Chap­ter 28 opens with the pro­tag­o­nist being gen­tly awak­ened by the invit­ing aro­ma of cof­fee. Her moth­er is stand­ing by her bed­side, hold­ing two mugs, offer­ing a rare and peace­ful moment to start the day. Despite the ear­ly hour, their con­ver­sa­tion flows with ease as they chat about the protagonist’s col­lege choic­es, espe­cial­ly New York Uni­ver­si­ty, a school she is eager to attend, even though it goes against her father’s wish­es. The warmth of the moment under­scores the moth­er-daugh­ter con­nec­tion, as the moth­er sens­es her daughter’s dreams and aspi­ra­tions, pro­vid­ing sup­port while offer­ing both humor and advice. Their exchange reveals a deep under­stand­ing between them, ground­ed in love and the shared desire to see the pro­tag­o­nist suc­ceed.

As the day pro­gress­es, the pro­tag­o­nist rush­es to dress and join her sib­lings, Camp­bell and Juniper, for break­fast. The play­ful atmos­phere at the table reflects a sense of nor­mal­cy, yet the pro­tag­o­nist feels slight­ly detached, as if she’s in a dif­fer­ent world, one where every­thing is shift­ing. Her mother’s spon­ta­neous deci­sion to skip school and take the fam­i­ly on a trip to New York City catch­es every­one by sur­prise, as such a move is high­ly unchar­ac­ter­is­tic of her. With a twin­kle in her eye, the moth­er reveals her inten­tion to let her daugh­ter expe­ri­ence the city first­hand, rein­forc­ing the notion that New York could indeed be her future home, pro­vid­ed she’s accept­ed into NYU. This sur­pris­ing ges­ture adds to the sense of pos­si­bil­i­ty, while sub­tly hint­ing at the chal­lenges that lay ahead as the pro­tag­o­nist con­tem­plates her future away from home.

Dur­ing the trip, the fam­i­ly reflects on “Apple Days,” a time in their past filled with mem­o­ries of apple pick­ing and bak­ing, evok­ing nos­tal­gia and long­ing for sim­pler, care­free moments. As they share these mem­o­ries, the pro­tag­o­nist is struck by the changes in their lives, par­tic­u­lar­ly how their father’s absence has deeply altered their fam­i­ly dynam­ic. This shift in their fam­i­ly struc­ture is felt more poignant­ly as they jour­ney to New York City, where the excite­ment of explor­ing new pos­si­bil­i­ties begins to feel bit­ter­sweet. The pro­tag­o­nist, caught between the warmth of fam­i­ly mem­o­ries and the pull of her future, is left con­tem­plat­ing how much her life is about to change. The trip to the city rep­re­sents both a moment of con­nec­tion with her fam­i­ly and a glimpse into the inde­pen­dence she’s striv­ing for, cre­at­ing a mix of emo­tions as she faces the loom­ing real­i­ty of leav­ing home.

Upon arriv­ing in New York City, the excite­ment inten­si­fies as they vis­it icon­ic land­marks such as NYU and the Met­ro­pol­i­tan Muse­um of Art. The taxi ride through the city is filled with antic­i­pa­tion, and they even indulge in clas­sic street food, mak­ing mem­o­ries that blend cliché with a sense of per­fec­tion. These moments allow the pro­tag­o­nist to recon­nect with her fam­i­ly, yet there’s an under­cur­rent of ten­sion as she con­tem­plates her future. The city, with its vast pos­si­bil­i­ties, sym­bol­izes her dreams, but it also mag­ni­fies her fear of leav­ing her fam­i­ly behind. The pro­tag­o­nist is caught in the space between nos­tal­gia for her child­hood and the unde­ni­able call of adult­hood, a feel­ing that inten­si­fies as she grows more aware of how dif­fer­ent her life will be if she decides to pur­sue her col­lege dreams.

The qui­et of Cen­tral Park offers a moment of respite from the whirl­wind of the day, and as they share an apple, the protagonist’s mind drifts back to the apple she’s hold­ing, which turns out to be bruised. This small set­back serves as a metaphor for her con­flict­ed feel­ings about leav­ing home—her dreams are ripe, but there are hid­den imper­fec­tions she can’t ignore. The park’s peace­ful­ness con­trasts with her inner tur­moil, and the sight of three crows perched on a near­by branch trig­gers a sense of nos­tal­gia, remind­ing her of the past and the things she might leave behind. This chap­ter mas­ter­ful­ly weaves togeth­er the bit­ter­sweet real­i­ties of grow­ing up, where moments of con­nec­tion with fam­i­ly are inter­twined with the anx­i­eties and uncer­tain­ties of impend­ing change. The protagonist’s jour­ney is a del­i­cate bal­ance between embrac­ing new oppor­tu­ni­ties and hon­or­ing the bonds that have shaped her iden­ti­ty. Through her reflec­tions, the read­er is remind­ed of the chal­lenges young adults face when they stand at the thresh­old of inde­pen­dence, uncer­tain about the future yet bound by the weight of famil­ial ties.