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Sugar is Sylvia's cousin and closest friend, so much so that in the first line of the story Sylvia says she and Sugar are "the only ones just right." For the most part, Sugar follows Sylvia’s lead, but Sugar expresses interest in Miss Moore's lessons and shows signs that she may be growing apart from Sylvia, who bullies her for it. When Sylvia can't calculate a ten percent tip for the taxi driver, Sugar comes up with the answer for her fairly easily, suggesting Sugar’s intelligence. The way Miss Moore stares intently at Sylvia at the end of the story highlights a subtextual tug-of-war between Miss Moore and Sylvia over Sugar's loyalty. When Sugar appears to recognize and understand the point of Miss Moore’s lessons, Sylvia steps on her foot to remind her that they’re supposed to hate Miss Moore, and that this resentment is something that bonds the girls together. Sugar's burst of independence in pushing Sylvia off of her toes implies that Sugar feels stifled by her cousin, and that her understanding of wealth disparity—something Sylvia is beginning to recognize but finds too uncomfortable a topic to contemplate or discuss—has created a rift between the two of them. In the end, Sugar chooses Sylvia, but the final lines of the story suggest the girls may be coming to a fork in the road in terms of their relationship.

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