Summary

Verna LaVaughn begins the novel by speaking directly to readers and telling them that she is ready to tell her story. She notes that stories are like birds because they seem to live life so quickly, and once they fly away you can never even be certain that they were there.

In Chapter 2, Verna and her friends, Myrtle and Annie, search the school bulletin board for part-time job opportunities. Verna responds to a babysitting job posted by a girl named Jolly.

In Chapter 3, Verna goes to meet Jolly at her apartment building and notices how dingy the neighborhood is. Jolly is seventeen and has two children, Jeremy and Jilly. Verna tells Jolly that she will ask her mom and call her that night if she is allowed to start babysitting for her. Jolly is shocked that Verna needs to ask her mother for...