Raymie Nightingale

Raymie, Beverly, and Louisiana sit with Granny on the floor eating tuna fish out of cans and drinking water out of paper cups. The house has no electricity, and the room darkens as a storm rolls in. Louisiana thinks about Archie and gets upset. Beverly comforts Louisiana by reminding her of their successful day. Granny chats to Beverly, inquiring where her father is a police officer, and Beverly reveals for the first time that her father is in New York City and that she has run away twice to try and join him. Raymie is stunned that Beverly is fatherless, too, and that Beverly has kept this information quiet for so long.

Granny drives Raymie and Beverly back home, a somber ride following the revelation about Beverly’s father. Raymie’s mother is waiting for her at home with more sad news: Mrs. Borkowski had a heart attack and has died. Raymie is distraught over Mrs. Borkowski’s death. Seeking comfort, she calls Mrs. Sylvester, who is always kind and optimistic and interprets the quiet sobs and broken sentences from Raymie as sadness about her father. Raymie is too upset to correct her.

At the memorial for Mrs. Borkowski, the auditorium table is covered with food, but Raymie stands alone sadly thinking about Mrs. Borkowski. Raymie hears Louisiana and turns to see both Louisiana and her Granny. Raymie has never been so happy to anyone in her life. The girls hug, and Raymie is finally able to truly cry and takes comfort in Louisiana’s kind chatter and embrace. Meanwhile Granny fills her pockets with memorial food. Raymie starts to feel dizzy, so Louisiana takes her to a quiet place behind the stage curtain. Louisiana asks Raymie to tell her everything about Mrs. Borkowski, and Raymie happily does. After cheering Raymie up, Louisiana confides that she is always hungry and that the reason she has to win the Little Miss Central Florida contest is so that she and Granny won’t starve. In return Raymie shares the reason why she has entered the contest. She tells Louisiana about her father running off and her plan to get him back, a plan she is starting to doubt. At that moment Granny is caught stealing food, so Louisiana and Granny make a quick exit through an alarmed door, causing chaos at the memorial. Raymie’s spirits lift after she talks and shares with Louisiana; she feels her soul growing as the bonds between her and her new friends strengthen.