- It's the first day of her freshman year at the University of Nebraska, and Cath Avery arrives at her dorm room, 913 Pound Hall.
- Her roommate Reagan and Reagan's friend Levi are already there.
- Reagan's a cool-looking girl with a cigarette in her mouth, and Levi's a tall, lanky guy who asks Cath if she wants to go with them to get burgers.
- Cath says no and waits in the room for her dad and her twin sister, Wren, to bring up the rest of her boxes.
- In the meantime, she's about to have an anxiety meltdown.
- Cath wanted Wren to be her roommate, but Wren wants to meet new people and stop being an identical twin all the time.
- Their dad wants to take them out for pizza, but Wren and her new roommate Courtney are going to the freshman barbecue that night; Cath totally wants pizza, though.
- On the way to the restaurant with her dad, she notices that everybody in the neighborhood is her age. Being surrounded by young people freaks her out.
- Her dad gives her a pep talk, though, and tells her everything will be fine.
- Back in her dorm room, with Reagan and Levi still out, Cath unpacks pictures of herself with Wren and Abel, her very safe, high school boyfriend.
- She also unpacks her Simon Snow stuff, but not too much, because she doesn't want people to think she's a freak.
- All she needs are a few pictures of Simon and Baz on her corkboard, plus her Simon and Baz commemorative busts.