At lunch, Miranda confronts Ginger. Instead of denying it, Ginger stands up and recites a new, impromptu poem about the "crustless white bread" of popularity versus the "seedy, nutty, real" loaf of friendship. Darcy is moved; Miranda is furious. Ginger chooses her real friends, but Darcy secretly keeps a copy of the poem.

"So maybe I’m not a pancake. Maybe I’m a whole bakery. And not everyone deserves a sample." (Cut to Carl selling the wounded pigeon to a kid for $2.) Episode 3: "Cry, Laugh, Puke, Repeat" Plot: Ginger gets her first period at school. The episode treats it with trademark honesty: equal parts horror, humor, and tenderness.

"Everyone says middle school is the worst four years of your life. But here’s the secret: it’s also the first time you realize you can survive the worst. You can cry, laugh, puke, repeat. And then, one day, you write it down. And it doesn't hurt as much. It becomes a story. And stories... stories are how we practice being human."

"There are three kinds of tears: the ones you cry alone, the ones you cry with friends, and the ones that just show up because your hormones are DJing your emotions. Today, I had all three. And I'm still standing." Episode 7: "The Cooler Older Brother Paradox" Plot: Ginger gets invited to a party hosted by a high school guy named Orion (a sensitive, guitar-playing cliché). She knows it’s only because he saw her reading Sylvia Plath. Her older brother (we’ll call him Ian , a lacrosse bro) warns her: "He’s not into your brain, Ging. He’s into the idea of a girl who has one."