Chapter 1 "That Single Promise" Summary

Chapter one begins with a description of Alleghany County. Nestled high in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it has been called the Lost Province, because it was cut off from the rest of North Carolina. There is one town in Alleghany County: Sparta. The fact that a high school senior decides to attend Dupont makes front-page news. Charlotte Simmons, the valedictorian of her graduating class, is introduced by Mr. Thoms, the principal. Before giving her speech, Charlotte is not worried about that but rather about her looks and her classmates. Although the adults in the crowd admire her intelligence and listen closely to her words, she is thinking about what her classmates are thinking about her. She analyzes every sentence by what her classmates would think of her if she said it. She leans on her...