1. The narrator collected compliments like coins, stacking them carefully in memory. 2. When a teacher praised the narrator’s poem, the narrator smiled and asked, 'Anything else?' 3. At home, the narrator reread the poem and circled every word that might be 'too much.' 4. The next day, the narrator handed in a new version with half the lines removed. 5. When the teacher asked why, the narrator said, 'People like me better when I’m smaller.'