Chapters 1 and 2 Summary

As the story opens, Carley Mattea is talking with her new friend Reba Conroy. The two are on the eighth floor of Knoxville General Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee, a floor set aside for adolescents with an array of problems. They are discussing what they know about a new patient who's slated to be admitted later that day. His name is Kyle Westin and he lives in Oak Ridge, the town where Carley lives. Carley is currently being treated for an infection that occurred after she suffered a serious break in her leg while roller blading. That situation is being resolved with high-powered antibiotics and physical therapy but Carley is no stranger to hospitals. When she was twelve, she was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor. The doctors were able to remove it but the surgery left her with a severely deformed face...