Summary
On Monday, Quinn walks into school and hears everyone talking about Rashad and the video which shows Paul beating Rashad. Quinn avoids watching the video; all he wants is for the whole incident to go away. He and Jill decide to go to Burger King for lunch. While they are talking, Quinn realizes this is not the first time Paul has beaten someone badly. When Quinn was younger and being bullied by an older kid named Marc Blair, Paul defended him. Jill wonders if Marc and Rashad are the only two people Paul has attacked. The two discuss how Paul has always been “the good guy,” helping Quinn and his mom, but Jill admits that after watching the video, “it just changes things for me.” As they’re getting ready to head back to school, Quinn lets Jill know she’s the only person he feels he can confide in about this; she feels similarly.
Quinn’s teacher, Ms. Webber, announces to the class that they are just going to work quietly on a practice test. When she reprimands EJ, a black student, for always talking, he retorts that, just like Rashad, he’s treated as guilty until proven innocent. Ms. Webber becomes flustered, clearly wanting to avoid talking about Rashad in class; EJ and another student chant Rashad's name until they get thrown out of class. As they leave, someone else whispers “Paul Galluzzo.” Quinn is irritated by the whole incident, feeling that whoever said Paul’s name said it to get to him. Quinn heads to basketball practice, where Coach Carney gives the team a pep talk about winning the championship this year. He reminds them of the importance of playing as a team, rather than as individual players trying to impress university scouts. For the rest of the practice, the team plays as one, and Quinn wonders if it is possible to take Coach Carney’s advice to leave all problems and disagreements at the door.
Rashad passes the time in the hospital by drawing. He remembers how a comic called The Family Circus, about a “normal white family,” first got him interested in drawing. Reflecting back, he wonders if it was the simplicity of their lives that drew his interest. Rashad’s artistic inspiration has evolved, but he still frames all of his drawings in a circle, which was the format used in the comic. Rashad begins drawing the events of Friday night: a teenage boy and a big figure hulking over him. He keeps drawing and erasing, trying to decide how he wants to portray the two figures. His nurse, Clarissa, comes in and they talk about his drawings. Bored with being stuck in his hospital room, Rashad ventures down to the hospital gift shop. He chats with the woman who works there, Shirley Fitzgerald, and pretends he was injured in a car accident. He feels relieved to be able to interact with someone who doesn’t know what happened to him, and he promises to visit again.
In the afternoon, Rashad’s friends, Carlos, English, and Shannon, come to visit. Rashad is uncomfortable with how serious and shocked they are, so he tries to downplay his injuries. Trying to distract them, Rashad asks about the party on Friday night, and Carlos jokingly tells Rashad that he got together with Rashad’s crush, Tiffany Watts. Rashad tries making a joke about the police, but none of his friends find it funny. English seems especially upset, and reveals that Paul’s brother Guzzo is also on the basketball team. Coach Carney has forbidden everyone on the team from talking or doing anything about the incident; if they do, they’ll be benched and unable to play any games. Rashad recounts what happened to him on Friday night and when he finishes, he notices how tense and angry English looks. His friends insist that something has to be done, and since Shannon and English have been forbidden by their coach to get involved, Carlos offers to think of something. After his friends leave, Rashad is left with his own thoughts. The news is on and he sees a photo of himself next to Paul Galluzzo, both in uniform. Sick of the constant coverage, Rashad tries to turn off the TV, but the remote does not work. Increasingly upset and close to tears, Rashad jumps out of bed and turns off the TV.
On Tuesday, Quinn arrives at school and sees that the words “Rashad is absent again today” have been spray painted in giant letters at the foot of the front stairs to the high school. Students are taking pictures of the graffiti, but Quinn feels like a ball of nerves. At lunch, Quinn notices that about half of the students are eating their lunch on the front steps next to the graffitied message. With a jolt, he realizes that all of the students in the cafeteria are white. The basketball team is divided along similar racial lines; only Guzzo, Dwyer, and two other players, all of them white, are eating in the cafeteria. When Guzzo sees Quinn enter, he waves Quinn over to their table. Quinn pauses, unsure where to sit. Jill joins him and admits she wants to eat outside on the steps, but is worried that it would be weird. Quinn realizes he feels similarly, and is also concerned about what Guzzo and the others will think. Before the two can make up their minds, Guzzo comes over and tells them to sit with him.
As they join the others for lunch, Guzzo observes that Jill and Quinn have been spending a lot of time together. Jill tries to make light of it, responding that they’re all like family, but Guzzo retorts that Quinn is not, not really. There’s continued tension between Guzzo and Quinn, which Jill remarks is understandable given that they were both there when Paul was “whaling on Rashad.” Guzzo is furious at Quinn for telling Jill that they were there on Friday night. He says that it’s a secret and not even Paul can know. Jill and Guzzo argue, and Guzzo defends his brother. He says Jill only cares about Rashad because Rashad has become a “celebrity-victim.” Quinn tries to keep the peace, but Guzzo accuses Quinn of forgetting about Paul and walks away. Frustrated at continually being caught in the middle, Quinn also gets up to leave. Before he does, his friend Dwyer, who is also on the basketball team, tells Quinn that Quinn has to make peace with Guzzo for the sake of their futures and the team.
Coach Carney pushes the players hard during practice, as he decides who will be a starter for the season. English and Quinn lift weights together and begin talking about Rashad and Paul. The conversation reveals their different viewpoints. Quinn comments that the graffiti outside is a bit extreme because it portrays Rashad as innocent and Paul as guilty. English is shocked and disgusted with Quinn; he pushes back by accusing Paul of crossing the line. The two continue arguing until English gets fed up with Quinn, saying that a white boy like him would not understand. Guzzo, who overheard their conversation, thanks Quinn for defending Paul. Realizing how he must have come across to English, Quinn tries to apologize to English. The rest of the day, Quinn mulls over his conversation with English. He realizes that he’s been trying to stay in the middle on this issue, but he can no longer do so. After watching the video from Friday night, he goes to Jill's house. They discuss how Paul’s actions show not only excessive violence but also racism, and that in some way everyone is implicated. Quinn is still unclear about what action he should take, but decides he needs to do something.
Analysis
Quinn is trying desperately to ignore what happened between Rashad and Paul, but it is impossible because everyone at the school is talking about it. Quinn begins to feel paranoid that people saw him in the video and are watching him closely. In addition, people begin to take sides on the issues of police brutality and racism. These three interlocking themes are explored throughout the next few chapters. Paul’s family and friends say that he was “just doing his job” and that it’s impossible for police to work if they’re always being scrutinized. However, many others believe that Rashad is innocent and that Paul’s treatment of him was an act of police brutality. Quinn is still unsure about what he believes. He acknowledges that Paul went too far, but in trying to maintain his high regard for Paul, Quinn wonders if maybe Rashad did something to provoke the violence he suffered. The only person Quinn feels able to confide in is Jill who, like him, knows Paul well and is also troubled by his actions.
Teachers at the school are also divided. Ms. Webber and Coach Carney try to avoid the politics; they evade the subject or expressly forbid students from discussing the issues. Ms. Webber is uncomfortable talking about contentious topics such as racism and police brutality, and Coach Carney is fixated on winning the basketball season. He does not want to stoke division within the team. Yet the response of students—mostly students of color—show that they are unwilling to let the events be forgotten. Jill’s teacher, Mr. Fisher, is the only adult in the school who opens up space for students to talk and process what happened.
Meanwhile, Rashad is still stuck in the hospital, recovering from his injuries. He turns to art as a way to process what happened to him. He has been characterized as a criminal and, alternatively, as a victim. Art is his chance to portray the event from his own perspective. In explaining to his nurse why he frames all his drawings in a circle, Rashad says, “the circle changes how you see it. Like, what are we looking through?” This idea mirrors the events unfolding in the novel: depending on a character's perspective, they view what Rashad went through—and Rashad himself—differently.
In the afternoon, Rashad’s friends come to visit. Rashad notices how much it pains them to see him so hurt, and he tries to make light of what happened for their benefit. His friend English looks especially disturbed, compounded by the fact that he’s been forbidden by his basketball coach to do anything. Yet Rashad’s friends insist that something has to be done. When his friends leave, Rashad is once again faced with the image on the news of his face next to Paul Galluzzo’s. The impact of the brutality he faced, the injustice of it, and the ripple effect it’s having on those he loves catch up to him. He tries to turn off the TV, but the remote does not work. Unable to escape the image on the news, his emotions build, and, feeling that he’s about to cry, Rashad jumps out of bed and turns off the TV. The constant news cycle retraumatizes Rashad: he cannot escape what happened and is constantly faced with the image of his aggressor. The novel explores how police brutality leaves not only physical scars but emotional ones as well.
While not stated explicitly at this point in the novel, it is implied that Carlos was the one who wrote the message in front of the school. His action forces every single person who walks into the building to come face to face with the violence that Rashad experienced, reminding them that this problem affects the whole community. The message becomes a rallying cry for students, giving them a space to talk about the events and their opinions. During lunch, many students eat on the front steps as a symbol of their support for Rashad. As Quinn continues to wrestle with events, his uncertainty is reflected in his conversations with Guzzo and English. Quinn tries to create distance between himself and Guzzo, avoiding him and not visiting Paul. Guzzo notices this, and questions Quinn’s loyalty. Guzzo feels betrayed because Paul has always looked out for Quinn, but Quinn is not standing up for Paul. Yet, when Quinn defends Paul in his conversation with English and questions whether Rashad was on drugs Friday night, English points to the unfairness and hypocrisy of Quinn’s statement. Rashad is Black and, because of the way he dresses, he is stereotyped and presumed guilty while white boys like Quinn can casually do or sell drugs without the same level of scrutiny. In an effort to stay neutral, Quinn ends up angering both sides.
The events push Quinn to think about race and his neighborhood in ways he had previously been unaware of. He remembers a family friend saying the neighborhood “is changing”; his mother warns him to cross to the other side of the street when he sees a group of “thugs,” and Paul talks about how much more difficult policing is now that Springfield no longer has a white majority. The coded language of these statements allows white people to talk about race without explicitly naming it. Quinn notices how all the students of color sit outside during lunch to show support for the message on the front steps, while all of the students who stay behind in the cafeteria are white. English’s words stick with Quinn: what kind of person is Quinn if he puts his head down and pretends that what happened between Rashad and Paul is not his problem? While Quinn and his other white classmates have the privilege to be able to ignore the systemic racism all around them, the students of color cannot. What Rashad experienced speaks to the reality of their lives: the ways people of color must constantly navigate being watched in their daily lives by their community and the police. All of these realizations culminate in Quinn deciding he can no longer run away from his responsibility. He needs to do something about what he witnessed.
