Describe Bryon's first meeting with Cathy.

In Chapter 2, Bryon heads down to the snack bar while he is visiting his mother at the hospital. When he is looking at the menu, he hears a voice say, "Can I take your order?" (Hinton 12). Bryon looks up to see a "really cute chick" that recognizes him. Bryon mentions that she had a big smile on her face and looked familiar, but he cannot remember her name. When Bryon comments that he didn't know she worked at the snack bar, she says, "I just started this week. But you knew I just got back, didn’t you?" (Hinton 13). Bryon simply says, "Oh, yeah" as he continues to try to remember her name (Hinton 13). She proceeds to take Bryon's order, and when she returns, Bryon recognizes her smile and yells, "Cathy!" (Hinton 13). Cathy seems surprised Bryon didn't remember who she was. Bryon then explains that the last time he saw her, she had short hair and braces. Bryon says to Cathy that the only way he was able to recognize her was because she looked so much like M&M. Cathy tells Bryon that she takes his comment as a compliment and says, "M&M is a beautiful child and he has a beautiful smile to match his mind" (Hinton 14). Bryon agrees with her and awkwardly tells Cathy that he would like to talk to her sometime. Cathy says, "All right...we'll talk sometime" before Bryon leaves (Hinton 14).

Bryon's first meeting with Cathy is rather awkward because Bryon does not recognize Cathy at first. Cathy seems very nice and doesn't take offense when Bryon tells her that he forgot who she was. When Bryon attempts to ask her to hang out, he begins to stutter. After their initial conversation, Bryon is upset with himself because he didn't come off as the smooth boy that he typically is.