How to Stop Time

After school, Tom is in the car park struggling to unlock his bike chained to the fence. He doesn’t trust cars. Camille sees him and offers to give him a ride. He declines. They chat about French. Camille is pretty sure she has seen him before, somewhere other than the park and school. Tom frees his bike and says goodbye. Camille says, “I will solve you” (72), as Tom rides away. He secretly wishes to be solved.

Hendrich calls to check in. Tom tries to excuse himself with a headache. Hendrich explains the headaches are memory pains that increase during the middle years and recommends less screen time. He also accuses Tom of being ungrateful for all that he has done. Tom could be living a better life if he wasn’t obsessed with finding his daughter. Tom puts Hendrich on speaker and logs onto Facebook. Hendrich lectures in the background about being Tom’s fairy godmother, always providing a better life for him. He worries about Tom, saying “there was something in your eyes. Something that worried me. A kind of yearning” (75). Tom laughs and notices a friend request from Camille, then browses her page. Hendrich cuts into Tom’s thoughts, telling him not to be anchored.