Addie dreads returning to Caseham High so intensely that she would do almost anything to avoid getting out of the car. Her mother drives her to school and has even taken the day off work because she knows Addie might skip if left on her own. Addie spent the summer trying to convince her mother to let her stay home or change schools, but there is no practical alternative, and her mother insists that other teenagers will not remember whatever happened last year.

Addie knows her mother is wrong. She believes the fallout from what she did last year is still very much alive, and she is convinced everyone will hate her. After a chorus of honking forces the car to move, Addie abruptly gets out and heads toward the building alone, feeling that her mother cannot really protect her from what awaits inside.

As Addie crosses the school entrance area, her fears are confirmed. She keeps her clothes plain and tries to draw no attention to herself, but students still stare, whisper, and identify her by name. Addie hears enough to know that people are talking about her past, and she focuses on reaching the front doors without giving anyone a chance to confront her directly.

Just before she makes it inside, Addie encounters Kenzie Montgomery, the beautiful, popular class president, sitting on the steps with her friends and the new star quarterback, Hudson Jankowski. Kenzie deliberately blocks Addie's path with her backpack, then calls her out when Addie tries to squeeze past. While Kenzie's friends laugh and Hudson avoids Addie's eyes despite once being her best friend, Addie briefly imagines standing up for herself. Instead, she apologizes and retreats to find another entrance, deciding that humiliation is safer than escalating a situation that could become even worse.