A Little Less Girl Chapter 1 Summary

Jake

  • The story starts with a little aside from Jake West. He assures us that he "didn't go looking for addiction." It just showed up one day in a lemon yellow Mustang . Hmm… interesting.
  • Jake's story starts with a breakdown. Specifically, his Jeep. On the side of the road right by a huge gorge.
  • This particular spot has a whole lot of significance for Jake. It's the place where a girl named Amy committed suicide by driving her car off the road last year. It also reminds him that he's a huge jerk. Why's that, we wonder?
  • Jake gets out of the car and notices that the memorial for Amy is dwindling a bit. There used to be all kinds of signs and flowers and teddy bears when Amy first died, but now there's just a couple of random items left.
  • Oh, and a bowl of lime Jell-O. Complete with a note that reads, "In case there's no lime Jell-O in heaven. Love D." Sweet.
  • Jake stands by the side of the road and considers his hometown, Raynesville. The place is your typical small town and Jake is feeling pretty suffocated there.
  • Suddenly, Jake notices a dirty yellow Mustang drive by.
  • And then he sees his friend, Alex, drive up in a different car and hop out.
  • Well, "friend" might be a bit of an exaggeration; Jake doesn't seem to think much of Alex. To be fair, the kid's accomplishments include throwing a football and eating twelve double cheeseburgers in one sitting.
  • Alex jumps out of the car and runs up to Jake. Does he need help with his Jeep? No? He also mentions that he saw Jake's ex-girlfriend, Katrina, at the pool today and, boy, was she looking hot. Jake doesn't mind if he asks her out, right?
  • Jake is doing his best to ignore Alex, but the kid keeps on talking.
  • Seems Alex's dad (who also happens to be a local cop) has hired some guys to build a shed for him. One of the dudes, Chuck, always has the best weed.
  • Okay, so now Jake is trying pretty hard to give Alex a clue that he's not interested in chatting, but the guy keeps going. Does Jake wanna hang out at the Bus?
  • An old bus that was abandoned in the woods by some hippies years ago? No thanks.
  • No biggie, Alex tells him as he heads back to his car. All the guys will have better luck with the ladies without Jake's pretty face hanging around anyway.
  • After Alex leaves, Jake notices the yellow Mustang has pulled into a gas station.
  • A skinny lady with tattoos and black spiky hair calls out to Jake for directions and then gets into the car.
  • Jake also notices a pair of amazing legs sitting in the passenger seat.
  • The Mustang pulls off. They're headed right in the direction of Jake's house. Nice.