"I think about studying, but it’s a holiday, so I park myself on the living-room couch and watch an old movie instead. I smell smoke twice, wince when glass shatters on the floor, and listen in on the other phone to his conversation with the turkey hot-line lady. She says turkey soup is the best part of Thanksgiving anyway. He calls me into the kitchen an hour later, with the fake enthusiasm of a father who has screwed up big-time. Bones are heaped on the cutting board. A pot of glue boils on the stove. Bits of gray, green, and yellow roll in the burping white paste" This quote means that Melinda doesn't want to study during the break. This also means that his father has ruined the celebration of thanksgiving. This quote is important to the story because this means that her family is united and his father doesn't care and is lazy.,