Who is Dru from Jumping the Nail and what is their importance?

Dru just graduated La Paloma High in California. She is very smart and wins a scholarship to Northwestern in Chicago. She spends her last summer watching her peers jump off the Nail, a high cliff. Dru acts like a mother figure because she is worried about the jumpers, especially her best friend Elisa. She tries to talk sense into Elisa, but Elisa jumps anyway. When Elisa has a mental breakdown, Dru takes care of her when no one else will. Dru proves she is a good friend and has a good heart. When the other kids encourage people to jump, she tries to talk them out of it. She has a hard time fitting in with her peers because they are all beautiful, rich and wear designer clothes. Dru is middle class and lives in a rented house. She awkwardly deals with her rich peers, not understanding their selfish and sometimes mean-spirited motivations. Dru is simply too mature for her peers.