I Can Make This Promise

On July 11, Edie reflects on her friendship with Amelia, which used to be a positive element in her life. She walks to Amelia’s house to pick up her bicycle, and she and Amelia have a confrontation. Amelia insists that Libby would never be mean to anyone “for no reason” (148) and again asks to make the movie about Edith. Edie refuses, telling Amelia that she is welcome to make her own film with Libby; Edie and Serenity will make their animated film on their own from now on. She returns home, feeling that her friendship with Amelia is over.

To cheer her up, Edie’s mother takes her to the movie theater. There, Edie sees a poster for a film that features an Indigenous woman as a major character. She is surprised that the woman has blue eyes. Edie asks Lisa if they can see this film instead; she hopes it will give her some insight into her heritage. Lisa is clearly uncomfortable, but she is unclear in giving her reasons for saying no. Edie gets angry, saying that the movie could give her some information, which is “a lot more than I could say about you” (158).