- One day, a new boy shows up in Ms. Johnson's sixth-grade classroom and all the kids are shocked: Not only does the boy have long hair like Jesus, but he's also white.
- Frannie, the narrator, notes that the kid doesn't belong because this is an all-black school. They're on the black side of town, after all, and this is the 1970s—schools just aren't all that integrated yet.
- The kid sits in class all day, not talking to anyone. He looks sad, and the other boys seem intent on making him feel uncomfortable and unwanted.
- Frannie heads off to lunch, listening to one of the mean boys, Trevor, talking trash to the new boy. The new boy says that Trevor is just as pale as he is—which makes him really mad. The rumor is that Trevor is half-white, and that his dad left him and his mom behind.