Wheels Read Free Page A

equals.
    Only they weren’t.
    Joanne Chang had perfectly straight hair, falling in perfectly straight lines, along her perfectly smooth, perfectly thin face. Worse—she was Hayes’ girlfriend.
    McKenzie sighed. Her favorite blue shirt, which had seemed so comfortable this morning, suddenly felt dingy and faded. She pushed a wayward curl behind her ear and tried to remember if she’d brushed her hair. If only she had inherited her dad’s glossy black hair, instead of her mom’s ridiculous red curls.
    Joanne held up her hand as if to wave, and McKenzie raised hers—then caught herself. Even if she’d wanted to be friends, she couldn’t. Not now. Not when one stray wish could twist particles of Joanne Chang into a toad.
    Gotta stop thinking like that.
    Joanne’s hand, still in midair, formed the shape of an L. Still looking at McKenzie, still smiling, she mouthed, “LO-SER.”
    “Miss Wu?”
    McKenzie blinked. Principal Provost’s pale-blue eyes stared at her quizzically.
    “Going,” she mumbled, taking off down the hallway. She felt dizzy, sick, and not at all sure she wasn’t going to throw up. Her life, like the particles, was shifting, rearranging, changing into something completely unrecognizable.
    ********
    Principal Provost sat outside room twenty-three pondering the events of the last few minutes. The molecules of the floor had begun the weaving process—but it was not his doing.
    Absently, he began tugging one of the long, scraggly hairs of his right eyebrow, struggling to recall everything he knew about the girl who had recently moved to Avondale. McKenzie Wu on the basketball court; a tough, skilled player, bashing wheelchair against wheelchair, stealing balls and shouting orders to other players. McKenzie, alone, waiting outside the school or sitting at lunch. McKenzie doing something stupid but harmless, with that boy, Rudy Hayes.
    Must take this slowly, he thought. Humans could not particle-weave —and yet, it appeared McKenzie Wu could. After all this time, had his instincts finally paid off?
    “Thank goodness I found you!”
    Principal Provost almost jumped out of his chair. A tall, thin man with a wide, flat, and at the moment, unattractively moist forehead, was standing in front of him.
    “I’m so glad I— hiccup —found you. There’s been a— hiccup , hiccup —been a— hiccup —oh bother!” The man hiccupped two more times, backed up a few steps and tripped.
    Principal Provost groaned. “Where did you come from?”
    “Greencastle, Indiana.”
    “What?”
    “Ohhhh— hiccup —oops! You mean as in— hiccup— I’m the new band director. Remember?”
    Principal Provost squinted, trying to recall what a band director was and resisting the urge to tug at his eyebrow again. “Ahhh. Yes, I remember. Of course, I remember. Hired you, didn’t I? Tip-top. How can I help?”
    “Well uh…we have a small problem. Ha, ha. About a tuba. Hee, hee.” Now the man was laughing; punctuating his sentences with high-pitched, self-conscious tweets. “On the other hand—ha, ha—maybe it’s not small, maybe it’s more like medium. I guess it depends on how you look at it.”
    “Time,” murmured Principal Provost. “No need to waste precious time. Come along,” he said, taking off down the hallway. “You may explain the details on our way to the band room.”
     
     
     

Chapter 3
    FBI TRANSCRIPT 21209 - 10
    Agent Wink Krumm, Joanne Chang and Penny Nickels
Tuesday, April 7th
KRUMM :  How well would you say you know McKenzie Wu?
CHANG : Did she steal something? Because like, well, if she did, I would have to tell Penny’s dad, Coach Nickels, wouldn’t I?
KRUMM : Think of this as a survey.
NICKELS : OMG! Are we on TV?
CHANG : Penny, shut up!
KRUMM : Let’s try this again. Have you ever noticed anything… different about McKenzie?
NICKELS : Ohhhh, now I get it. Yeah, lots of things. Her eyes!
CHANG : Yeah! Her eyes are like emeralds—
NICKELS : Freaking green! But she’s Chinese,