All Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she s always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it? They think the way she looks and acts means she s trying to be a boy that she should quit trying to be something she s not. If she dresses like a girl, and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty. But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words.