Narrator Trent Zimmerman recalls how he; his older brother, Aaron; and his younger brother, Doug, used to try to win prizes from the claw machine at a local pizzeria. After six months of trying, the owner opened the machine and showed the boys that it was impossible to win. The prizes were so tightly packed that the claw wasn’t strong enough to free any of them.

Trent relates this idea to his memories surrounding the death of his peer, Jared Richards. He wishes that he could grab the memory from his brain and pluck it out like a claw machine, but everything that happened before and after is too tightly linked to that moment. Trent wishes that he never hit the hockey puck that killed Jared.

Trent laments that he overthinks everything. He goes to the park with his baseball glove, ball, and “Book of Thoughts” in his pockets. He wants to play baseball but isn’t sure if the kids playing at the park want him to join them. Trent hopes to join intramural baseball once school starts.

Trent sits on the grass near the baseball field and works on his Book of Thoughts. Rather than write down his thoughts, he prefers drawing them.