Laura is stressed about belonging and finding herself. Adults don’t understand her troubles trying to belong, as if switching her life is easy. Laura wishes she could be braver and wiser; then maybe she would run away and free her parents from rehab.

Laura doesn’t think she can be her old self anymore. She’s split into three places: her home in Crenwood, Silvia’s home in Stonecreek, and rehab with her parents. She wonders how she can return to her identity when she’s split apart.

After school one day, Laura feels sad and goes for a long walk. She sees many sparrows. Because her dad taught her birdwatching, she’s great at bird identification. The neighborhood doesn’t have many trees for other birds, only trimmed bushes. Laura bets that Silvia would trim her apart, changing her into the ideal niece who would conform to Stonecreek.

As she walks, Laura thinks about how sparrows weren’t originally from the United States. Sparrows were brought here from Europe to eat caterpillars and moths, then unexpectedly stayed.

Laura notices a dog cage with a sign for a free dog. She rushes over to find a puppy inside.