Carole is young and innocent, and Trey, much older, picks up on that vulnerability. Carole, who has been relatively sheltered so far, gets swept up in the excitement that comes with receiving male attention for the first time. Naively, she thinks she might even be in love with Trey, the first boy who has really ever noticed her. His attention gives her a brief sense of power that immediately dissipates once they step outside the party. His tight hand around her head leaves her feeling like she is floating, literally separating her further from her body, which already feels out of her own control because she’s so drunk. Carole dissociates during her sexual assault, detaching from her body completely in order to survive the horrific trauma. She tries to retreat into her favorite number, into math, which is a steady, comforting constant in her life. When the assault is over and the boys leave, they take who Carole was before the assault with them. Her very self and identity have been stolen.