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Nova Gray was born on May 9, 2032, at 3:00 AM.
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Parents left on a business trip for an entire week.
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. -
Learns how to read a full, fifty page book.
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. -
Sent to horse camp for a week over the summer.
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. -
Immediate family moves from Beverly Hills, California, to Tokyo, Japan.
She doesn't think much of it, and accepts that she has to make new friends and learn different languages. -
Meets a new friend.
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. -
Parents don't show up for special school event.
The absence of her parents opens Nova's eyes to how much they've been neglecting her. -
Learns how to ride a bike.
Nova's best friend, Jaxson, teaches her how to ride a bike. The skill seems to come naturally to her. -
Given her favorite t-shirt as a birthday gift.
Jaxson gives her the newly bought t-shirt at school. It's big, grey, and still smells like the store. -
Immediate family moves from Tokyo, Japan, to Berlin, Germany.
Nova is forced, once again, to move away from her friends and her language, but this time she's sent to Berlin. -
Tries out for the basketball team at her new school.
She passes with flying colors, finding that she has a natural talent for the sport. -
Wins her first basketball tournament.
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. -
Completely ignored by immediate family.
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. -
Gets into a fight(and wins).
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. -
Grandmother visits for the first time in years.
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. -
Immediate family moves back to their original home in California.
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. -
Parents announce that they're not moving again.
They do this in a half-attempt to repair their bond with Nova, but she immediately rejects them and continues her silence. -
Breaks her arm on a class trip.
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. -
Learns to drive a vehicle.
Her parents buy her a car so that they don't have to transport her anywhere. -
Invited to her first party.
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.