Chapter 1 introduces 14-year-old protagonist Drew Ellis, his best friend Jordan, and his second friend Liam. Drew lives with his grandmother in Co-Op City, the Bronx; Jordan lives in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and Liam lives in Riverdale. The first pages highlight each boy’s home life and living situation. Drew is Black, Jordan is also Black, and Liam is white. Each boy has unique problems: Drew realizes that, because he is Black, he has to “work twice as hard to go half as far” (8) and attending Riverdale Academy Day School (RAD) only compounds his insecurities; Jordan wants to be an artist, which his father supports, but his mother insists that he continue to attend RAD; Liam feels distant from his parents and siblings, as his parents argue at night. Jordan hangs onto childhood interests, but believes he needs to let them go if he is to find acceptance with his teenage peers. As each boy walks to school for the first day of eighth grade, the students around them appear zombie-like, with swirly eyes and drool coming out of their mouths.