How we cite our quotes: Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #1
Had I misunderstood Billy? Was his mother right? Does he just make things up? After all, my name isn't even remotely purple and orange. The sun streams through the blinds and brings no answers, only more questions. Why does the only person in the world who might see things the way I do have to be five years old? Maybe everyone sees this way at five and I didn't outgrow it. (3.1)
After the math class incident (you know, where everyone called her a freak), Mia figures she is weird since no one else sees the colors she does. It's not until she meets Billy in the supermarket that it dawns on her that she's not alone. She's been isolated from everyone for five years, but she no longer has to be.
Quote #2
Breathlessly, I tell her about seeing colors and about how I thought everybody saw things that way and then I found out that nobody did and I felt so alone and strange. I tell her I wasn't lying that day I got sent home in third grade. (4.160)
As Mia explains her colors to Jenna, she starts to feel more comfortable about her condition. At the same time, it forces her to accept how alone she's been for so long. She kept her synesthesia in for so many years that it seems weird sharing it with someone else.
Quote #3
"All kinds of people with all different types of synesthesia. There are discussion groups you can join and articles to read, although you may find some of them a bit dry." (6.75)
Jerry fills Mia in on a big secret: Other people have synesthesia. She's excited because she's not alone anymore—finally, she can come out of isolation. Even though her family and friends are eventually supportive, they don't really get what it's like for her, so connecting with other people who have synesthesia, too, helps Mia big time.