Dress Coded

This section covers Chapter 43: “Before the Treehouse Was a Recording Studio for Podcasts, It Was”; Chapter 44: “Dress Coded: A Podcast, Episode Four”; Chapter 45: “@dresscodedapodcast”; Chapter 46: “Shrine to Ms. Milholland”; and Chapter 47: “Have You Actually Tried On a Garbage Bag?”

Molly lists all the things her treehouse was before it became a podcast studio, including a fairy house, a keep, and the Gryffindor common room. She interviews Jessica, the senior from the bus, for the fourth podcast episode. Dr. Couchman became the principal when Jessica was in seventh grade; the previous principal, Ms. Milholland, was loved by everyone and didn’t care about the dress code. Jessica received a dress code warning on her first day of middle school; Fingertip was hired shortly after to patrol the school and check students. When Jessica got dress coded with four other girls, she was told her clothes were a distraction to boys, and that she needed to go home and change. When this happened, she missed her math quiz and Mr. Dern didn’t let her retake it; she got her first ever F. Molly starts an Instagram page for the podcast, which gains hundreds of followers, with people posting outfits in which they got dress coded. She posts an update on the page that she and her friends have yet to hear from the superintendent.

Ms. Lane, the language arts teacher, has a shrine on her desk dedicated to ex-principal Ms. Milholland; Molly thought the latter was dead until she surprised Ms. Lane on her birthday with a gift and a cupcake, making Ms. Lane cry. Molly is certain that Dr. Couchman didn’t wish Ms. Lane anything at all. Later, she receives the graduation dresses she ordered from Lulus, and tries them on. She is disappointed as they fit her “like a garbage bag” (96).

This section covers Chapter 48: “Carnival Colors”; Chapter 49: “Mr. Blue and Miss Yellow”; Chapter 50: “Uncomfortably Numb”; Chapter 51: “Letter to My Deceased Grandpa, Danny Boy”; and Chapter 52: “When You Actually Miss Having the Nickname Snot Drop Because the Alternative is More Humiliating.”

Molly gets ready for the Saint Mary’s Parish carnival with Navya. Navya reveals that Ashley thinks the podcast and Instagram account are unnecessary. Molly texts Ashley, and Ashley refuses to be on the podcast, saying she doesn’t care about the dress code. Molly and Navya arrive at the carnival where they meet up with other girls from their school. They see Ashley with her neighbor, Rachel, whom they thought Ashley hated. Molly sees Danny selling vape pods to seventh graders, and feels sick. Later that night, Danny enters Molly’s room to store his pods, but she refuses to let him vape in her room. Danny finds a Candy Land board game underneath her bed, and begs her to play. Remembering their past games, Molly agrees, and they play a few games together.

The phone rings early the next morning, and Molly overhears her mother telling her father that another parent called the police about Danny selling pods to children. The police show up with a couple of parents who yell at Danny for selling pods to their 12-year-old son. Danny is silent, even when threatened with suspension and juvenile court. Molly imagines a letter she’d want to send to her maternal grandfather, Danny, after whom her brother is named and who died of alcoholism. Molly’s mother thinks she bathed Danny in “sadness hormones,” which is why he is a sad child. Molly wonders if her grandfather was also sad, leading him to drink; she wishes he were around to be friends with her brother Danny and straighten him out.

At school, Nick calls Molly “Swiss Alps.” Navya explains Nick’s nickname: There is a mountain in the Alps called “Mount Titlis.” She and Bea console Molly as she tears up in humiliation. At lunch, Ashley sits with her neighbor Rachel, claiming they are working on a Social Studies project together.

This section covers Chapter 53: “My Heart Talks to Megan Birch Behind My Back”; Chapter 54: “When You’re Having an H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks Day, You Might As Well Take a Puck to the Face”; Chapter 55: “Consequences”; Chapter 56: “In the Morning”; and Chapter 57: “Dress Coded: A Podcast, Episode Five.”

Megan notices that Molly is upset in science class, and Molly tells her about Nick’s teasing. Megan writes down and shows Molly a list of over 70 cruel words Nick used to taunt her cerebral palsy. When Mr. Lu takes the note from Megan, thinking she and Molly are passing notes, Megan explains the words are insults children have used against her, and he awkwardly apologizes. After class, Megan invites Molly to come over to her house some time, and she agrees.

On the bus, Jessica tells Molly that her friend, Jasmine, wants to come on the podcast. Mary Kate tells Molly that she got dress coded for showing a strip of midriff. Molly takes a picture of Mary Kate’s outfit and posts it on Instagram, garnering hundreds of likes in a couple of minutes. At home, she finds her room ransacked and her mother crying in the closet, having found Molly’s case of vape pods. She thinks they are Molly’s, and is too angry to listen to Molly’s explanation. Molly ultimately decides to hide the truth, because she is worried that her family will move if they learn about Danny’s misdeeds. She is grounded until summer, forbidden from using her phone and attending the camping trip and Ashley’s birthday party. Danny remains silent, but sneaks into Molly’s room early in the morning and thanks her for staying silent. He promises to stop vaping and calls Molly a “pretty cool kid” (118), which makes her feel hopeful.

Molly interviews Mary Kate and her friend, Lucy, for the fifth podcast episode. Lucy got dress coded for wearing ripped jeans, which another girl wore without issue. Molly checks the Instagram page and sees posts from other towns—tagged “#DressCoded.”

This section covers Chapter 58: “I See Why Americans Spend Billions on Insomnia Medications”; Chapter 59: “Dress Shopping with a Stomachache”; Chapter 60: “When Encountering a Headless Bird is the Highlight of Your Day”; Chapter 61: “The Best Day of My Life (So Far)”; and Chapter 62: “My Biggest Fear.”

The third night of Molly’s grounding, Danny sneaks into her room to look for pods. When he finds one, he punctures it and tries to suck on it. Molly warns him to get out or she will call their parents, and he leaves.

On the day of Ashley’s birthday party, Molly imagines her friends having fun, while she is stuck at home with Danny, who is struggling without nicotine. Their mother enters Molly’s room as Danny yells at their father downstairs. She has returned Molly’s white dresses, and is taking her shopping for a new one. She takes Molly to a fancy store, where they find the perfect dress, but it is expensive, even on sale. However, Molly’s mother starts crying and insists they will buy it anyway. On the way home, she tells Molly that she wants her to see a therapist again, and Molly agrees.

Molly takes the family’s dog Tibby for a walk on Saturday morning, and the dog finds a headless bird. Will spots Molly, and they look at the bird together. He tells her what happened at Ashley’s party, the events of which unfolded on social media—there was dancing, a Jell-O fight, and people secretly vaping in the lawn mower shed. When Will learns Molly is grounded for covering for Danny, he encourages her to tell the truth, asserting her parents won’t move and that Danny will never be the kind of brother she wants. They give the bird a funeral.

Molly remembers the best day of her life so far—a trip to Atlantis, a hotel, in the Bahamas with her extended family. One night, she and Danny explored the basement of the hotel and discovered secret tunnels under the sea. Danny was kind to her that day, and Molly fears her best days are already over.

This section covers Chapter 63: “What Could Be Worse Than the Stomach Bug?”; Chapter 64: “Consequences”; Chapter 65: “Keepers of the Garden”; Chapter 66: “Almost Normal”; Chapter 67: “How We Try to Find My Brother”; and Chapter 68: “When Prince Willister and Princess Molliflower End Up Eating Cookies in the Dark.”

Danny is sick in the middle of the night, and Molly hears their parents tending to him. Molly finally tells her mother the truth about the pods, explaining that Danny is suffering from nicotine withdrawal. She apologizes to Molly, asking why she didn’t say anything sooner, and Molly reveals she didn’t want the family to move. Her mother reassures her that they won’t, and in return, Molly promises to no longer keep secrets. In the morning, Molly’s mother plans to cancel her appointment with a therapist, but Molly asks to reschedule for the summer, as she still wants to go. Molly is ungrounded, and Danny calls her a “gross, ugly narc” (139). She decides to stop wishing for a different brother.

Molly gets ready for Memorial Day, a big deal in her town ever since four people passed away in the First Gulf War. Danny is still in bed when she leaves, dressed in her marching band uniform; she and Olivia play the clarinet. After the march ends at the school garden, there are speeches. The mother of the deceased Violeta and other mothers planted flowers in memory of their lost children. Violeta’s mother urges people to make their voices heard, and Molly feels a chill.

Back home, Molly’s mother tells her that she told Ashley’s mother about Danny. Ashley’s mother is happy to host a sleepover to make up for Molly missing Ashley’s party, and Molly realizes she doesn’t want Ashley associating with Danny. Will’s family comes over with food and picnic tables, and after eating, Will and Molly chat in the treehouse, wondering about next year. Will confesses that he is in love with Pearl, and Molly promises to see what she can do. Afterward, Molly’s mother asks her to take food to Danny, who hasn’t eaten all day, but he is not in his room. Everyone searches the house and neighborhood, calling Danny’s friends and driving around for hours, to no avail. Two sets of parents debate calling the police when Danny returns.

Molly spends the night at Will’s while her parents deal with Danny, and they plan tent arrangements via the class group text. She switches off her phone location when a classmate asks if she is at Will’s, based on a location-sharing social media app. She doesn’t want to be further teased alongside Will, whom Nick calls “Deformity” because of a birthmark on his cheek. When the treehouse was considered a keep, his birthmark was “the mark of a prince chosen by the goddess tribunal” (150). Molly and Will eat cookies and milk in silence; as they head for bed, Will reminds her to talk to Pearl.