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At the age of 3, Nova is left in the care of her grandmother, a cruel and judgmental woman. In that week, she learns never to ask her grandmother too many questions, or she faces harsh consequences.
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Nova excels in reading at an early age, due to the exposure to it from her parents. At the age of four, she is able to read a fifty page book.
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Nova learns how to ride horses, but has some difficulty cooperating with the animals. She eventually gets the hang of it, placing third in the competitions.
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She doesn't think much of it, and accepts that she has to make new friends and learn different languages.
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A solid friendship is started between Nova and the only other person that can speak English in her new school, a young, red-headed Irish boy named Jaxson.
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The absence of her parents opens Nova's eyes to how much they've been neglecting her.
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Nova's best friend, Jaxson, teaches her how to ride a bike. The skill seems to come naturally to her.
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Jaxson gives her the newly bought t-shirt at school. It's big, grey, and still smells like the store.
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Nova is forced, once again, to move away from her friends and her language, but this time she's sent to Berlin.
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She passes with flying colors, finding that she has a natural talent for the sport.
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She is allowed to keep the first place trophy from the tournament, and does so with pride. Her parents are unimpressed, and ignore the accomplishment.
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Nova's successes in basketball somehow seem to upset her parents, and they choose to ignore her for an entire day. Nova starts learning to cook for herself.
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After someone shoves her onto the ground, Nova charges them. Only a few punches are exchanged before the offender is knocked out. Nova is suspended for a day, while her parents are on another trip. Most kids at school try to avoid her after hearing about her show of strength.
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Nova is forced to cook for the event, despite knowing that no matter what she makes, her parents will be disappointed. She doesn't talk at all.
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Nova is dragged away from her basketball team, her school, and Germany in general, and is brought back to California. She completely stops speaking to her parents, infuriated with them.
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They do this in a half-attempt to repair their bond with Nova, but she immediately rejects them and continues her silence.
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Nova gets slammed into the side of a water slide, effectively breaking her arm. She's sent into the ER, and her soon-to-be-deceased grandfather is the only family that shows up to check on her. Once she is returned home, she refuses to come out of her room for a full day.
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Her parents buy her a car so that they don't have to transport her anywhere.
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The party is large, noisy, and held at some kid's house whose parents are away for a couple weeks. There's a stage and a karaoke machine on one side of the room, and a bar on the other. Nova stands next to the stage, keeping an eye on everything while simultaneously listening to the performances.