was sprawled on the bed, the remote in her hand, flipping through channels as though shuffling cards in a deck. Jack stared at her, anger welling in his throat. He suddenly felt as though he barely knew his own sister.
    â€œWay to go, Ashley,” he hissed. “Way to get Morgan in trouble. There’s no way he wrote that message, and you know it!”
    â€œMaybe. Maybe not.” She punched the button on the remote again and again, ignoring him. “He wrote those awful things on his own Web site.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œHe changed the votes and messed up the Homecoming dance. When he’s mad, he uses a computer. He’s been mad at Mom. He wrote bad things about her.”
    â€œBut he wouldn’t say Mom deserved to die!”
    â€œWhy not? She was going to send him away, remember? But you don’t care about the facts, because you two are best friends now. Just you and Morgan. Best friends with the guy who dissed me. But you don’t care about that, either.”
    So that was it, Jack thought, suddenly understanding. How could he have missed the fact that Ashley had been hurt by what Morgan wrote about her? What were the words his mother had read from Snipe’s Web page? Jack searched his memory. Snotty. Arrogant. Those statements weren’t even close to describing his sister, yet they had been etched on a screen for any and all to see. Still…Morgan had been chewed up and spit out because of how different he was. It made sense that he would fight back in the electronic universe, punching fingers into a keyboard as if they were fists. Morgan walked his own line, but he wouldn’t menace Jack’s mother.
    Jack sighed and dropped onto the bed directly across from Ashley. She didn’t look at him, but kept speeding through the channels, never pausing long enough to even guess what the program was about.
    â€œLook, Ashley,” Jack began, “Morgan is weird, no question. Maybe I should have punched him when I found out he wrote about you. Hey, maybe I’ll still do it, if that’d make you feel better. But this thing with the threat is different. This is real. If Mom and Dad believe he wrote that, he’ll be out of here tonight.
    Â 
    Maybe not just to detention—maybe to jail!”
    Ashley shrugged. The different channels flashed across the screen. Her indifference made him angry all over again. “He didn’t do it,” Jack cried.
    â€œWhat if you’re wrong?” She threw down the remote and stared at Jack. “You still don’t get it, do you? It’s like your brain has been taken over by that geek. Guys like Morgan have blown up schools—”
    â€œWait a minute—where did that come from?”
    â€œâ€”but you think he’s perfect because he can do a couple of cheap computer tricks. Mom doesn’t trust him. I think he’s dangerous. But you don’t care what I think! You only care about Morgan. That’s what I’m mad about.”
    Jack was just about to light into her about the geek comment when the door swung open and their father stood there, looking solemn.
    â€œOK, listen up, we’ve got a plan,” he told them briskly. “Your mother thinks that we need to get a bit of nature to calm us all down. She’s going to take you three kids to the rim to watch for the condor. I’ll go to park headquarters and at least alert them to what has happened. Then we’ll try to put this whole thing behind us and go on. Agreed?”
    â€œSure,” Jack told him, feeling relieved. Getting out of the room seemed like the perfect move. “I’ll bring my camera.”
    â€œThe three of us?” Ashley asked in disbelief. “We’re taking Morgan? Why am I the only one who sees what’s happening here?” she asked, throwing herself back onto the bed.
    â€œSweetheart, this trip has been a strain on us all. Things have been said on every side that