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Chapter One

Jason was going to Brain Camp It had another name, a real name, but that’s what everyone called it

“Okay,” he said, wedging a final pair of socks along the edge of his suitcase “The list One more time”

I picked up the piece of paper beside me “Pens,” I said “Notebooks Phone card Camera battery Vitamins”

His fingerseach item Check and double-check With Jason, it was always about being sure

“Calculator” I continued, “Laptop”

“Stop,” he said, putting up his hand He walked over to his desk, unzipping the sli there, then nodded at me “Skip down to list number two”

I scanned down the page, found the words LAPTOP (CASE), and cleared e protector Headphones”

By the ti to cover two other sub-headings, TOILETRIES and MIS-CELLANEOUS—JASONSEEMED prettyWhich did not, however, stop hi to himself It took a lot of work to be perfect If you didn’t want to break a sweat, there was no point in even bothering

Jason knew perfect Unlike most people, for him it wasn’t some distant horizon For Jason, perfect was just over the next hill, close enough to make out the landscape And it wasn’t a place he would just visit He was going to live there

He was the all-state hest GPA in the history of our high school (he’d been taking AP classes since seventh grade, college sections since tenth), student council president two years running, responsible for an innovative school recycling program now implemented in districts around the country, fluent in Spanish and French But it wasn’t just about acadean and had spent the past su houses for Habitat for Hurandmother in her rest hoeria he’d been corresponding with since he was eight years old Anything he did, he did well

A lot of people , even loathsome But not me He was just what I needed

I had known this frolish class sophonirl naether, proood at this Shakespeare crap” and put her head down on her backpack A second later, she was sound asleep