Set in the icy woods of Minnesota, Chapter 1 begins with an ominous recollection from the first-person narrator, Linda: she occasionally thinks about Paul, her four-year-old neighbor, but only as the child dropping into her lap recklessly. As Paul leans into Linda, she thinks about how good it feels “to have your body taken for granted” (4). The only other person Linda has known to die was her eighth-grade history teacher, Mr. Adler. One day, he collapsed in the middle of fourth period. While the other children recoiled, Linda bent down and took his hand. 

Mr. Grierson replaced Mr. Adler. He is a tan man with a gold hoop earring from California. Mr. Grierson teaches with excitement and pays special attention to Lily, a pretty girl with big brown eyes. When Lily fails to answer his question, Linda offers one, but Mr. Grierson addresses the entire class when confirming that she is right. 

After Linda does poorly on an exam, Mr. Grierson—calling her Mattie for Madeline—apologizes to her for starting “off badly” (9). The next week, he asks her to represent the school in History Odyssey. Mr. Grierson suggests that Linda gives a speech on “[s]omething local, something ethically ambiguous” (9), but Linda chooses to study wolves.