Speak: Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

Melinda Sordino begins her first day at Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York apprehensive and skeptical, and pessimistic. On the bus, she attempts to avoid the other students, who immediately begin to alienate and bully her. She notes that the same peers who are tormenting her used to be her friends in middle school; by the time the bus is full, she is the only student sitting alone.

As she enters school, Melinda comments that the school has changed the mascot from Trojans to Blue Devils because “Trojans” is too reminiscent of condoms. She then names the various cliques in the ninth grade as the students file in for an assembly, such as “Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, [and] Cheerleaders.” She adds, however, that she is an outcast with no one to sit with. She relates how she spent the last month of the summer watching cartoons by herself, rather than hanging out with her friends or even answering the phone. Without trendy clothes, an “in” hairdo, or any friends to speak of, she is entirely alone.

Melinda sees her old friends, with whom she used to be in a clique called the Plain Janes: Nicole the jock; Ivy the artist; and Rachel, Melinda’s former best friend (the fifth member of their group, Jessica, has moved to Nevada). Over the summer, the group split up, and all the girls except for Melinda have joined new cliques. Behind her, she hears Rachel laughing at her. Melinda recalls how Rachel taught her how to swim, “understood” Melinda’s difficult relationship with her parents, and didn’t make fun of Melinda’s childish bedroom. She wishes she could “tell” Rachel “what really happened," but does not. As their eyes meet, Rachel mouths, “I hate you.””

At a school assembly, after hesitating too long as she looks for somewhere to sit, Melinda is reprimanded by Mr. Neck, her future social studies teacher. Another isolated student, who introduces herself as “Heather from Ohio” (but whom Melinda describes as a “wounded zebra”), asks to sit with her. Melinda doesn’t answer.

As the assembly goes on, Melinda catalogues the top ten lies that teachers tell high school students, such as “We are here to help you,” “Guidance counselors are always available to listen,” and “These will be the years you look back on fondly.” When it ends, she cannot find her first class (biology), and ends up getting a demerit. She wryly comments that there are “699 days and 7 class periods” left until she graduates from highschool.