Summary
Armpit says yes to Kaira‘s invitation to come to San Francisco to spend time with her for three days. When he tells Ginny, she advises him to tell his parents. He argues that there’s no way that it will happen—he can't imagine a limo actually showing up in his driveway to take him to San Francisco. Aileen, Kaira’s travel tour coordinator, calls Armpit and tells him to enroll in the United Airlines frequent flyer program so that he gets double miles for flying first class. Armpit chooses a time to fly into California while on the phone with Aileen and realizes that if he goes, he will miss his economics final.
Aileen, as it turns out, is much more than a travel coordinator. Sachar reveals the truth about her devious plans. Jerome Paisley, aka El Genius, who she's romantically involved with, ran a background check on Armpit and found out that he has a criminal record for assault and battery. Aileen has been using El Genius, who she describes as an insecure man with a penchant for trying to impress people, and with his help has managed to extract nearly three million dollars from Kaira‘s trust account. We learn that El Genius is afraid of being fired by Kaira when she turns 18 in two months, and consequently having the embezzlement discovered by whomever she hires next. El Genius's plan is to kill Kaira, stay married to Kaira‘s mother for a few years to avoid suspicion, and then divorce her and live with Aileen. However, Aileen has no intention of sharing the money with El Genius, and would never live with him because she believes he's a self-absorbed maniac. Her plan is to use a passport with a different name, Denise Linaria, and fly to Costa Rica.
Aileen buys Armpit's ticket to San Francisco while also deciding she will be gone by the time Armpit lands in California. We learn from Kaira‘s point of view that she would never fire El Genius because she needs him and that she would be lost without him. During her concert, Kaira changes the lyrics of "Damsel in Distress" to “Save me, Armpit! A damsel in distress.“
Armpit's boss, Jack Dunlevy, is dressed sharply to go to a meeting at the mayor's house while Armpit is left to locate and fix a leak at a customer's house. As Armpit waits for the glue to dry on the reattached pipes, a car with Felix and Moses, the scalpers who tried to buy X-Ray and Armpit's Kaira DeLeon tickets, drive up to him in a car. Armpit is surprised to see X-Ray in the backseat. X-Ray has been beaten up by Moses and Felix because Felix was brought to the police station and asked about the counterfeit tickets case. Felix and Moses are mad because the mayor being fired up about counterfeit ticket–selling scalpers may lead to a law banning ticket scalping, ruining their business. X-Ray defends Armpit and says that Armpit didn’t know anything about the counterfeit tickets. Felix tells Armpit to sell Kaira Deleon’s letter to him for $150 or else he will tell Detective Newberg everything he knows about Armpit. Armpit has 24 hours to make a decision.
Armpit's boss returns just as Felix and Moses leave. Jack sees Armpit standing and talking to X-Ray and tells him that he doesn’t pay him to stand around. Jack learns that Armpit fixed the leak without disturbing the lawn because he found its origin. Jack responds that this is why he’s giving Armpit a raise and a promotion, because he’s strong and smart. We learn that Jack’s meeting with the mayor was to get a contract to landscape the performing arts center, which was successful. Because they will need many new employees for this build, Armpit is going to be promoted and have his own crew starting this weekend. Jack offers X-Ray a job on Armpit's crew, and to Armpit's surprise, X-Ray says yes. X-Ray tells Jack upfront that he has a record because he was also at Camp Green Lake. In response, Jack raises the hourly rate from $6.50 to $7.00 because he believes the people from Camp Green Lake are the "fastest diggers."
Armpit is feeling paralyzed and unable to make any decisions. He’s confused about whether to sell Kaira’s letter or let X-Ray, and possibly himself, go to jail. He also doesn’t know whether he should go to San Francisco to see Kaira or study for his economics exam and work this weekend. Come Thursday, Armpit wakes up and makes a decision because he realizes that he can’t please everyone. He calls Felix, goes to take his speech final, and skips his economics final since he isn’t caught up with the reading. He decides to skip work and go see Kaira because, he reasons, when someone like Kaira Deleon invites you to go somewhere, you go. The decision stems from thinking that being with Kaira could change his life forever: he may never have to work again, and it may not even matter if he graduates from high school.
Felix and Moses drive up to Armpit just as he’s leaving school and tell him that they want the letter right now. Armpit maintains that he will give them the letter on Monday. Moses hits Armpit, instigating a physical fight. A limousine driver calls the police on them, and this is the same limousine driver meant to drive Armpit to the airport. Once he knows that Armpit is Theodore Johnson he changes his tone and opens the limousine door for him, taking him to the airport. At the airport., Armpit flies through the long line with his first-class ticket and is addressed as Mr. Johnson. Similarly, Armpit notices that he isn’t searched as he goes through security, even though he believes that he looks more dangerous than a man he sees being searched.
When Armpit lands in San Francisco he sees a man waiting for him with a sign reading “Theodore Johnson.” Once Armpit enters the hotel, he feels as if he is in a palace and thinks about how he will describe it to Ginny. A woman approaches Armpit from VIP guest relations at the hotel. Armpit is asked if he needs someone to carry his backpack for him three times in one day and he notices that he has been called Mr. Johnson four times today. He notices how people speak to him differently; for example, the woman redirects him after he makes a silly mistake of overlooking the obvious elevator without a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Armpit is settling into his luxurious two-roomed suite at the hotel. He takes stock of the amount of televisions and telephones in the hotel suite. Kaira calls him while he’s in the shower and she is surprised that he didn't call her as soon as he arrived. Kaira sounds excited and impatient to see him, and tells him to call up to her room once he's done freshening up. Her room is under the name Lisa Simpson.
While Armpit is waiting for Kaira in the lobby he is approached by El Genius. He introduces himself as Kaira's father and Armpit is surprised because Kaira has never referred to him that way. El Genius takes Armpit to his suites, and Armpit recognizes that the way El Genius asked him to enter is weird. Passing him a baseball bat from the fat end, El Genius makes Armpit take a few fake swings with the bat. We learned that El Genius played pro ball for 18 days until he was hit in the face by a pitch, which left him with the instinct to close his eyes each time he swings a bat. El Genius asks for Armpit's validation that he’s a lot better off now than most pro-ball players since he has more money than them. At first, Armpit doesn’t realize that El Genius wants verbal validation. He says yes and quickly makes an exit, mentally noting that it’s been a very weird encounter. He finds Kaira and kisses her despite Fred's presence.
Analysis
When Armpit lands in San Francisco, he's surprised by how cold it gets in July. Through his word choice and description of California, he illustrates how San Francisco feels different than Texas. He describes the heat in Austin as "oppressive" while noting that San Francisco feels like "the whole city was air-conditioned" (p. 213). Through Armpit's description of San Francisco and Sachar's use of imagery, such as Armpit describing the hotel and his hotel room, we see how Armpit has stepped into what to him is a different world.
Similarly, the theme of reinvention is illustrated by how Armpit is perceived in relation to Kaira DeLeon. The limousine driver who calls the police on Armpit and Moses in the street initially sees Armpit as a threat, and likely a criminal. However, the same limousine driver completely changes how he outwardly regards Armpit when he finds out that he is the Theodore Johnson he's taking to the airport. He opens the door for him and apologizes for not knowing who he is. Similarly, Armpit notices that he's been called Mr. Johnson four times in one day, and the reader notices the repeated offers to carry his bag even though he only has a backpack. This use of repetition directly contrasts his life in Texas, and the name Armpit has been dropped without any effort on Armpit's behalf, simply because of his proximity to fame and wealth.
The use of names and nicknames to mark the difference in how someone is regarded because of their proximity to Kaira is also illustrated in the case of El Genius. When we see El Genius from Aileen and Armpit's points of view, he's referred to by his real name, Jerome Paisley. Aileen has been using Jerome's help to embezzle millions from Kaira, and she sees him for who he is. She describes him as an insecure self-absorbed maniac with a penchant for trying to impress people (p. 194-195). Armpit's interactions with Jerome echo Aileen's sentiments when Armpit realizes Jerome wants verbal validation from him that Jerome is in fact more impressive than he would've been as a pro baseball player, because he has more money (p. 218). While Kaira believes she needs El Genius, and sees him as someone who has control and power over her, we see that El Genius does not have her best interests at heart.
Sachar uses structure to create dramatic irony and heighten tension. El Genius has been helping Aileen embezzle money from Kaira, and is anxious as Kaira's 18th birthday approaches because she's told him she will fire him as soon as she turns 18. El Genius is anxious about her hiring someone else who will uncover the embezzlement, so he plots to kill her to gain control of her wealth through his marriage to her mother. Directly after we see El Genius's plot to kill Kaira because of his fear of being fired, we see things through Kaira's point of view. She is reflecting on how she would never really fire El Genius because she needs him. By switching from El Genius's point of view to Kaira's, Sachar reveals how characters' contrasting perceptions and different levels of awareness of the situation generate the plot's conflict. Kaira doesn't realize that she doesn't need El Genius—and that, to the contrary, he's draining her trust fund, planning to leave her mother, and planning to kill her. For his part, El Genius doesn't know that he has nothing to worry about because Kaira won't fire him. Only the reader is privy to the truth, further developing the conflict in Small Steps and pushing us towards the climax.
Sachar uses point of view and repetition to develop the theme of proximity to fame. Through Jerome's point of view, we learn that he feels he has a right to Kaira's money, and he feels that knowing how to take advantage of Kaira's trust is a mark of him being a "genius." Sachar's characterization of El Genius and Armpit supports the theme of proximity to fame. Both El Genius and Armpit see Kaira for what they can get out of her. El Genius has become so accustomed to the wealth afforded him by Kaira's talent that he feels that he could've done it all without her (p. 195). He believes he has so much of a right to her wealth that it's reasonable for him to kill her to maintain it. El Genius no longer sees Kaira as Kathy Spears, a person, but rather Kaira DeLeon, a golden goose. While Armpit doesn't wish Kaira ill, he too thinks of their relationship in terms of what it affords him. When Armpit decides to go to San Francisco he says, "When someone like Kaira DeLeon invites you to go to San Francisco, how could you not go?" (p. 206). The repetition of Armpit referring to Kaira by her full stage name rather than her real name highlights how he sees her as a celebrity more than an individual. Further, when he decides to go to California, he leaves everything behind and believes that this can change his life and he may not need to work again or even finish high school. Armpit has been swept up in the different world of celebrities and also doesn't seem to see Kaira as an individual.
