When You Reach Me

Marcus is somewhat new to town, having moved to New York from Detroit the previous year. He is smart and understands time, math, and physics in ways that confuse Miranda. His intelligence is casually displayed when he tells Miranda the time based on the sun’s position, and Miranda notices that his math book is beyond the spectrum of the school’s general color-coding system.

Marcus is “someone who sees the big stuff all the time” (72). He forgets details like people’s names, but he can explain complex concepts and big-picture ideas. He often appears distracted or even forgetful, frequently passing by Miranda as though he’s never met her despite their interactions.

Marcus is “the total hero of the story” according to Miranda (193). He saves Sal when he comes back from the future and kicks him out of the way of an oncoming truck. However, Marcus is not himself—or at least the version of himself that Miranda knows—when he returns from the future. He grows up to be an adult and then returns, so it is an adult version of Marcus that readers see in the laughing man. Miranda summarizes Marcus’s significance in the story’s resolution: “Marcus is the magic thread. You are the laughing man. You are Marcus. Marcus is the laughing man. Or he will be, when he’s old” (189).

Miranda’s mother is not addressed by her first name throughout the story. Since she is the mother of the narrator, she is referred to only as Mom. She has “glossy red hair that bounces around” and a “small freckled face” (1) that contrasts Miranda’s appearance. She has a quirky sense of fashion that includes things like “like striped tights and childish t-shirts” which often embarrasses Miranda.

Miranda’s mother has raised Miranda on her own since infancy. She started law school but did not finish and now works as a paralegal. She despises her job and is often frustrated by things at work such as the copy machine not working. The more she hates her job, the more things she steals from the office, like markers and note cards to bring home in preparation for her upcoming game show appearance. Although she hates her own job at the law firm, Miranda’s mother donates a considerable amount of time to providing counsel and emotional support to women in prison. Her chance to win at The $20,000 Pyramid game is her chance to change her own life for the better.

Miranda’s mother is important to the plot of the story because she’s the character preparing for the game show, which provides a secondary plot line following her preparation and eventual appearance on The $20,000 Pyramid. Her technique of “lifting a corner of her veil” (71) guides Miranda to have her own moment of realization in the story.

Miranda’s mother does not win the biggest cash prize available on the game show, but she does win enough to return to law school and complete her degree, which Richard and Miranda encourage her to do with her winnings.

Richard has been dating Miranda’s mother for almost two years. He visits frequently but doesn’t have a key to their apartment until the end of the story. He is an attorney at the same law firm where Miranda’s mother works as a paralegal, although he has a more positive experience and outlook at work than Miranda’s mother does.

Richard’s nickname is Mr. Perfect “because of how he looks and how he knows everything” (4). He is “tall, blond, and very tucked-in, even on weekends” (4). He is so tall that his long legs don’t fit underneath the kitchen table at Miranda’s apartment, “so he has to sit kind of sideways, with his knees pointing out toward the hall” (4). He enjoys sailing and has taught Miranda how to tie proper knots, which she fidgets with when trying to solve problems.

Richard is witty and has a positive outlook. When Miranda’s mom has a bad day at work, he encourages her to let it go once she’s at home: “It’s over. Why let it wreck your whole evening?” (86). He recognizes that Miranda’s mother is not satisfied with her job, but instead of encouraging her fantasies about winning prize money to change her life, he gently encourages her to return to law school.

Richard is not perfect in every way—”his right leg is shorter than his left one” and “his right-foot shoes have two-inch platforms nailed to the bottom so that his legs match” (4). This becomes an important detail not only because it makes Mr. Perfect more relatable to Miranda’s mother, but because it’s Richard’s platformed shoe that the laughing man wears to kick Sal out of the way of an oncoming truck.

Sal and Miranda have been close friends since infancy. He has blonde hair and lives in the apartment right below Miranda’s in the same building. His mother Luisa is friends with Miranda’s mother and helps her prepare for The $20,000 Pyramid by taking meticulous notes on each day’s episode.

Sal recognizes that he and Miranda should have more friends than just each other, and he begins pulling away from Miranda to be less dependent on her. After Marcus punches him, Sal dedicates his time to playing basketball in the courtyard of his apartment building, pulling further away from Miranda.

Sal is the person whose life is in danger throughout the rising action of the plot. In the story’s climax, the laughing man saves Sal’s life by kicking him out of the way of an oncoming truck. Sal eventually explains to Miranda that their friendship “wasn’t normal” because neither of them had any other friends, at least not any other “real friends” (169). Once Miranda comes to understand Sal’s perspective, it helps her grow to be less dependent on his friendship as well, leaving them both more socially balanced at the end of the story.

Annemarie becomes friends with Miranda after a falling-out with her own best friend Julia. Annemarie and Miranda work together at Jimmy’s sandwich shop and both girls have a crush on their coworker and classmate Colin.

Annemarie is a foil to Miranda. Her parents are married and her father works from home, allowing him time to be attentive to Annemarie. Annemarie experiences epileptic seizures and her father researches and prepares special meals as part of her treatment.

Although coddled by her father, Annemarie demonstrates strength in character when she openly confronts Jimmy for being racist. She sees clearly that Jimmy discriminates against Julia because she is Black, and she storms away from her lunchtime job in protest. Annemarie understands the situation with Jimmy with more clarity than Colin and Miranda, and she must explain to them that Jimmy’s prejudice towards Julia. She recognizes racism when her peers are confused, making her more mature in this regard. However, as offended as Annemarie is when Jimmy makes racist comments, she herself holds assumptions about Miranda based on socioeconomic class, telling Miranda pointedly, “If anyone needs the money, it’s you, not Julia” (130) after Jimmy’s two-dollar bill collection is stolen. Miranda does not fully comprehend the weight of Annemarie’s comment at the time, although Annemarie later apologizes when Miranda tries to repair their friendship.

Julia is Annemarie’s best friend. Like Annemarie, Julia comes from a wealthy family and lives in a much fancier home than Miranda’s. Julia and Annemarie have been close friends for years, and Annemarie’s room is filled with pictures of the two girls growing up together. Julia and Annemarie have a falling out in fall, which is when Miranda steps in as Annemarie’s new friend.

Julia is Black and is described as having “eyes that were sixty-percent-cacao chocolate, a face that was cafe au lait” (144). Because Julia has traveled abroad extensively, and because she is constantly bringing back fancy tokens from her travels, Miranda refers to Julia as “Swiss Miss” in reference to her privileged traveling experience. However, Jimmy misunderstands the nickname and thinks Miranda is referring to a popular brand of hot chocolate and making a comment about Julia’s skin color. Miranda doesn’t understand that their bonding over a nickname for Julia is a misunderstanding.

Julia is important because she highlights the assumptions people make about others. Marcus ignores her when they’re on the street corner until Julia explains time travel in a way that makes sense to him. Miranda assumes that Julia is controlling and a bully until she comes to understand that Julia is just trying to watch out for Annemarie’s diet in order to prevent her friend from experiencing seizures. Jimmy assumes that Julia is the one who stole his two-dollar bill collection, but his assumption is based on Julia’s race and Jimmy’s own racist preconceptions. Jimmy’s character is not redeemed in the story, but his flawed judgement is evident to readers through Miranda’s shock at being associated with his racist outlook. Julia’s character contributes to the theme that most people have good intentions despite the assumptions or misunderstandings others might have.