The protagonist has been HIV positive since birth that is managed with medication. At the start of the book, she is at a relatively new school after having been bullied out of her old school when people found out about her positive status. Although the protagonist didn't contract HIV sexually, people make that assumption about her, and they refer to her as a slut when they find out. A white male character says to the protagonist, a Black girl, that dating Black girls seems more fun than dating girls of other races because he considers them to be "feisty." The protagonist takes offense to these comments.