Chapter 1 opens with three young girls standing in the backyard of Ida Nee’s house in Florida: 10-year-old Raymie Clarke, Beverly Tapinski, and Louisiana Elefantes. It is the summer of 1975, and the girls, who have not met before, have come to Ida Nee, a middle-aged twirling champion, for baton-twirling lessons.

Two days earlier, Raymie’s father, Jim Clarke, ran off with a dental hygienist, Lee Ann Dickerson. A devastated Raymie plans to get her father back by performing a winning baton-twirling set at the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition. Raymie hopes her father will see her picture in the paper, realize his mistake, and come home. Mrs. Sylvester, who works at Jim’s insurance company and is close to Raymie, recommends Ida Nee to Raymie and encourages her to enter the contest.

Louisiana, who has also entered the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, faints from anxiety before the instruction begins, muttering about Archie, her lost cat, as she closes her eyes. Ida has no patience for fainting and simply shouts at Louisiana to get up, but Beverly kneels by Louisiana and takes charge. She proudly explains that her father is a cop and so she has seen a lot of people fainting and knows what to do.