“It would be nice

to stay in one place

long enough to make a best friend,

to keep a best friend.

But

every time Mom breaks up with one of her silly boyfriends,

it’s

grab the keys

pack the car

hit the road

don’t look back.”

Calli June’s goal is to make and keep a friend, despite her mom’s behavior. This poem elaborates on the tension between Calli and her mom and foreshadows the coming conflict in the novel by using the phrase “every time,” suggesting that another move will happen.

“The afternoon sunlight bounces off her hair like a pot of sparkling gold. Wow.”

Jinsong uses the simile “like a pot of sparkling gold” to describe the color and texture of Calli’s hair, immediately signaling his attraction to her. Terry has established Calli’s hair as a symbol for her true self, so when Jinsong is immediately drawn to Calli’s hair, the symbol foreshadows their relationship.

“The boy slams the lid,

presses start,

smiles at me with eyes

the color of cinnamon.”

Terry uses sensory imagery to describe Jinsong’s eye color. The image of cinnamon implies warmth and baked goods, alluding to Calli’s feelings toward Jinsong: To Calli, Jinsong is a best friend, and his family provides something like a second home.