How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
It was spring now, but Shirley, hunched in her coat, walked as if there were still snow on the ground. Carefully she sidestepped the boys who played basketball, the girls who roller-skated, the groups who seemed to laugh or whisper whenever she passed. She dreaded the distance across the school yard. It was endless and full of traps. If a loose ball rolled by, should she catch it? If a girl fell, should she help her up? If someone glanced her way, should she wave? (4.3)
When Shirley walks home from school, she ignores all the kids having fun together without her. She doesn't want to interact with them at all because they're already neglecting her, plus there's the translation barrier that seems to get in the way of every interaction. She doesn't know how to behave around people and doesn't want to get made fun of even more.
Quote #5
Yet none of the gang noticed. They seemed not to see her at all. She ought to go home, she thought. Mother had learned to make delicious cupcakes. But she did not move. She stood by instead, like a hungry ghost. (4.19)
None of her classmates playing in the schoolyard seem to even acknowledge the new girl in school. She longs to go home to one of the few people that do pay attention to her, but Shirley chooses not to eat a cupcake made by a familiar person, and instead she hungers after what she thinks she can't have—friendship with these kids. She's a ghost, too, because the other kids look right through her and don't really see her.
Quote #6
Laughter sped up and down the line. Shirley slunk back to her classroom. She wasn't hungry anymore. (4.65)
When Shirley thinks a new classmate is Chinese, she gets so excited, thinking she can have a friend whom she can relate to. Unfortunately, the girl embarrasses her, saying she's American and doesn't speak Chinese; at the other kids' laughter, Shirley shrinks back. She puts herself out there in a social situation and gets shot down, so she removes herself.