Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying.

Rex Ogle and his best friend Drew race their bikes up to the top of the hill and look out over the city. Drew dreads starting middle school next week, but Rex is looking forward to it. Drew invites Rex over for one last sleepover before the new school year, and Rex enthusiastically agrees. They race down the hill with wide smiles on their faces.

Rex wakes up excited for his first day of middle school and eager to go, until his mother mentions everything that might go wrong. Over breakfast, Sam’s stepfather, Sam, and half-brother, Ford, talk to Rex about his upcoming day. Rex’s facial expression changes from joy to irritation as Sam (who has a stutter) mentions that Rex can call him “Dad” if he wants to. Rex refuses to do so, clarifying that Sam is not his father and that Ford is his half-brother. Rex’s mother reminds him that not everything has to be about technicalities.

At school, Rex can’t find anyone he knows in a sea of unfamiliar faces. When he finally spots a girl from fifth grade, she explains that the district lines changed over the summer so many of their former peers went to a different school.