Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

In homeroom on the morning of the spring concert, Renee gives Steven a copy of the concert program; just inside the cover is a large picture of Jeffrey, with the statement, “All proceeds from tonight’s concert will benefit the Jeffrey Alper Medical Trust” (244). Steven notices that both Annette and Renee have gotten “REALLY short haircuts” but assumes it must be a coincidence (244). At the end of the day, Steven gets called down to the office and begins to worry that something bad has happened to Jeffrey. However, it turns out that Jeffrey and his mom just wanted to pick him up from school on the day of his big concert. On the drive home, his mom tells him that Jeffrey’s liver tests still don’t look good but that the doctor gave Jeffrey a special discharge from the hospital in Philadelphia so that he can go to the concert. At home, Steven is nervous about the big performance and can’t settle down to eat dinner. When it’s finally time to go, Steven lets Jeffrey and his mom come with him to the band room. When they enter the room, Steven realizes that everyone in the band is wearing a baseball cap.