Summary

During her first year of college, Thandi met Devonne, a politically active black student. Awed by her presence, Thandi approached her as a friend due to their similar ethnic backgrounds, but faced tensions when white boys tried to flirt with Thandi instead of Devonne. The friendship "burned fast and bright," ending after Thandi received praise for her final paper, while Devonne's paper on Marcus Garvey was criticized for gaps in thinking (43).After that, Devonne ended up sleeping with one of the boys that used to ignore her when she was with Thandi, never speaking to her after. Thandi then fell in love with Dean, a philosophy student who played in a band and was half Spanish. Thandi always felt inadequate around Dean, feeling that she had nothing to offer other than her body. She began to lose focus in school until...