On the bus to school, Bone notices Shannon Pearl. She recognizes her from the tent revival and knows that she works at her parents’ Christian bookstore. Shannon is a shy, nearly albino girl whom everyone teases for being so unattractive. Students slide to the edges of their seats so that Shannon cannot join them. Bone bristles at this mistreatment and pulls Shannon towards her so that she will have a place to sit down. She subsequently befriends Shannon and is surprised to find out that she is actually a strange and somewhat unpleasant girl: She’d assumed that an individual so reviled for being “ugly” on the outside would possess an inner beauty, but Shannon does not. She delights in telling gruesome, violent stories, and harbors some deeply prejudicial views of Black people. Although Bone is able to meet some famous country western stars through Shannon’s parents, the two have a falling out because Shannon calls Bone “trash.” Bone responds by telling Shannon how “ugly” she is and then hitting her.

After Bone and Shannon stop spending time together, Bone loses her interest in church and religion. She spends more time at home, and she and Reese begin to bicker.