When the narrator first meets the girl, he tells her that her father beat him, and that he's used to this since his father brought her back. He says that at school, no one likes him, but that he doesn't believe it. He tells her to get a bath, change into clean clothes, and sleep on the couch. The narrator says that he and his father are similar in that they both have "scumbags as fathers" . He also says that his parents divorced early, and he moved out when he was a teenager. He's turning 16 soon, and the narrator tells him that anywhere he can write his drafts is his home. He asks if she's returned home since she entered high school, and she replies that she hasn't since entering college. She says that she ripped her scars apart easily, but she should have been a stranger she met by chance . After that, she says, her wounds slowly healed . She asks why he didn't tell her when he went to the cafe, where she bought salve, and why he wants to tag along with her when she went to a nearby cafe to buy salve. She tells him to take care of her like a child, and says that the next day, a cat fell from the sky, and hit him. He rushes out of class, and tells the narrator that it's August, and they're giving away art and gifts for the month.