Content Warning: This section references drug and alcohol addiction.

The novel’s narrator, Delsie, asserts that she does not like surprises, so she is nervous when her long-time friend Aimee Polloch informs Delsie that she has a “surprise”: Aimee and Michael tried out for the summer play, Annie, at the Cape Playhouse, and Michael landed a part while she got the lead. Aimee requests Delsie’s help, as she wants to know what it is like to be an orphan. Delsie loses track of what Aimee is saying, as she never thought of herself as an orphan until this morning. While she often thinks about her mother and believes her to be alive, Delsie has to concede that her mother’s abandonment of her makes her an orphan.

Delsie’s grandmother, Grammy, works as a housekeeper for guest cottages. Delsie is looking forward to seeing one of those guests: Brandy, who has been her friend since they were toddlers. Delsie and Brandy meet up, and Delsie notices that Brandy looks older; she is wearing makeup and holding a purse, making Delsie feel self-conscious. Delsie feels reassured when Brandy tells her that she has taken out their pails for rocks and shells, which they collect each summer to make sculptures out of.