Content warning: This section of the guide discusses ableism toward people with ADHD.

While his father Mark and his pregnant stepmother Kate are out, Elliott reflects on how much he enjoys cooking. Elliott proved to his mother that he could cook safely, and he loves the kitchen at his mother’s house, which is vintage and crowded with plants but feels like home. His mother, Nina, is particularly excited about an avocado pit that recently sprouted.

Elliott and his mother moved into a house in downtown Avery after Nina and Mark divorced, and Mark stayed in their old home. Elliott and his neighbor, Malcolm, became best friends. Malcolm accepts Elliott, despite Elliott’s dislike of sports and tendency to make mistakes, which he attributes to his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. His ADHD makes it difficult for him to focus, but he finds it easy to focus in the kitchen. One of Malcolm’s mothers, Janice, taught Elliott how to cook. Their kitchen is well stocked because of Janice’s love of cooking and is well organized because Grace, Malcolm’s other mother, is a neat minimalist. Malcolm and his mothers are currently traveling the country in an RV, and Elliott has recently learned that they are staying in the RV for another year.