Skippy Dies

The second-year students learn that there is a Hallowe’en Hop mixer scheduled before midterm break, held in conjunction with St. Brigid’s.

Howard reaches out to Skippy and tries to reassure him that Father Green’s mean-spiritedness is not worth holding a grudge. He is about to compliment Skippy on his swimming when he suddenly sees Aurelie.

Howard talks to Aurelie about his class, having read them a Robert Graves book she had recommended. He is flustered when talking about Graves’s poetry causes Aurelie to ask him about love. Finally, Howard brings up Aurelie’s comment about not having sex with him and clarifies that he wasn’t trying to seduce her. When she reaffirms her decision not to have sex with him, he asks her to explain what she means. However, he bumps into another teacher, Jim Slattery, who notices his book and talks endlessly about Graves.

Skippy runs back to his dorm room, alarmed by Howard’s attempt to reach out. He starts packing his clothes when he suddenly sees a flying saucer swooping past the window.

In his laboratory, Ruprecht is working on a device meant to communicate with aliens. The power fluctuates, and Ruprecht assumes that the device has failed to function. However, the TV comes on, and a familiar person starts talking about “the addition of a further dimension” (129), inspiring Ruprecht.