Genesis Begins Again

Mama drops Genesis off at Sophia’s house on Saturday. They are both shocked by how big her house is. Sophia’s mom, Mrs. Papageorgiou, and the rest of her family are very friendly and welcoming to Genesis. They make a huge dinner, and Genesis helps Sophia set the table. She is embarrassed when Sophia tells her she isn’t doing it right and corrects her, taking extra care to readjust the silverware. When they join Sophia’s large family at the dining room table for dinner, Genesis notices that both Sophia and her dad make sure the different foods on their plate don’t touch.

After dinner, Sophia and Genesis go up to Sophia’s room. Genesis confides in her that she has never had a best friend before. She says they should make it official by telling each other a secret. Sophia nervously shares that she doesn’t have any friends because she has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and she got tired of people calling her weird making fun of her for it. Genesis tells her that she has never had any friends because she is “too ugly,” and everyone makes fun of how dark her skin is (241). She says that she hates her skin and her