Question: Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show her fear and insecurity?
Answer: The author and her mother had moved to their grandmother’s house after the tragedy. She had no clothes or shoes to wear as everything was swallowed by the fire. Her mother would not allow her to stay at home, so she went to school wearing clothes in which she looked weird. She felt embarrassed because of this, and also because she did not have a bag or books to work with. She expresses her insecurity by saying, “Was I destined to be an outcast and a geek all my life?.... I just wanted to curl up and die. All the security, she had known, had been ripped away.