Chapters 1 and 2 Summary

Torey drives to the town of Pecking to interview for a job as a special education teacher. Although Torey has enjoyed the time she has spent working at the Sandry Clinic as a therapist and research coordinator, she wants to get back to the classroom.

Glen Tinbergen, the principal of Pecking School, meets Torey at the school's front door. He escorts her to the special education classroom. Torey is impressed with the space allowed for these students as well as the arrangement of the furniture in the room. The room includes a large cloakroom into which the prior teacher had pushed the teacher's desk. Although Torey wished the principal would leave, he stays to introduce Torey to her four students.

Reuben, who is diagnosed as being autistic, is the first child to enter the room. Reuben's parents were highly involved in...