The novel begins on the first day that Miss Michael Saunders is teaching at McClenton Middle School, an under resourced institution in an unspecified city. Maleeka Madison III, the seventh-grade protagonist, eyes the new teacher with suspicion; first of all, Miss Saunders has a “man’s name,” Michael. Second, she is “tall and fat” (7), with very small feet. Third—and most importantly, to Maleeka—Miss Saunders has a large white birthmark on her face. She asks Maleeka where the principal’s office is and compliments Maleeka’s dark skin; she compares it to “a blue-black sky after it’s rained and rained” (8), explaining that this line came from one of her favorite poems.

After silently noting the luxurious appearance of the teacher’s clothing, Maleeka reluctantly points her in the right direction. Part of why Maleeka wants no association with Miss Saunders is because she is, in Maleeka’s words, a “freak”—and Maleeka herself already feels like a social outcast. She fears Miss Saunders’s association would only attract more negative attention. In fact, Maleeka feels like a “freak,” too; her dark skin is part of why people bully her, especially John-John McIntyre, another seventh grader—though John-John’s complexion is just as dark as Maleeka’s.