96 pages • 3 hours read
Boy21
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Chapters 12–17Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 12 Summary
Finley does not offer Erin an explanation as to why Russ is walking to school with them. Finley feels bad about keeping secrets from Erin because he knows he can trust her, but he also feels like people should make up their own minds about Boy21. Erin informs Finley that Coach—who was Rod’s basketball coach back in the day—had gone to the Irish Pride Pub to ask Rod for protection for Russ. This information surprises Finley because black people don’t usually go to that pub. Finley realizes that Coach has probably also visited Terrell Patterson’s older brother, Mike, who controls “the blacker side of town” (57).
Erin asks why Coach would go to this trouble for someone who doesn’t play basketball, to which Finley evasively suggests that they’re like family. Erin is suspicious but then forgets and twirls to show off her new dress. Mr. Allen interrupts Finley and Erin kissing, and a brand-new Russ—clad in prep-school clothes and a clean haircut—steps out of the car. Erin asks Russ a few questions, to which Russ gives normal, if evasive, responses, making Finley realize sadly that either Russ has been cured or Boy21 has gone incognito.
On the walk to school, Erin tries to ask Russ more questions, including about basketball, which Russ says, to Finley’s relief, that he doesn’t play. Eventually, Russ shuts down, causing Finley and Erin to worry. They enter the school’s metal detectors and walk past inappropriate graffiti. Coach has made sure that Finley and Russ’s lockers are next to each other and that they have the same AP schedule. They sit next to each other in every class.
Boy21 does not talk to the other students but is polite to the teachers. During lunch, Terrell and some of the other basketball players try to ask Boy21 questions, which he does not respond to. Terrell comments on Boy21’s silence and Erin tries to stick up for him, only to have Terrell refer to her again as “White Rabbit’s lil baby,” which angers her. Finley does not stick up for her, nor does he say anything when Terrell announces “Black Rabbit” to the cafeteria, although Finley realizes that Terrell is tacitly extending his protection to Russ. Finley wishes for basketball to start to make everything else disappear. Boy21 does not like this new nickname, but Finley is happy to not be the only rabbit in school.
Chapter 13 Summary
Finley gets pulled out of class by Mr. Gore, and he worries about leaving Boy21 behind. Mr. Gore asks Finley about his future, and Finley says he’ll probably go to community college and transfer out. Mr. Gore thinks Finley can do better, and then asks about Russ, pointing to similarities between Russ’s and Finley’s past traumas. Finley doesn’t want to tell Russ’s secret, but it turns out Mr. Gore is intent on talking about Finley’s past instead. Finley doesn’t want to talk about it because Mr. Gore wouldn’t understand. Finley says he must get back to Russ, causing Mr. Gore to question why Finley always does what Coach asks, but then he lets Finley go.
Chapter 14 Summary
At the end of school, Finley and Erin go to the gym to practice. Boy21 just watches, for which Finley is glad, as he does not want Russ to take his basketball spot. After watching for a little while, Boy21 begins to do his homework. After Finley and Erin finish, the three walk Erin back home, where Russ’s grandfather picks Russ up. The next day, Russ is Finley’s “silent shadow” all over again (68).
Chapter 15 Summary
Mr. Jeffries announces that the class will be going to watch an IMAX film about the Hubble telescope. Everyone is excited except Russ, who seems apathetic when Finley asks him about it, but then acts very oddly whenever Mr. Jeffries talks about the field trip, opening his mouth widely and tapping his pen.
On the field trip, which is chaperoned by Mr. Gore, Finley is excited because he rarely leaves Bellmont. He spends the bus ride silently staring out the window. Once they arrive at the Franklin Institute, Russ begins to act strangely, eventually freaking out once the movie starts, and running out of the theater. Mr. Gore chases after Russ, and Finley stays to watch the movie. Once the movie finishes, Finley finds Russ with Mr. Gore and tries to ask Russ why he left, but Russ doesn’t want to talk about it.
Chapter 16 Summary
A student tries to dump carrots on Russ’s and Finley’s trays, and Russ screams at him. The lunchroom is silent, but Finley smiles, realizing that Boy21 can handle himself. Throughout the fall, Boy21 remains the silent shadow, always hovering around Finley and Erin but never speaking or reacting. When Erin asks, Finley just says that Russ is quiet, and Erin wishes they had more alone time. While Erin and Finley kiss, Finley’s mind drifts to Boy21 and outer space.
Chapter 17 Summary
In late October, Boy21 suggests that he and Finley sit on the roof. Boy21 is carrying a white box of cupcakes and is opening his mouth wide. Finley’s dad is suspicious at first, but responds favorably when Russ laughs at his joke about a Magic Johnson infomercial. Finley and Russ go up to the roof, and Finley notices that the cupcakes have space shuttles on them, which makes him worried. Boy21 counts down, then sings Happy Birthday with wild eyes. He gives Finley the vanilla cupcake and he eats the chocolate one. Russ tells Finley about the best day of his life: when his father took him to Florida on his fifteenth birthday to watch the space shuttle Discovery launch. They watch a video of the launch on Boy21’s laptop, and Boy21 explains that his father loved outer space.
But then Boy21’s expression changes, and he explains to Finley that his father sent him a “telepathic birthday card today’ (81). Finley feels conflicted, not knowing whether he should let Boy21 live in this fantasy or call him out on it, but then realizes that they probably get along because Finley doesn’t ask questions. The boys stare at the cosmos in silence, and then Mr. Allen comes to pick Russ up. Russ tells Finley that he wishes they could travel the cosmos together because Finley has a calming presence.
Chapters 12–17 Analysis
These chapters begin to unravel the depth of violence and segregation in Bellmont. These two facets of Bellmont life become intertwined, indicating thatthey feed off one another. To ensure Russ’s safety, Coach must go to two different figureheads—one black and one white—within the community. Coach’s actions also imply the transient nature of authority within Bellmont, as well as its inextricability from the social ills that pervade the community.
These chapters also illustrate problems associated with identity, although they focus more on Russ’s identity than on Finley’s. For Russ to fit in at his new school he must alter the way he looks. At first, Russ appropriates Finley’s method of controlling his environment via silence, implying that more similarities exist between the two than meet the eye. However, Russ later refuses to accept his peers’ new nickname,“Black Rabbit,” sticking up for himself, and by extension, for Finley. The cost of changing Russ’s appearance and attempting to reshape his identity also becomes clear:these changes in identity negatively impact his psychological stability, as seen in his outburst as well as in his reassertion of the Boy21 identity when he is around Finley.
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