In September, Maya keeps a close eye on the tree outside her window because she wants to watch its leaves turn and observe “the process of change, not just the outcome” (79).

On the first day of school, Principal Green gathers the students for an assembly. Richmond High has had four principals in as many years, and Mr. Green is the first Black administrator Maya has seen during her time there. He tells the students, “[t]he person to your right might end up in jail, or on drugs, or dead before the age of twenty-five. That’s the statistic” (86). Maya wonders if Tony ever heard an administrator say something like that at his private school. After the assembly, Maya is shocked when Essence reveals that she is no longer planning to go to Spelman even though that has been the girls’ plan since middle school.

Maya notes that Richmond’s student body includes more white and Latinx students this year. She liked the part of the principal’s speech where he encouraged the students to look out for one another, but Nikki says that she isn’t responsible for her peers if they choose not to prioritize their education. Kate tells the group about the technology and gardens at her old private school and says that her current math teacher doesn’t have enough textbooks for every student.