High school freshman Mia Thermopolis writes in her new diary and complains about her mother, who “thinks [she’s] repressing [her] feelings” (1) about her big news: She has a date with Mia’s algebra teacher, Mr. Gianini. She gave Mia the diary to help her process her feelings (1). Mia already feels like “the biggest freak in the entire school” (1) due to her tall stature and flat chest, and now her mother is making it worse. Mia wonders why, in a city with roughly “TWO MILLION guys” (1), her mother would choose Mr. Gianini, and she prays that no one at school will find out. Still, she lies to her mother and tells her, “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy” (1).

The next day, Mia shares her frustrations with her best friend, Lilly Moscovitz. Lilly tells Mia that Mr. Gianini is cool, but Mia complains, “He’s not so cool if you’re flunking Algebra, like me” (3). Every day, Mia has to stay after school for additional tutoring with Mr. Gianini. She is horrified that Mr. Gianini “call[ed] [her] mother in for a parent/teacher conference” (3) but ended up asking her out. As Mia wonders if her teacher will be “sticking his tongue in my mom’s mouth” (3), she thinks about her crush, Josh Richter, and how he kisses his girlfriend Lana Weinberger next to Mia’s locker.