Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of addiction, anti-LGBTQ+ bias, chronic disease, and domestic abuse (neglect).

Laura, the sixth-grade protagonist, solves a Rubik’s Cube in the car. Her belongings are in a bag at her feet. Janet, a social worker, drives Laura to her aunt’s house.

Laura misses her parents’ food truck, her friends, and her old life on the opposite side of town. When they arrive at her aunt’s house, Laura dismisses Janet’s help with her items. She prepares for her new, “weird” life.

Laura thinks about how birds don’t recognize their family members after a year has passed and how this relates to her situation. Her aunt, Titi Silvia, is a stranger to her.

Silvia is a beautiful doctor. She studies Laura’s appearance, such as her wrinkled clothes, with disapproval. While Laura enters the home’s office, Titi Silvia and Janet talk outside.

Silvia’s apartment is well-kept with fine art; she’s wealthy. Silvia turned her office into Laura’s room by adding an inflatable bed and a princess blanket. As an 11-year-old, Laura feels too old for these items.