Summary

In the Prologue, the narrator, Sal, recounts an experience he had at the age of five with his grandmother. The experience left both of them happy. For him, this memory is like a photograph.

Sal opens Part One wondering whether he has always had the wrong idea about his own identity. In the chapter titled "Life Begins," it is the first day of the senior year in high-school for Sal and his best friend, Sam. Dark clouds are in the sky. Sal goes to Sam’s home to pick her up because they walk to school together. While he waits for her, he gets the feeling that things are not going to be the same. As Sal and Sam walk to school, Sam talks about college. Sal does not want to hear about it. The first day of class...