The Benefits of Being an Octopus

This chapter is a short transition to the novel’s turning point. Although the school still doesn’t know what really happened during the shooting incident, for Zoey, it's no longer a mystery. She meets Silas before they board the school bus and tells him that she knows he didn’t have anything to do with it. He becomes emotional and confides about the vicious prank calls he has been receiving. He doesn’t ask Zoey anything else about the shooting or how she knows that he’s innocent, proving that unlike the other kids in school, he isn’t interested in sensationalizing the event.

When they get to school, Zoey feels powerless to defend Silas from the other kids’ taunts; she can’t risk revealing what she knows about the shooting and getting the authorities involved. She pleads with Fuchsia to tell Crystal what happened, but Fuchsia is still unsure. Zoey doesn’t think it’s fair that such a grave decision rests on her friend’s shoulders, but she doesn’t know how to help.

Meanwhile, most of the kids in school concern themselves with ordering Valentine’s Day carnations. Zoey looks at them as if they’re from another planet as they say missing the deadline is “the worst thing ever” (120-21).