What to Say Next

After the fight, David finds himself suddenly popular, his classmates heaping praise on him. At the Academic League meeting, José is unaware of the incident, though the other team members are impressed, especially since they, too, have been bullied by the football team. He feels uncomfortable with the new social dynamics of the team but likes the academic aspects.

David is shocked when he realizes that he forgot his scheduled guitar lesson with Trey. Trey, to his surprise, is happy. Though David wants to hurry into his guitar lesson, Trey presses him to chat. When Trey mentions that he is majoring in psychology, David realizes that Trey is more “social skills tutor” than guitar tutor, which makes him “feel stupid” (245). He scolds Trey for not mentioning this, as he would have paid more attention to the social skills, which he has been unable to learn elsewhere.

Kit scolds herself for her emotional reaction to not being named editor-in-chief, as she considered the activity primarily a benefit to her college applications, not a lifelong dream. When Mandip demands that they talk, Kit snaps back, insulting her mother and using sex-shaming slurs. Kit says that she wishes her mother died instead of her father, and though she immediately regrets her words, she doesn’t take them back.