Melinda, at the beginning of the book, seems insecure because on the first page she contemplates where she should sit, “Where to sit? I’ve never been a backseat wastecase. If I sit in the middle, a stranger could sit next to me. If I sit in the front, it will make me look like a little kid, but…” (page 3). She also mentioned, “I know enough not to bring lunch on the first day of high school. There is no way of telling what the acceptable fashion will be” (page 7). I think she might be feeling this way because of a bad past experience in which her friends are involved but do not know the entire story or have misunderstood her. I think this because on page 5, it says, “If there is anyone in the entire galaxy I am dying to tell what really
