Summary
Moira comes over for a sleepover and Bug meets her while sitting on his front steps. Moira brings back Bug’s bicycle that she had borrowed. Moira says again that she’s sorry for Bug’s loss and is happy to talk about it with him. The narrator then recounts the fact that he and Moira were once not such good friends and fought a lot as children. He says that their early friendship was largely the result of their moms having started a greeting-card business together.
Moira talks to Bug’s mom and says that her mom hasn’t found a good price for envelopes. Bug’s mom seems worried. The narrator says that his mom started a greeting card business after being upset by all of the annoyingly flowery condolence cards she received when her husband, Bug’s dad, died. At the table, Moira and Bug’s mom talk about YouTubers. Bug’s mom says she doesn’t understand why kids want to watch other people play video games.
Bug’s mom asks if Bug likes the Internet or the real world and Moira says that Bug definitely likes the real world, as he only likes to read. Bug agrees with this, but somehow feels Moira is being a better child to his mom. Moira also informs them that she is dropping her nickname (“Mo”) to seem more grown up. She advises Bug to do the same, but Bug says he hates the name on his birth certificate. Moira brings some things over for a makeover.
Moira and Bug talk about what school will be like next year. Moira says a number of things will change and they will have to adjust. Moira gives Bug a makeover and when Bug looks in the mirror at it, he screams. He says he feels like the person in the mirror isn't him. Moira applies makeup to her own face while Bug watches. Bug mentions that his uncle participated in a drag queen competition, meaning he dressed like a woman sometimes in performances. Moira reiterates that they should both be thinking about what they are going to do next year, but eases up when Bug says that he doesn't want things to change.
In the middle of the night, Moira awakens with a scream, seeing red on the ground. It turns out to be a broken bottle of nail polish that fell on the ground. They struggle to figure out what happened and how it ended up on the opposite side of the room. They eat breakfast together and talk to Bug's mom. Bug talks about how isolated the town they live in is and thinks about some of the frustration his uncle must have felt about moving there, after being in a major city for so long.
In the next chapter, Bug talks about beginning to have strange dreams. In one, he is a skeleton sitting in front of a mirror, applying makeup. Bug awakens and discovers, to his great disturbance, that the whole room has been ransacked. Bug goes to hang out with Moira and meets two new friends, Isla and Olive, that Moira has made. Bug thinks that they are both nice but is a little bored by how much they talk about makeup and boys. Bug goes home and talks to his mom about the afternoon, saying he mostly had a nice time but feels a little out of place.
Bug talks to his mom about her business problems. She says that she had early success with sardonic sympathy cards. He tries to go to bed but struggles to do so. Bug has another nightmare in which he is surrounded by mannequins who all look like his friends and are surrounding him. He wakes up in a panic and finds a scrap of paper at his feet with handwriting that resembles both his uncle’s and his mother’s. The following morning, at breakfast, he shows his mother the note but quickly downplays the strange circumstances of its arrival.
Analysis
Gender is a significant theme in these chapters. Bug begins to elucidate his discomfort more clearly with his body and appearance, as he describes a disconnect between the way he looks in a mirror and who he is internally. This is highlighted in the scene where Moira gives him a makeover. He looks at his reflection and sees a face that he thinks is pretty but does not feel like his. More frighteningly, in his nightmares the actions of his friends—putting on makeup, going to the mall—become tortuous and disturbing as he is haunted by images of mannequins coming to life and skeletons. Bug’s discomfort with his body becomes clear, and the reader gets the sense that Bug does not feel at ease as a girl.
Coming of age is another important theme in this section. Moira expresses a great deal of anxiety about the coming school year. She tells people to start calling her Moira instead of Mo, her former nickname. She takes up an intense interest in makeup and fashion, in an effort to seem more mature. Finally, she says that she is trying to make new friends and wants to find a good extracurricular activity. For Bug, this rush to become an adult only amplifies his anxiety, as he is deeply unsettled by the idea of going through puberty and becoming a man. Coming of age holds a particular tension for Bug, as he is uncertain of how to proceed through it.
Money is also a significant theme in these chapters. Bug’s mom is clearly struggling financially. Moira mentions that her mom, who runs the greeting card business with Bug’s mom, is having trouble finding a good price for envelopes. Bug’s mom reiterates that the cards are not selling well, which makes Bug concerned for her. Money is depicted as an additional stressor in Bug’s world, one that he cannot fully understand the lack of but whose impact he feels acutely. This adds to the tension in the household, as his mother is too distracted to perceive the gender issues that he is grappling with.
Belonging is a major motif in this section. Bug spends time with two new friends that Moira has made. He likes them well enough but has trouble staying interested in the things that they like. They mostly want to talk about boys, clothing, and makeup, all of which don’t really hold strong appeal for Bug. Later, when Bug is afflicted with an unsettling nightmare, it becomes apparent that this divide between them upsets him, not because he wants to be different but because he feels like there is something wrong with him. His struggle to belong heightens his sense of being off or somehow out of place.
Bug comes into clearer focus in this part of the book, as the reader learns more about what is causing his feeling of unease. As he comes up on the precipice of adolescence, he is concerned by how he differs from Moira and other girls. He knows he is different but cannot articulate exactly why. At the same time, his mother's grief and money problems make it difficult for her to see what is going on with Bug. What becomes increasingly clear is that Bug does not feel comfortable as a girl.
