An unnamed student at a grade school in New York City recalls a girl from one of her classes. She was one of the two people of color in the class at the time. The girl's name was Lilly Davis, though the other students called her "Mooley" after an incident during a class spelling bee when Lilly was asked to spell "mule" and the students found out that Lilly has difficulty speaking. After a few weeks, Lilly was transferred to a class for students with disabilities. Several years later, the separate class was dissolved and Lilly was moved back into the class with the unnamed narrator. One day, Miss Totten, their teacher, overheard some of the other students bullying Lilly. She decided to provide accessibility accommodations for Lilly, such as giving her a slate to write on when asked for oral answers. The other students saw that Lilly was very smart. One day, the narrator forgot her books in her desk and had to go back to the classroom after school. When she got there, she saw Miss Totten and Lilly studying together, though Lilly did not have her writing slate. Another time after school, the narrator was walking home when she saw Miss Totten walking with Lilly. At one point in the school year, the principal came with a group of adults to observe the class. Miss Totten's classes were usually exempt from this observation, but this day was different. When Miss Totten called roll for the day, Lilly didn't raise her hand as usual; instead, she answered out loud like the other students. When Miss Totten started asking geography questions, Lilly answered these out loud as well, astonishing the other students and adult visitors alike. Later that school term, Miss Totten passed away, and the narrator eventually forgot about her and the class for some time. But looking back, she marked this as an influential moment in her life.