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Vimal finds a rock, but his sister, Lavanya, steals it out of jealousy, a defining moment in their relationship.
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Vimal and Rubel get in trouble after they were caught hiding in their neighbor's yard.
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Vimal moves from Bangladesh to Michigan to live with his grandparents
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Vimal attends his first day of school in Michigan.
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Vimal's grandpa falls very ill and dies, and Lavanya promises to not attend college to take care of her siblings.
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Vimal sees his parents for the first time since the move, he wants to go back with his parents to Bangladesh, but they refuse.
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Vimal meets Phyllis and they become fast friends after Phyllis stands up for Vimal when he's being teased by his friends.
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Vimal is brutally teased by his classmate, and his self-confidence shatters.
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Rubel and Vimal's oldest brother return to their parents to Bangladesh, and Vimal feels very alone.
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Vimal decides to drop out of high school, because he is treated badly by his peers.
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Phyllis gets accepted into her dream college and leaves, Vimal is convinced that he has no other friends.
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Lavanya and Vimal fight about Vimal's laziness and refusal to get a job after his grandfather's death to help out.
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Vimal finds a job at a paint company at his sister's urging.
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Vimal realizes that the paint company he works for is creating a memory wiping gas, but he decides not to pay attention to the moral implications.
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Vimal's parents announce that they are moving to Michigan to be closer to their family.
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Vimal's parents, along with his two brothers, die in a plane crash on the way to Michigan.
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Phyllis offers to visit Vimal after the plane crash that killed most of his immediate family, but he refuses because he is convinced Phyllis doesn't actually want to see him.
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Vimal loses the only friend that he trusts, Phyllis, after he sacrifices their relationship so that he doesn't lose his job.
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Vimal is diagnosed with Paranoid Personality Disorder, yet he refuses to believe his diagnosis.