Long Division

City has never had a girlfriend, because he’s been in love with Shalaya Crump for years. City knows it’s odd for a girl in 1985 to say the sorts of things Shalaya is always saying, but she’s the coolest girl he has ever known. Shalaya lives in Melahatchie near City’s grandmother, Mama Lara. City doesn’t see her as often since moving with his mother to Chicago, but they still hang out when City visits Mama Lara.

City isn’t sure if Shalaya feels “guilty” for leaving him with Baize Shephard and wants to understand what happened. He decides to tell the story of him, Shalaya, Baize, and Evan Altshuler, although the story is sad.

In January of 1985, Shalaya told City she could only love him if he agreed to help her change the future. They were in the “Night Time Woods” together, and City was trying to convince Shalaya that he loved her and that they should be together. Shalaya got annoyed with City for trying to show off and impress her, as she wanted him to be himself. City decided that between January and March, he would prove to her how special he is.