The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Frankie and Trish have their girls’ night. Trish thinks Porter still likes Frankie, but Frankie dislikes his “superior attitude.” She remembers how Alpha implied Matthew was “whipped,” so she puts on perfume and changes her top. When Matthew arrives, he tells Frankie he can’t take her to the movie because Alpha reminded him of an “obligation.” Frankie is almost certain that Matthew is punishing her for her behavior in front of his friends. She quickly considers all the concerns she cannot voice because she wants to keep her boyfriend. However, she also wants to stop him from “putting her in her place, which is what she felt he was trying to do” (176). She kisses him, and he presses her up against a tree. She realizes that she just altered their power dynamic and that Matthew wants to stay with her now. When he leaves, she secretly follows him.

Frankie pursues Matthew, abandoning her pink sweater on a branch. She watches as he climbs through a window in the old theater, followed by Callum, Dean, and others. Frankie follows them inside and watches them drinking beer and eating chips on the catwalk. Alpha calls the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds to order. They recite an oath and discuss their Halloween prank. The boys debate the merits of the prank and what they could do that would be smart and funny enough. One of the boys mentions that there’s “no handbook” for these things, but Frankie knows that there is: The Disreputable History that Senior and his friends talked about. Frankie realizes Porter has been chosen to be the future king. She wonders why Matthew pretended not to know Porter and why Porter warned her about Matthew. She retrieves her sweater and goes to the Geek Conglomerate party to cement her alibi.

The next morning, Alpha cheerfully greets Frankie at breakfast, but she knows “a small war had been declared” (189). The war determines who gets access to Matthew and who gets “alpha dog” status. When Matthew offers to show Trish around Martha’s Vineyard next summer, Frankie feels a wave of affection for him. Frankie follows Matthew without his knowledge several more times the following week. She learns that Basset meetings consist of reciting the oath, debating pranks, and talking about girls and sports. Frankie realizes the Order is really about loyalty, connection, and exclusivity; she wants to be part of it, but knows she never can be. She also realizes the oath is full of clues about where the Order’s history is hidden.

The next day, Frankie skips classes to pursue the mystery of where The Disreputable History might be. She calls Zada to see if she has any information, and Zada wonders why Frankie cares. Frankie explains that being a Basset confers power; the members form bonds that contribute to “how the world works” (201), like Senior said. Zada insists that “institutions of male supremacy” only have power if people believe they do (202), but Frankie doesn’t agree. She wants to talk more, but Zada cuts her off, calls her “Bunny Rabbit,” and tells her to go back to class. Frankie guesses what the oath’s “crown of Alabaster” refers to and goes to the widow’s walk at the top of Founder’s House (196). When she arrives, Alpha is already there.

Frankie lies to him about having a class project. She points out how people cut through the lawn, though it isn’t quicker than using the path and a sign says to stay off the grass. She calls it a “pointless” rebellion, but Alpha says it’s fun to be disobedient. He argues that everyone wants to be “the guy” who ditches the path, and she says that is an illusion when everyone is off the path. Frankie has bigger rebellions in mind. They spot Matthew and go down to meet him. Frankie overhears Alpha asking Matthew why Frankie would go to the widow’s walk; Matthew assures him she’s “harmless.” Alpha insists they walk on the grass.

When Frankie uses neglected positives, Trish tells Frankie she’s not “normal,” and Frankie knows “her thoughts had crossed some kind of line” (214). She doesn’t want to be “harmless,” like Matthew said; she wants to be a “force.” Frankie asks Trish to steal Artie’s campus keys; Frankie lies, saying she won’t copy them. That night, Frankie goes back to the Founder’s House; recalling the words of the oath, she reaches underneath the framed campus map. She finds a small leather notebook bound with duct tape.

The Disreputable History of the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds is packed with members’ handwriting from 1951 to 1975. They detail acts of ridiculousness and anarchy, and even illegality. The members of 1975 seemed most invested in smoking marijuana, and one of the boys wrote the oath while he was intoxicated. The history chronicles their pranks: seizing the Guppy, a giant fish statue, from its location on campus; putting Jell-O in the toilets; toilet papering the headmaster’s car. What stands out most to Frankie is the “sense of togetherness” and camaraderie the boys share (221). At the back of the book, she finds a key to a door in Hazelton library.

Alpha’s mom forces him to attend a multi-day yoga retreat with her before Halloween. Frankie realizes he’ll be unable to communicate with the Order while he’s gone. She copies Artie’s keys and opens an email account as “thealphadog.” That night, she sees Trish’s blue lace bra and thinks how “silly” it is. Frankie believes “Boobs are just inherently undignified” and an apt “symbol of the difference between [her] and those boys” (228). Just then, Artie and his friends knock on the door; they are a “riot” of glitter, lipstick, and bright colors. Frankie asks if they’re supposed to be a singing group, and he assures her they’re “Just girls.” Frankie wonders if this is how boys really see girls. Artie hopes Trish will lend him a bra because the one he has is “only an A-cup” and he “want[s] to have a little more impact” (229). He asks to borrow a bra from Frankie, but she refuses. By the time the boys teeter away on their high heels, Frankie has a plan.

Frankie researches the Ditch Day tradition at Caltech, which began as an upperclassmen assertion of power over the school and its administration, though it turned into a way for underclassmen to assert power over older peers. Younger students prank older ones, and vice versa. Their behavior breaks unwritten rules outlining appropriate conduct—like wearing clothes, and not breaking into other students’ rooms—ultimately critiquing the school and those rules.

Posing as Alpha, Frankie emails the Bassets with a plan for Halloween. She outlines instructions for a large-scale prank that will embarrass administration and amuse students. On Halloween morning, Alabaster students find male portraits and statues all over campus wearing colorful brassieres of all shapes and sizes. The Hazelton library dome wears a giant flesh-toned parachute with a pink nipple painted on it. The sign in front of the building proudly declares, “In the Ladies We Trust” (240). At breakfast, part of Frankie wishes Matthew’s friends could know she is responsible for the prank, and part of her hopes they never find out. The girls debate the prank’s meaning. Claudia insists that it objectifies women. Frankie suggests that it highlights the lack of women in the paintings and sculptures on campus, and Star agrees, saying the nymph statue is the only female one. Frankie reports that the student body is 52% female, but women comprise only 20% of administration. Trish thinks the prank is making fun of women. Matthew is upbeat, and though Frankie is glad, she’s irritated that he won’t tell her why.

When Alpha gets back, Frankie spies on the Order’s next meeting. She expects Alpha to be angry; instead, he feigns knowledge and accepts credit for the prank. Though he must be confused, he manages questions deftly and humorously. Frankie decides to raise the stakes.

From her “thealphadog” email address, Frankie congratulates Alpha for covering so well. He is angry, presuming she is a member of his “own pack,” and he asks what she wants. He guesses she is Sam, then he guesses Elizabeth. Frankie goads him with knowledge of the Order and its history, saying she has the book. He tells her to remember her vow of loyalty, and when she says she never took one, he guesses she is Frankie. She denies this, calling the guess an “insult.” Alpha writes back, demanding the book, but Frankie ignores him.

The key that Frankie found with the History key fits a door that leads to the steam tunnels that crisscross the school’s campus underground. Frankie enters with twine, knotting it near the door and unspooling it as she navigates the tunnels. She finds the school’s old gym, ties the twine, then follows it back out. When she gets back to her room, she emails Order members, telling them what to buy and do next. Within the week, the windows in the old gym are illuminated by two-foot-tall plastic basset hounds wearing Santa hats. The boys used the keys Frankie copied and followed the twine she left. Frankie is “exhilarated” that people are discussing something that she made happen.