Chapter One Who Am I My name is Lucy Graves and I am a rugby player I’m supposed to be writing the essay portion of my scholarship application and it has to be so dazzling that I score all the full-ride money I need to attend college How’s it going Not so dazzling It’s nearing the end of third period I’m in the cave-like school library holed up at one of the quiet back study tables and I’m stuck The essay prompt is an open-ended question that I just can’t answer On the scholarship form in bold cartoony letters is the question 1
WHO AM I I’ll let that sink in for a moment What straight-up psycho wrote this question question How many seventeen-year-olds can answer it Not me After all I’m not just one thing all the time If there’s anything true about me it’s that I’m existing in a constant state of chaos Hello I’m in high school For example I’m a student athlete trying to maintain my straight-A average while I train nonstop to be the best rugby player this school has ever seen I’m also a carboholic carboholic I’ve got this super important champion ship-qualifying game after school no biggie and sometimes I need mac and cheese like my life depends on it My life might actually actually depend on winning this game so I ate a container that I brought from home in the few minutes I had between classes My jam packed schedule doesn’t allow for a proper lunch break so I eat when I can This afternoon afternoon when my well-meaning guidance counselor Ms Bean handed me the form 2 Brooke Carter
with her pointy fake nails she encouraged me to fill it out and include as many personal personal details as possible Fine here goes VERY IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT ME 1 I am the daughter of a single mother who is completely awesome by the way 2 I am biracial my mom is pasty white Irish and my dad was a black man from Trinidad thank you very much 3 I have a strong academic record I take all advanced-placement courses 4 I am Blue Mountain High’s top athlete and not just top female athlete ahem 5 In case you didn’t catch the past tense in item 2 I have a dead dad oh yeah it’s completely tragic 6 I like to make lists it calms me down Okay the fifth and sixth points might be overkill The scholarship people don’t really need to know my sad story do they They definitely don’t need to know about my 3 Lucky Break
