Chapter One
“History is more than just the study of the past. It shapes us. It defines us.” Ms. Beckman slammed her hands against her desk and leaned forward. “The only way to know yourself is to know your history. So I'm assigning a ten-page Heritage Project. You have two weeks.” The class groaned.
Only Ms. Beckman would assign a ten-page paper on the first day of school.
She worked an imaginary shovel. “I want you to dig into the roots of your family tree. Dig deep - down to the bedrock of your history. This paper requires a thorough investigation of your lineage.”
There goes my perfect G.P.A.
The bell rang and my classmates hurried away.
“Ms. Beckman?”
“Yes?” She looked up from wiping the chalkboard. “What can I do for you, Jasmine?”
I didn’t meet her eyes. “I was wondering if I could do an alternate assignment. I don’t mind writing a longer paper but…I can’t do the Heritage Project.”
“Why not?”
Because half of my family is a total mystery. I let out a slow breath. “I just…can’t.”
Ms. Beckman pushed her glasses higher up on her thin nose. “I’d like to help you Jasmine, I really would, but every one of my students has done this project for the last twenty years. If you want me to make an exception for you, I’m going to need a reason.”
“I don’t-” She eagerly leaned forward and I paused. This is none of her business. “You know what? It’s fine.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m sure.” I headed for the door. “Forget I said anything.”
Ms. Beckman’s voice followed me down the hall. “I’m here if you want to talk!”
Whatever.
In the cafeteria, I shoved down my irritation and grabbed a burger and fries.
“There you are!” Nikki appeared beside me as I paid for my food. “I’ve been looking for you forever.”
“Sorry.” We made our way to an empty table. “I had to talk to Ms. Beckman after class. She assigned a research paper on our family tree.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “That could be tough.”
“Ya think?” My dad grew up in foster homes and my mom died when I was two. I don’t have any other relatives.
Nikki’s carefully penciled eyebrows drew together. “Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe you’ll finally get some info on your mom. Your dad has to answer your questions for a school project.”
“No, that would make too much sense. He’ll probably just shut me down again.” My dad refuses to talk about my mother. I’ve never even seen her picture. “He acts like I’m the one being unreas-”
Crash!
My chair collapsed and I landed on the cold, tile floor.
The cafeteria went silent until Josh Matheson, an obnoxious basketball jock, stood and pointed at me. “Nerd down!”
Nikki’s eyes went wide as the room burst into laughter. “Are you okay?”
Thanks, Josh. Good to see chivalry is alive and well. “I’m fine.” I stood with the little dignity I had left and grabbed another chair, testing it before sitting. “Just having the worst day of my life. How about you?”
“Actually, my day has been pretty great. You’ll never guess who’s in my study hall.”
After listening to Nikki all summer, I could. But I played along anyway. “Who?”
“Triple A. And I talked to him!”
“You talked to him?” I gasped. “Was it everything you hoped and dreamed of?”
Andrew “Triple A” Anderson
“Quit being sarcastic. This is my future husband we’re talking about.” Nikki finished her apple and eyed my French fries.
“Whatever.” I pushed my fries toward her. “Have some.”
“No way.” She pushed them back like they were covered in anthrax instead of ketchup. “I need to lose twenty pounds before dance team tryouts.”
“Dance team? Won’t that clash with drama club?”
She looked away. “I’m quitting drama.”
“What?” Nikki is a drama queen in every sense of the word. “You can’t quit, you’re amazing on stage!”
She shrugged. “I just wanna do something new.”
I followed her gaze to a table by the windows, where Nina Casby, captain of the Morris Majestics dance team, held court in a white cami and absurdly short shorts. “She looks ridiculous. I think she’d come to school in her underwear if she could.”
Nikki frowned. “Stop hating. It wouldn’t kill you to be trendy once a while.”
“I’m trendy.”
“No, you’re the opposite of trendy. Your jeans are okay, but that shirt needs to be retired immediately. And you know how I feel about those stupid glasses.”
I crossed my arms. “They’re flattering.” And by flattering, I mean they make me look normal.
The thing is, I’ve got perfect vision. The lenses in my huge frames are completely clear. But since I can’t stomach the idea of poking myself in the eye with colored contacts, I wear glasses to make my weird eyes less noticeable.
“Wrong again. They make you look like Steve Urkel, which is a shame because you’re actually pretty. I swear, you could be so cute if you’d just try.”
“Like this?” I grabbed a handful of French fries and chewed with my mouth open. “Om nom nom!”
Nikki sighed. “You’re totally hopeless.”
After English class, I power walked to last period. I know it sounds corny, but a science lab is one of the few places where I feel totally at ease.
I chose a table near the back and grabbed a pen from the bundle of black curls perched on my head. My hair is long and kind of wild, so I usually wear it in a ponytail/bun hybrid. It’s thick enough that I could probably stick my books in there if I tried.
“Jasmine. I should have known you’d be the one person to beat me here.” Walt strode in and sat next to me. He smiled at my “Nuclear Physics is the Bomb” t-shirt. “Awesome shirt.”
“Thanks.” I smiled back as Walt straightened his tie. He’s worn one everyday since sixth grade, says it makes him feel professional. “Wanna be partners again?”
“Of course!”
Walt is my lab partner every year. Nikki calls us Ebony and Ivory because of his pale skin, red hair, and freckles, but we’re a lot more alike than we are different. Next year, we’re hoping to be co-valedictorians and study biochem at Dartmouth
“Earth to Jasmine.” Walt waved a hand in front of my face. “As I was saying, I switched to a new brand of agar and the results were-” He paused, mid-sentence, and I followed his eyes to the door.
Ugh. Andrew Anderson, the king of the school himself, was sauntering through the doorway in baggy red basketball shorts and a white tee. He had to be lost.
“You’ve got the wrong room,” I called. “This is AP Chemistry.”
“With Wozalski?”
I faltered a little. “Yeah.”
“Naw, I’m in the right place.”
Seriously? I turned to Walt, horrified. Guys like Andrew didn’t belong here. He’d probably hold up the class with stupid questions and shove his way to the front of the line for lab materials. This was going to be a disaster.
“Hey.” Andrew plopped down at the table behind ours. “I’m Andrew, but my friends call me Triple A.”
So? We weren’t his friends. I opened my textbook and ignored him, but Walt was too nice to leave him hanging. “We know who you are.” I glared at Walt. Andrew already had an entitlement complex; he didn’t need us to encourage it by acting like he was some kind of celebrity. “I’m Walt and this is Jasmine.”
“Cool.” He leaned back against the wall. “You guys look like you know your stuff so maybe you can show me the ropes.”
“We look like we know our stuff? What is that supposed to mean?” My voice was almost as cold as the glance I gave him.
Andrew mumbled in response. “I, uh, just meant that…you guys look smart. You know, with the glasses and everything.”
“So,” I replied in a voice I usually reserve for pre-school children. “You think that we know about chemistry because we wear glasses?”
“Relax, I was kidding. I just meant that you guys look confident in here, like you know what to expect.” He frowned. “I don’t.”
I pounced on his admission. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged and spun an eraser on his fingertip. “This is my first chemistry class.”
What? “Then you shouldn’t be here.” Walt shot me a look that said I was being rude, but I ignored him. “You have to take Honors Chem first. The guidance office must have made a mistake.”
“Naw, they know. The Dean of Admissions at Duke wants me to “increase the difficulty of my course load,” so my dad asked Principal Harrison to waive the AP class requirements. I’ve gotta take the classes he picked, or I can’t play ball this year.”
“No basketball? The horror!”
“Exactly.” Andrew nodded solemnly. “Anyway, I don’t know if you guys are any good at this stuff,” he eyed me warily, “but I’d appreciate any advice you can give. I’ve gotta make this work.”
Walt chimed in before I could respond. “We’d be glad to help. And we do know a thing or two about this stuff, especially Jasmine.” He ignored my glare. “I know my way around a lab, but she’s pretty much the queen of chemistry.”
Andrew looked like he was trying to hold back laughter. “The queen of chemistry? Really?”
“No, not really.” I was working on a wittier comeback when the bell rang and a stream of students entered the room.
Mr. Wozalski bustled in behind them. He’s known for assigning a ton of labs and rarely lecturing, so I was thrilled to hear he’d be teaching AP Chem. The official word is that he wants his students to learn by doing, but rumor has it, he can’t focus enough to teach because of his online poker addiction.
“Let’s start with some introductions. Tell us who you are and one interesting thing you did this summer. I’m Bill Wozalski and this summer I almost qualified for the World Series of Poker. Missed it by one hand...” He grumbled and focused on his computer screen, completely tuning us out.
We sat in silence for a moment until a pretty brunette at the front of the room spoke up. “I guess I’ll get this party started. I’m Asia Jiminez and this summer I got stuck in an elevator with Chet Westchester.”
Chet Westchester is the star of Secret Agent High, a completely outrageous teen soap opera. I’d never admit this out loud, but I kind of love it. Chet has a British accent to die for.
“He signed my shoulder and I even got him to give his signature line.” Asia ’s eyes grew serious and she put on a deep voice. “I have a dangerous secret. But if I tell you, I’ll have to kiss you.” She burst out laughing. “Seriously, it was the best eight minutes of my life.”
The guy next to her grinned. “That’s gonna be tough to follow.”
When we finished introductions, Mr. Wozalski looked up from his screen and announced that it was time for us to pick lab partners. I was thinking about the work Walt and I would do this year when Mr. Wozalski dropped a bomb that changed everything.
“I know you guys are used to picking your lab partners, but I do things a little differently. Part of being a good scientist is being able to work with a variety of people. So instead of choosing your partners, we’re going to do a blind draw.” A collective groan went up from the class.
He passed around a large empty container and a small stack of note cards cut in half. “I know, this is terrible, and you hate me. I’m okay with that. Write your name on one of these, fold it, and stick it in the jar.”
When the jar came to us, I nudged Walt. “Hey,” I whispered, “let’s fold ours into triangles so we can pick each other.”
He grinned. “It’s devious, but I like it.” We dropped our papers into the jar and I crossed my fingers.
When all of the names were in, Mr. Wozalski took the jar to his desk. “I guess we’ll start at the top of this list.” He eyed the attendance sheet. “Andrew Anderson, you’re up first.” Alphabetical order? Excellent. Walt’s last name is Baker so there was a good chance he’d pick me before anyone else could.
Andrew unfolded his long frame and walked to the front of the room. Please, I plead silently, pick anyone but me or Walt. I held my breath as he drew his hand out of the jar and held up a small white slip. It looked…triangular.
Oh no.
He smirked and met my eyes.
My jaw dropped. Had Andrew overheard me? And if so, why on Earth would he do that? He unfolded the paper in agonizing slow motion and broke into a huge grin.
No. Please no.
“I’ve got Jasmine. Jasmine Powers.”
Girls around the room sighed in disappointment. I put my head in my hands.
As Andrew returned to his desk, I turned around and hissed, “What is wrong with you? You heard what I told Walt and you broke us up on purpose!”
The corners of his mouth lifted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re obviously thrilled about me being here, so I thought you might like to work together.” So that was it. This was his revenge for me being obnoxious at the beginning of class.
My voice raised. “Look, I know I was a little rude, but did you really have to ruin my entire year?”
“You’re actually mad? I didn’t think it was that serious.”
“Of course you didn’t!”
I turned around just in time to see Walt break into a smile. He’d picked Asia , the cute girl who’d started the introductions. At least one of us was happy.
Once everyone was paired up, Mr. Wozalski made a seating chart and gave us free time. Walt’s new seat was far away, so I buried my nose in a book until the final bell rang.
When I pushed back my stool, a shadow fell over me; Andrew was leaning down with a grin. “So does this make me the chemistry king?”
I glared. It was going to be a long year.
Chapter Two
When I got to my locker, Nikki was leaning against it. “You’ll never believe what I heard in chorus today. Max Carter has been cheating on Janine with a college girl.” She paused for dramatic effect. “For the last three months.”
“Wow. That’s…juicy.” I tried to feign interest as I packed my books, but I didn’t know Max or Janine and I didn’t care about their relationship. Between the stupid Heritage Project and Andrew ruining my favorite class, my mind was occupied.
I slung my bookbag over one shoulder. “Let’s get out of…Dang!” The strap of my bag ripped loudly and the whole thing tumbled to the floor.
I am a living, breathing example of Murphy’s Law. “Uuugh!” I leaned my head against my locker.
“What’s wrong?”
“Everything. This bag was brand new, I don’t know what to do about my history paper, and remember how excited I was about AP chem?”
Nikki nodded.
“It’s ruined. Instead of getting partnered with Walt I got stuck with-”
“Oh. Em. Gee.” Nikki interrupted me with big eyes.
Speak of the devil; Andrew Anderson was walking down the hall. As he sauntered to his locker, the crowd parted like the red sea. The only things missing were paparazzi and screaming fans.
No, wait, they were there too. He stopped at a locker a few up from mine, and Jen Valerie posed next to him while one of her plastics-in-training snapped the picture on her iPhone.
Nikki gaped. “You didn’t tell me Triple A’s locker is near yours!”
“I didn’t notice. I’m not the one who’s in love with him.”
“How could you not notice him?” I shrugged as she pulled out a compact and started brushing brown powder across her face. “How do I look? How is my breath? Do you have lip gloss? I need more lip gloss!”
I handed her my ChapStick. “Relax. You look great. And you don’t need anymore of that stuff.” Nikki is naturally pretty, but she refuses to go anywhere without tons of makeup on. “Thanks for asking about my day, by the way.”
My sarcasm was lost on her. “Oh no! Look!” Nikki’s jaw dropped and I followed her gaze. Jen Valerie Waldorf was standing on tiptoe and pulling Andrew down to whisper in his ear.
Nikki’s voice was panicked. “What is he doing? Why is he talking to her?”
Probably because she’s gorgeous and laughs at everything he says. Petite, with impossibly long eyelashes and silky waist-length hair, Jen Valerie is nothing short of adorable. But behind the sweet smile there’s a mean streak deeper than the Grand Canyon .
When I moved to New Jersey California
“You’re probably right. She’s totally throwing herself at him. Tramp.”
Nikki’s not a Jen Valerie fan either. Last year, when she tried out for cheerleading, Jen Valerie announced that Nikki was “wasting her time because we don’t allow cows on the squad” and suggested she “break up with Ben and Jerry and get to know Jenny Craig.”
Nikki didn’t make the team, but in a moment of epic karma, Jen Valerie took a spectacular fall off the top of the pyramid while Nikki was filming the routine to practice at home. She looped the footage and four thousand YouTube views later, Jen Valerie’s fall was featured on the Wake Up New Jersey Morning Show. They’ve been at war ever since.
Nikki frowned. “Why doesn’t Triple A just tell her to leave? Can’t he see that she’s totally fake? From her knock-off Chanel sunglasses to that weave she swears is real. Please. No one grows three feet of hair in one summer.”
Jen Valerie shrugged at something Andrew said and her massive chest bounced. “I don’t think everything about her is fake.”
“Trip-le A! You’re so bad!” Jen Valerie’s voice rang out across the hall and she playfully smacked Andrew’s hand. He said something that made her laugh and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Nikki’s face turned gray. “Did you see that? Omigosh- they-must-be-dating. He’s probably totally in love with her!”
“No he’s-”
“Now I have no chance! I have no chance and I’m going to die a crazy cat lady, old and alone, because no man will ever compare to my one true love.”
“Nikki, that’s-“
“I’ll have no husband and no kids, just my twenty-five cats and a collection of life-sized dolls and-”
“Nikki. Pause.” I interrupted. “First of all, sixteen is a little early to declare yourself a crazy cat lady. Second, we don’t know if they’re dating, they might just be flirting. And even if they are dating, who cares? You know these things don’t last. Now can we go?” I’d been ready to leave for the last few minutes but had continued to rifle through my locker so Nikki could finish drooling over Andrew.
“Hang on, he’s getting ready to leave and he has to pass us to get to the door.”
As Andrew passed with a group of his friends, Nikki tossed her hair and flashed a brilliant smile. “Hey Andrew.”
He paused. “Uhh. Heeeey…Nancy?”
“Nikki. It’s Nikki. And thanks again for the pencil in study hall.” She twirled a wavy blonde microbraid around her finger. “It was really, really helpful. Like, super helpful. Really.”
I turned my laugh into a cough. Nikki scored in the top thirty percent on the SAT, but you’d never guess from the way she acts around Andrew.
“Yeah, no problem.” His eyes traveled to me. “Jasmine. I didn’t know your locker was right here. Maybe you could help me out with a copy of your chem. homework in the mornings?” He licked his lips and I rolled my eyes. Was that supposed to be sexy?
I was getting ready to tell him that the Association of Nineties Boy Bands had called and was asking for their moves back, when Jen Valerie interrupted. “Babe, why are we still standing here? Let’s go!” She tugged on his arm possessively.
Andrew ignored her and looked toward me. “So that’s a ‘no’ on the homework then?” I didn’t bother responding, just gave him a look that said ‘You’re kidding me right?’
He chuckled. “See you tomorrow, chem. queen.”
Nikki and I left the school and headed home. We live on the same block, about half a mile from Morris. It’s too close to school to be on the bus route, so until one of us gets a car, we’re stuck taking what my dad calls “The Shoe Leather Express.”
“Oh. Em. Gee. What just happened back there?”
I adjusted the remaining strap of my book bag and used one hand to shield my eyes from the sun. “We left school…”
“I mean what just happened in the hall? Andrew was talking to you! He knows your name! And he called you chem queen… What’s that all about, you guys have pet names for each other or something?”
“No. Slow your roll, Nikki. Unfortunately, he’s my chem. lab partner and Walt thought it’d be funny to tell him I’m the ‘queen of chemistry’ so-”
“Wait, what?” Nikki interrupted. “He’s your lab partner?”
“Yes. That’s what I was trying to tell you before he walked by and you had a meltdown.”
“That was your bad news? You’re crazy! I swear, some girls get all the luck.”
I kicked a pebble with my worn black Converse. “More like the universe is conspiring against me.”
“Omigosh.” She stopped suddenly.
“What?”
“It is the universe.” I raised an eyebrow and Nikki continued. “It’s fate. This is my chance to get closer to Andrew.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s simple. I can’t really talk to him in study hall, but you’ve got access to him in a major way. So earn his trust, tell him how great I am, and set the two of us up.”
“I wish I could help, but I doubt we’ll be talking much.” Nikki made it sound easy but I didn’t want to speak to Andrew, much less earn his trust. “And you know I’m no good at being smooth. I’ll be all, ‘Be careful, that Bunsen Burner is hot. And speaking of hot, you should see my friend Nikki!”
She laughed. “You’re smart, you’ll figure it out. Please, Jas, he graduates in May. This is my last chance at true love.”
I sighed. Nikki was being ridiculous, but she sounded truly desperate. “I guess it wouldn’t kill me to try…”
She threw her arms around me. “I knew I could count on you! Now tell me everything he said today.”
I sarcastically recounted it all, including how Andrew was only in the class so he could play basketball and that he’d mockingly asked if being my partner made him the chemistry king.
Nikki giggled. “That’s so clever! Isn’t he hilarious?”
“Yeah.” I deadpanned. “Absolutely hilarious.”
That night, I approached my dad in his study while he worked on a legal brief. “I need to talk to you about something.”
He looked up from his computer with tired eyes. “Sure. Have a seat.”
I cleared my throat and sat, prepping for what I knew would be an uphill battle. “I have to write about my ancestry for A.P. History, but, um, I don’t really know where to start.”
“Well,” he rubbed his nose the way he always does when he’s tired, “I can tell you anything you want to know about my childhood. But since I grew up in foster homes, I can’t help you trace back any further than me. I’ve tried. It’s a dead end.”
“Well what about m-”
He cut me off before I could finish. “I’ve already told you, your mother was an only child and her parents died when she was young. I’m sorry, but you don’t have any relatives on her side either.”
“Okay. But I could write about her.”
“Jasmine. We’ve had this conversation. Your mother is gone and nothing I can say will bring her back.”
“I know that. But I still want to talk about her.”
He sighed. “There’s nothing to be gained from that discussion. Trust me, there are things you’re better off not knowing.”
I crossed my arms. He’d been saying that for years and I still had no idea what he meant. “Not writing anything about mom about is gonna kill my AP History grade.”
“I’m sure your teacher will understand. I’ll write a note if you want.” He folded his hands, signaling that the discussion was over. “Now what do you need to know about me?”
I stood, fighting tears. “I’ve got two weeks. I’ll get the information later.”
I slammed the door so hard that the knob came off in my hand.
The next day of school flew by, and before I knew it, it was time for chemistry class. I headed to the lab with a mixture of excitement and dread: excitement because we had a double lab period but dread because I’d be working with Andrew. He slid onto the stool next to mine only seconds before the bell rang.
Mr. Wozalski stood. “Let’s get right into the swing of things. Today is your first lab: qualitative analysis of cations. There’s an instruction packet and it’s all pretty self-explanatory. Turn in your lab sheets when you’re done.” He sat back down and booted up his computer, tuning us out.
Andrew looked confused. “Qualitative analysis of what?”
“Cations. Positively charged ions.” I grabbed our materials from the back of the room.
Andrew flipped through the instruction packet as I started setting up. “So what exactly are we doing?”
“We’ve got an unidentified substance,” I held up a test tube filled with murky yellowish brown liquid, “and we’ve got to figure out what’s in it.” I glanced at the first page of the instruction packet in his hand. “The possible ions are: lead, silver, copper, iron, nickel, and manganese. Three out of the six are in our solution.”
“So how do we know which ones we’ve got?”
“We’ll run a series of tests to isolate the different components.” He didn’t look like he was following so I added, “We’ll split it into parts. And they’ll be different colors.”
“Oh.” Andrew seemed to get that because he nodded. “So this is kinda like when you drink a Dr. Pepper and then try to name the twenty-three flavors.”
“Sort of…I guess. But please, don’t drink anything.” I eyed him warily. “Just to be on the safe side, how about I take the lead on this one?” Like I ever intended to let him take charge. “This experiment is long, but I’ve done it at home so I should get through it pretty quickly.”
“Excuse me?” Andrew sputtered. “Did you just say that you’ve done this before? At home?”
“Yes.” I crossed my arms. “I’m going to be a scientist so I’ve got a lab in my basement for practicing new techniques. I bet you’ve got a basketball hoop in your driveway, Air Jordan
He smirked. “Actually, it’s a full-sized court behind my house. Point taken.”
“As I was saying, I’ve done this before. So how about I do the experiment and you just…watch.”
His smirk expanded into a smile, showing off his notorious dimples. “Sure. I like to watch.”
Gross. I sighed and got to work, and pretty soon I was absorbed in the lab.
I added hydrochloric acid to our solution, and when an off-white solid formed I headed to the centrifuge. I stuck our test tube in with another one full of water, closed the lid, and flipped the switch to start it up. A few minutes later, it slowed to a stop and I took the tube back to our station.
Back at our lab table, I carefully poured the liquid away from our mystery solid and into a second test tube. I set the liquid aside; for now, I was focused on identifying my solid. I added twenty drops of hot distilled water and when my solid dissolved I was pretty sure I had lead. Two drops of potassium chromate later, I was positive and recorded the result on my lab sheet.
I glanced at the clock. Ten minutes had passed and the next two phases would take much longer. I could do this way faster with Walt. I grabbed our mystery solution and glared at Andrew as he fiddled with his iPhone. Stupid jocks, always making things harder for people who actually want to learn.
When I looked back at my test tube, my breath caught in my throat.
No. That’s not possible. I wrapped my hand around the cylinder so no one else could see.
Maybe the chemical fumes are getting to me. I took a deep breath and peeked at the tube again.
What in the…? How could this…?
My chemistry lab had finished itself.
