A social worker, Mrs. MacAvoy, drives eighth grader Carley Connors from the hospital to a foster home. It’s March in Connecticut, and the trees are still bare. Carley recalls when she was seven and received The Little Mermaid soundtrack from the tooth fairy; she and her mother danced and sang to the songs. Mrs. MacAvoy interrupts this happy memory to tell Carley that she’s lucky to go to such a kind foster family, but Carley thinks of herself as unlucky; even the letters of her name indicate this, as they add up to 13. The foster family, the Murphys, live in a house with a driveway and a front porch. Mrs. Murphy greets them at the door. A plain-looking, brown-haired woman, she smiles at Carley. Three boys are with her, one of whom Carly thinks looks like “he wants to wrap me in carpet and leave me on the curb” (4). Carley doesn’t want to stay, especially if she must babysit.

Other details begin to paint a picture of Carley’s situation: Her mother married a man named Dennis just over a year ago, which upset Carley. A traumatic event resulted in her hospital stay; her arms still have bruises.