Summary

Before they leave for Thailand, Rosie asks Claude what name and pronouns he wants to use. He insists that he must use Claude as his “punishment … for lying to everyone” (242). He has agreed to the trip in order to get out of going to school. As for Rosie, Penn suspects that she wants a break from him, and she admits this is true. She also remembers promising her sister Poppy that they would go to Thailand together.

The next chapter, “Away,” follows Claude and Rosie into Bangkok. Claude is enchanted to notice that there are lots of transgender Thai women out and about. He and Rosie leave the city and drive out to a clinic in the jungle. In “Aid Ambiguous,” the pair arrives at their destination. They meet a mechanic named K servicing an ancient truck which serves as...