Willowdean’s car dies, so her mother drives her to school in the morning and asks her to get a ride home from Ellen since Mrs. Dixon is busy with pageant obligations. As Willowdean gets out of the car, her mother says goodbye to her, calling her “Dumplin’.” Will sees that Patrick Thomas heard her mother call her by her nickname. Later in the day, when Will is talking with Mitch, Patrick approaches them and cracks a joke about Mitch finding a girlfriend his own size. He then refers to Will as “Dumplin’.” Willowdean thinks of all the times Patrick Thomas made fun of Millie and her weight, Amanda and her uneven legs, and even Hannah because Patrick got the whole school to call Hannah a horse. As Will’s anger increases, she knees Patrick between the legs.

Willowdean is suspended from school, and her mother has grounded her for the first time in her life. An argument starts between the two of them, and Will accuses her mother of being embarrassed of Will, her daughter. Lucy comes up in the argument, and Willowdean’s mother admits that she doesn’t want Will to end up like Lucy. The argument ends when Willowdean tells her mother that Lucy was a better mom to her than her mother is.