The scene opens with a flashback to the beginning of the novel, when Nemo is still in high school. He has just returned from a trip to the Galapagos Islands, where he met his twin sister, Nerissa, who is also a student at the same school as Nemo. Nerissa has left Nemo behind and gone to live with her father. Nemo and Nerissa have been friends since they were young children, and they are both very fond of one another.