Lupe Medrano is an eleven-year-old Hispanic girl living in suburban Fresno with her family. Lupe's family consists of her parents and an older brother. upe wins the school's spelling bee and the reading contest at the public library. She receives a blue ribbon at the science fair, is the best student at her piano recital, and is widely known as a chess champion. A straight-A student, Lupe excels at everything academic. However, she cannot play any sports and she wants to distinguish herself at sports. Lupe decides that shooting marbles is a sport and sets about to win the neighborhood marble-shooting competition held in a few weeks. Lupe borrows her brothers' marbles, and spends many hours practicing shooting marbles. She spends many hours doing arm, hand, and particularly thumb exercises.