Chapter One

**Chapter One**is the first chapter of *Long Exposure*. Introducing the story, it focuses on the past bully Mitch Mueller and his previous victim Jonas Wagner's interaction on Mitch's first day back to Sellwood High School.

## Plot

### Pages 1-8

A group of teenagers drags a dorky-looking kid by the arms in front of Sellwood High School. As the kid demands that they stop, the four bullies hoist him up to the top of the school's flagpole by his underwear. The group proceeds to laugh and admire their handiwork; One of them reflects how this is "just like the good ol' days," implying that this sort of bullying is nothing new to them.

We shift to the bedroom of Jonas Wagner, who wakes up to the sound of his adoptive father Dean yelling at him to get ready from downstairs. After Jonas gets ready for school, Dean chastises him for not answering him and demands that he respect him after all that he's done for him and his sister Sidney. Jonas and Sidney head to school, where fellow student Lewis Halls informs them that he heard that Mitch Mueller, Jonas' middle school bully, transferred back to their school. Lewis talks more about what he's heard, including how Mitch killed his stepdad, but Sidney dismisses everything he says as rumors. However, as the three walk into the school, they catch sight of the dorky kid from earlier hanging from the flagpole, which makes Jonas wonder if Mitch *did* actually transfer back.

Jonas, Sidney, and Lewis then go to the cafeteria, where Madison Cleary joins them. Madison asks Jonas if there is something bothering him, to which he replies that "there's just some dumb rumor going around." As if on cue, Mitch Mueller kicks down the door to the cafeteria. He makes eye contact with Jonas from across the cafeteria and he starts to chase him with his three friends Javier Osorio, Crystal "Scratch" Dyer, and Cliff Lonnie.

### Pages 9-16

Jonas dashes into the school's locker room. He stops running, looks around, and smiles in relief, thinking that he outran the bullies. He turns to walk away, but he walks into Mitch Mueller, who proceeds to shove him against the lockers and taunt him. However, Principal Green interrupts and asks to see Mitch in her office, which gives Jonas time to run away.

In her office, Principal Green begins to question Mitch, as well as Peter, the boy who was dangling from the flagpole by his underwear earlier. Mitch pressures Peter (or "Patrick," as he mistakenly calls him) to deny that he was the one that strung him up on the flagpole, which Peter reluctantly does before running out of Principal Green's office. Principal Green then threatens Mitch, saying that eventually, he will get himself into a situation he won't be able to get himself out of.

Later, Madison asks Jonas why Mitch bullies him so much. Jonas replies that he has no idea, he's been doing this since middle school. In the middle of their conversation, Mitch looks over at the two from across the hall, prompting Jonas to run to the library. Because of this, he is late to his next class, and there are no available seats except for the one next to Mitch. Mr. Newman tells the class that everybody will need to get into pairs for the next project. Everyone in the class scooches their desks away from Jonas and Mitch, which forces them to form a group together. Jonas offers to do the entire project by himself, but Mitch declines, saying that it's the least he can do after he spread all those "flattering" rumors about him. Jonas denies this, but Mr. Newman cuts him off by telling him to quiet down.

### Pages 17-24

Jonas, Sidney, Madison, and Lewis are walking out of school when they accidentally catch Mitch, Javier, Scratch, and Cliff beating someone outside. Mitch sees Jonas and steals him from the group to work on their science project.

As they walk away from the school, Jonas suggests that they do their project on a flood that hit Sellwood a few years ago. They head to a nearby forest to observe the trees that had been torn down by the coast, but once they get well into the woods, Jonas comments that he hasn't seen any signs of wildlife in a while. They come across a fence with a "no trespassing" sign on it, which Mitch ignores as he jumps over the fence. Jonas is reluctant to follow suit, but with a little persuasion, he jumps the fence, too.

### Pages 25-30

Out in the woods, Mitch and Jonas find a mysterious building that neither of them knew existed. Two people in front of the building see them and yell at them from below, which prompts Mitch and Jonas to flee from the scene. While they are running through the forest, they notice a mysterious car, which both of them hide from. After the car leaves, Mitch laughs out of relief and comments how "awesome" the experience they just had was. Jonas, on the other hand, couldn't disagree more; he is worried that they'll get in trouble for trespassing. Jonas then gets a text from Dean telling him to come home. Knowing that Dean is already mad at him, he starts to walk home, leaving a slightly disappointed/confused Mitch alone in the woods.

 Main Characters

* Mitch Mueller
* Javier Osorio (minor appearance)
* Crystal "Scratch" Dyer (minor appearance)
* Cliff Lonnie (minor appearance)
* Jonas Wagner
* Sidney Wagner
* Dean Wagner (minor appearance)
* Lewis Halls
* Madison Cleary
* Jeff Newman (minor appearance)
* Principal Green (minor appearance)