Claudia writes to Monday, telling her she’s gotten a tutor and will be going to The Learning Center (TLC). She asks why Monday’s ghosted her like this. Claudia is terrified of being bullied when the other students see that she’s in TLC. 

Claudia’s new tutor, Ms. Walker, lives in a nice part of town. On their first day, she gives Claudia translucent colored plastic sheets to place over books and assignments, aiding reading comprehension. One day, Claudia runs into Michael (the cute boy from church) when she arrives at Ms. Walker’s front door. Ms. Walker is his grandmother. Embarrassed and worried he’ll tell everyone at school about her dyslexia, Claudia rushes away, telling him she got her days mixed up. Michael asks her to come to the mall with him, and she agrees.

Michael takes her to the Pentagon City Mall in Crystal City, Virginia. He is easygoing and polite, and everyone he comes into contact with is charmed by him. Claudia hopes she won’t get into too much trouble for ditching tutoring. She figures Michael’s churchgoing reputation will help.

They run into Megan from Claudia’s dance class. She’s with one of Michael’s friends, Kam. She seems embarrassed to see Claudia.