Yours forever
In the first chapter of the novel, the narrator reveals that the main character, a boy named Colin was recently dumped by his girlfriend, a girl named Katherine. While Colin was sitting alone and thinking about his former girlfriend, he remembered the yearbook he just received and thus he decided to look through it to take his mind off the tragedy he just went though. Ironically, in the yearbook, he finds a message from Katherine, telling him that she will love him forever. That not only did not happen but Katherine also ended up dumping Colin.
Stop to see the Crucifix
After Hassan and Colin started their road trip, Hassan proposed that they stop to see and important landmark, the largest wooden Crucifix. His proposal is strange especially considering how he is a Muslim and that in Islam it is considered a great sin to bow before anything that can be considered an idol.
Saved by the girl
When Colin gets injured and his head starts bleeding, Hassan is the first to arrive near him and to offer to help. When it becomes clear that Colin needs to use something to stop the bleeding, Hassan refuses to give him his shirt, claiming that it will get dirty. Ironically, the one who is willing to sacrifice her shirt for Colin is a young girl the two meet shortly after.
Strings
After Colin meets Lindsey, it soon becomes clear that her family is a rich one and that her parents have a lot of money. When Colin asks Lindsey what her parents do, she tells him that they own a factory making tampon strings. Ironically, even though Colin is a prodigy, he does not know what a tampon string really is so Lindsey has to explain it to him, making the situation extremely uncomfortable for both of them.
You should go to college
Colin pressures Hassan to find a collage he likes and to go to it. Even on the road, Colin continues to pressure Hassan to find a suitable collage. Ironically however, Colin refuses to think about collage and where he wants to go, choosing instead to try and pressure Hassan to do something he doesn’t want to do.
