Free Breaking Deluce by Chad Campbell

Part 1
    A book in hand, Mona Deluce stepped into the bright morning air and smiled. She looked left as the school bus came to a stop right in front of her house. The driver waved and she waved right back, letting him know she wouldn’t be taking the bus. It was like this every day—the mile and a half walk might be too much for most people, but it was exactly what Mona loved. She raised her book to read as she walked, but the wind kicked up, whipping her chocolate brown hair all over and making it impossible to see. “Oh, it’s going to be one of those days, is it?” she asked herself ruefully.
    Luckily, Mona knew all about the legendary Ellensburg wind and she was prepared. She set her book and her backpack down, but it was clear after only a glance into her clean and neatly packed bag that what she was looking for wasn’t there. It must be in my car.
    Mona closed her bag and threw it over her shoulder as she walked up to her car. The dark blue Cabrio sat right in front of her house. Her parents had bought it for her seventeenth birthday. She was pretty sure they weren’t happy that she rarely drove it, but that wasn’t going to stop her from walking. She opened her door and sitting on the passenger seat was her headband. It was very plain and white; it never really stood out, and that was just the way she liked it. She grabbed it and adjusted her hair, but never looked in the mirror to make sure it was straight—after locking the car, she went straight back to her book and started her slow trek to school.
    Before Mona knew it, she had finished her book and was standing in the middle of her school. She shook her head until the mental fog around her dissipated and was just reaching for her phone to check the time when she heard someone calling her name—“Mona! Yo, earth to Mona!”
    Mona turned. Standing behind her was her lab partner, whose name escaped her at the moment. “Hey, how’s it going,” she asked, beginning to rack her brains.
    “ Well, I was just wondering what you were doing tonight. A bunch of us were going camping up in the hills and I wanted to see if you wanted to join us,” he said.
    Oh yeah, his name is Chris.
    “ Thanks for the invite Chris, but the SATs are coming up and I need a perfect 2400. I am not doing anything until I take that test,” she explained.
    “ Well, if you change your mind, you should have my number.”
    Mona thought it was unlikely she would—she hadn’t been lying about those scores—but she smiled her assent before waving goodbye.
     
    When Mona got to her first class, she was surprised to find there was already someone else there; she was used to being the first to arrive. The boy stood up to introduce himself. Mona looked up and couldn’t believe how big this kid was; he must have been at least a foot taller than she was, and at five-seven, she wasn’t a short girl. “Hi, I’m Jason. It’s my first day today,” he said.
    “ Mona. Nice to meet you,” she replied.
    Mona grabbed the chair behind him. She sat down and pulled her science book out of her bag. The world around her ceased to exist as she started reading; she always liked to be one step ahead.
    Jason sat back down. He tried to turn and talk to Mona, but she looked a million miles away. He smiled as he turned back around.
    They sat in silence as the class slowly began filling up. By the time the bell rang, the only person missing was the teacher, who came running in a few minutes later. “Sorry I’m late class. The principal stopped me to tell me that we were having two new students today,” he said breathlessly. For the new kids, I’m Mr. Johnson.”
    Mr. Johnson sat down at his desk as he slowly got organized for class. When he realized how long it was going to take him to get ready, he looked up and said, “While I get ready for class, will the two new kids stand up, introduce yourselves, and tell everyone something about yourself?”
    Jason took his cue first and stood up next to his