Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson pg 1-40

Summary
It is the start of the First Marking Period. The first morning of high school, Merryweather High. The school is separated by clans: Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Big Hair Chix, the Marthas, Suffering Artists, Thespians, Goths, Shredders. But Melinda Sordino is an outcast. High school for Melinda is different in ways that she doesn't respond to anyone, or ignore the people around her environment. Melinda lives inside her own mind, where her thoughts are unnatural. She has a list that explains the meaning of high school.

THE FIRST TEN LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL
1. We are here to help you.
2. You will have enough time to get to your class before the bell rings.
3. The dress code will be enforced.
4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.
5. Our football team will win the championship this year.
6. We expect more of you here.
7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen.
8. Your schedule was created with your needs in mind.
9. Your locker combination is private.
10. These will be the years you look back on fondly.

As Melinda starts her first year of high school, she seems like from the start, she already disliked it. Melinda thinks her teachers are weird by how their appearance, how the cafeteria is separated by groups, or how her old friends are not friends they use to be. As Melinda and her friend Heather thinks about joining a club, Melinda was careless. Melinda thinks clubs are stupid and a waste of time. Heather asks, "What are your goals, Mel?" Melinda responds, "My goal is to go home and take a nap."

Quote
"We are nobody" (Anderson 34).

Reaction
As Heather talks about wanting to join the musical, Melinda thinks otherwise. Melinda said, "We are nobody," which means that the people who doesn't have a purpose in school has no meaning in school. Heather bursts out crying because of how high school has changed her life. Melinda thinks her life as being a "nobody" as she is an outcast in school.