Crank - 01 by Ellen Hopkins Page A

longer
Kristina Georgia
Snow, gifted high
school junior, total
dweeb, and
perfect
daughter, but
instead a stranger
who called herself Bree.

How, no matter
how hard
Kristina
fought her, Bree
was stronger, brighter,
better equipped to deal
with a world where
everything moved at light
speed, everyone mired
in ego. Where “everyday”
became
another word
for making love with
the monster.

It Wasn’t a Long Process
    I went to my dad’s in June, met Adam
      the very first day. It took some time
        to pry him from his girlfriend’s grasp.
          But within two weeks, he introduced
            me to the monster. One time was all
              it took to want more. It’s a roller-
                coaster ride. Catch the downhill
                  thrill, you want to ride again,
                    enough to endure the long,
                      hard climb back up again.
                      In days, I was hooked on
                      Adam, tobacco, and meth,
                    in no particular order. But
                   all summer vacations must
                  end. I had to come home to
                  Reno. And all my new bad
                 habits came with me. It was
                a hella speed bump, oh yeah.
                Until I hurt for it, I believed
                I could leave the crystal behind.
                But the crash-and-burn was more
                than I could take. When the jet landed,
                 I was still buzzed from a good-bye binge.

                  My family crowded round me at the airport,
                   discussing summer plans and celebration dinners,
                    and all I wanted to do was skip off for another snort.
                     Mom kept trying to feed me. My stepfather, Scott, kept
                      trying to ask questions about my visit with Dad. My
                       big sister, Leigh, wanted to talk about her new girlfriend,
                        and my little brother, Jake, kept going on about soccer.
                         It didn’t take long to figure out I was in serious trouble.

Not the Kind of Trouble
You might think I’m
talking about. I was pretty
sure I could get away with
B.S.ing Mom and Scott.
I’d always been such a good
girl, they wouldn’t make the
jump to “bad” too quickly.
Especially not if I stayed cool.
I wasn’t worried about
getting busted at school
or on the street. I’d only just
begun my walk with the monster.
I still had meat on my bones,
the teeth still looked good.
I didn’t stutter yet. My mouth
could still keep up with my brain.
No, the main thing I worried
about was how I could score
there, at home. I’d never even
experimented with pot, let alone

meth. Where could I go?
Who could I trust with my
money, my secrets? I couldn’t
ask Leigh. She was the prettiest
lesbian you’ve ever seen. But
to my knowledge she had
never used anything stronger
than a hearty glass of wine.
Not Sarah, my best friend since
fourth grade, or any of my
old crowd, all of whom lived by
the code of the D.A.R.E. pledge.
I really didn’t need to worry,
of course. All I had to do
was leave things up to Bree,
the goddess of persuasion.

Before I Continue
I just want to remind you
that turning into Bree
was a conscious decision
on my part. I never really
liked Kristina that much.
Oh, some things about her
were pretty cool—how she
was loyal to her family
and friends. How she loved
easily. How she was good
at any and all things artistic.
But she was such a brain,
with no sense of fashion
or any idea how to have fun.
So when fun presented
itself, I decided someone

new would have to take