Content Warning: This section of the guide references racism, colorism, anti-gay bias, anti-fat bias, emotional abuse, and terminal illness.

A heading imitates a country boundary sign, reporting that 17-year-old Avery Anderson is “entering Bardell County, Georgia, Population: 9,127” and calls the county “A Great Place to Grow!” (7). Avery notes at least 10 bullet holes in the sign. Avery and her dad, Sam, tease her mother, Zora, about their reluctance to come to Bardell, which Zora describes as “a diamond in the rough” (8). Zora marvels at the changes to Bardell, while Avery notes a Confederate flag that is prominently displayed.

Avery recalls the letter that arrived at her family’s Washington DC home five weeks prior, which informed Zora of her mother’s terminal cancer and led to the family’s summer relocation to Bardell. When they ring the bell at Zora’s childhood home, they receive no answer until a neighbor, Carole, recognizes Zora. Carole looks at Avery’s lip piercing judgmentally, causing Avery to recall how her best friends Hikari and Kelsi called it “trashy.” Carole introduces her daughter, Simone. Carole reports that she only wrote to Zora because “Letty’s cancer [is] eating her away” (14).