- The chapter begins with the narrator (we are never going to learn their name, are we?) telling us she will never forget this day. She is a grade school teacher in the middle of class when we meet up with her again.
- It's a diverse class. There are native Canadians, half Japanese children, and a troublemaker, a freckle-faced redhead named Sigmund. (There is always the troublemaker kid. We remember Susie from fourth grade. She was insane.)
- He's a bad kid, but because of him we finally learn our narrator's name. Megumi Naomi Nakane.
- Sigmund has a bunch of rude questions for Ms. Nakane. Personal questions. Here are her answers: She's not married. She's tiny: five foot one and 105 pounds. People assume that she is a foreigner, but she's third-generation Japanese Canadian. Oh, and she's so over this job.
- Another fact: her family breeds spinsters. Her Aunt Emily is also unmarried, and from what Naomi tells us it sounds like she's an interesting lady.
- Before the kids can ask about her Aunt's love life, Naomi gets a phone call. Uncle is dead. At first she doesn't know how to feel, but then she rushes into a list of things to do, people to call, and things to be scheduled.
- Before long, she's on the road. To see Obasan. "Obasan" is Japanese for "aunt."