Goodbye Stranger

Em, Tab, Sherm, and Bridge have begun regularly meeting for lunch backstage in the auditorium. They play the card game Spit while Tab relates a strange dream she had where her arm felt dead and detached from her body. Bridge sees a feminist message in the dream, and Tab decides she will write a reflection about it for the Berperson. After Halloween, Em and Tab confront Bridge about why she is still wearing the ears. Bridge explains that she still did not fully understand why but that she just likes the way they feel. Her friends think she is hiding something, but Em says she likes them, and Tab recognizes them as a “statement,” (140) so Bridge asks if they can just let it go. Though passersby have poked fun at her ears, Bridge tries to remember what Tab’s mom said about people who say mean things: She believes they secretly have low self-esteem and that making fun of others makes them feel better.

The students prepare for the annual Talentine show, in which Tab plans to perform a juggling act, and Em will sing. Bridge and Sherm sit together to view the auditions while he sketches a diagram of the light board. Despite repeatedly dropping her apples, Tab’s humorous juggling act is a hit with the crowd. Bridge sees Em nervously preparing for her performance with Mr. Partridge coaching her. Em sings beautifully, and even Sherm is enchanted by her performance. Later, Bridge texts Tab telling her how well she performed, but Tab is convinced Em was the best.

Sherm writes to Nonno Gio two months and 16 days until his birthday and tells him that Thanksgiving was difficult and Na was sad; Sherm hides in the bathroom when Nonno Gio calls, and still discards his text messages. Now, Sherm has a big decision to make. He asks Nonno Gio if he has ever heard the riddle about the choice of the two doors. Sherm says he thinks real life is much harder because there are more than two choices; however, Sherm thinks he knows what he should choose.

Adrienne asks the unnamed narrator to watch the counter while she goes to the back of the café. Minding the register reminds the narrator of when she used to play store as a kid and her dad would “order” a pear and lettuce sandwich just to make her laugh. The narrator remembers when she, Vinny, and Zoe were still friends and would share pizza and a Frappuccino after school. Vinny always loved having attention and eventually, it became a toxic personality trait. When she became increasingly cruel, the narrator tried to excuse the behavior, but eventually, she accepted that the old Vinny was gone.

Bridge finds Em in the gym staring at the wall: During an intruder drill, Em’s English teacher, Ms. Madison, told them to play the telephone game to ease the tension, and when David Marcel passed the message to Em, he said, “You’re a slut” (151). Em tried to run out of the room, but the door was locked. Ms. Madison later sent her to the counselor, but Em did not go. Em confesses to Bridge that she sent one of the photos to Patrick and he shared it with a few people. Em figured it out after receiving some strange comments on her social media page. Bridge reminds Em that she promised not to send them, but Em compares Patrick to a vampire, saying her attraction to him is powerful despite the danger.

Later, Tab calls Bridge and is furious at her for helping Em with the photos. Bridge pleads her case, saying she tried to stop her, but Tab says she is at fault for taking the photo. Tab reminds Bridge that despite her public face, Em is still fragile on the inside after her parent’s divorce. Tab says they will not fight since they have a pact, but she is very upset. Bridge stares up at the ceiling where the screw remains from the contraption she had to use to pull herself up out of bed after the accident. Em starts a text thread telling them she loves them.

In a letter to Nonno Gio two months and 15 days until his birthday, Sherm reveals that he had a meeting with the vice principal, Mr. Ramos, where he gave the names of those involved in the photo sharing. He hopes he has not made the situation worse but realizes his decision has changed the future forever. Nonno Gio once told him decisions split the universe in half, and he wonders if there is a universe where his grandfather never left.

The narrator helps Adrienne wrap the unsold muffins to donate to a shelter; Adrienne still has not asked why the narrator is there. The narrator sees a Hermey figurine next to the register and thinks Gina would love it. She tells Adrienne how much she admires her for finishing school early to chase her dream. Adrienne suggests they eat the last two muffins to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Sherm does not know why Simon was called to the office, but Bridge suspects he is lying because Simon told her to ask her “boyfriend” what was going on. Tab rushes in, saying Em is distraught in the bathroom. They all go inside the bathroom, including Sherm, and find Em huddled near the wall. Em explains that some of Patrick’s friends saw the photo on his phone and sent it out to others. Now everyone in the school has seen it, and Mr. Ramos is calling her mother.

Sherm confesses he told Mr. Ramos about the photo: When someone sent it to his phone, he just wanted to make it stop so he told Mr. Ramos, and he made the boys delete the photograph from their phones. Bridge is angry with Sherm for not telling her, and Em starts throwing items from her backpack at him, demanding he leave. Em says she wishes she was dead, and Tab makes her retract the statement. Bridge says she is not defending Sherm but is glad his actions caused the boys to erase the photos, and Em agrees, feeling bad for how she treated Sherm. Tab points out the double standard that the boys are the ones who circulated the photo, but it is Em who is being punished. Em still defends Patrick, refusing to believe he was lying about not being the one who sent the photo. The bell rings to go to class, but Tab and Bridge stay with Em in the bathroom.

Bridge accompanies Em for support as she tells her mom about the photo. Em’s mom is upset that she did not tell her about Patrick but does not shame her for the choice to send the picture. She is worried people will judge Em’s actions unfavorably since she is the child of divorce. While mother and daughter talk in private, Bridge visits with Evan, Em’s nine-year-old brother, who gives her a tarot card reading. He pulls the eight of cups card which symbolizes her present inner journey of leaving something behind. For the past card, he pulls the 10 of swords, which represents Bridge’s near-fatal accident. The future card is the ace of cups, the suit of love, representing new beginnings. Bridge is slightly unnerved by the poignancy of the reading but does not say it aloud. Evan says he pulled the two of cups for Em’s last reading, which means her new relationship is uncertain. Meanwhile, Em’s mom and dad are going on a “divorce date” (167), and Bridge leaves just as Celeste is arriving to babysit. It’s obvious Celeste knows about the photo by her awkward demeanor. Em begs her mother not to tell her father, but she says they must tell him. Em decides to go to Bridge’s house for dinner.

On the way to Bridge’s house, a car nearly hits them, and Bridge freezes. Em holds her hand until Bridge can get her legs moving again. Two teen girls walk past and call them “freaks” (168), and Em starts laughing. Bridge thanks Em for laughing and making the moment easier.

When they get to Bridge’s apartment, Bridge and Em go to her bedroom and talk about the Patrick situation. Em is handling it well, considering the fallout, and she still believes Patrick is not the one who sent the photo. Bridge does not trust him and wonders how Em can forgive what happened. Em explains that Patrick called her to apologize, and they spoke on the phone for a long time. She learned that Patrick is joining the Banana Splits group because his parents are going through an awful divorce. After really talking to each other, Em feels like she knows and understands Patrick better. Em is not angry about people circulating the photo; she is most upset by their reaction to the picture and how they shamed her for feeling confident in her body.

Em wants to know Bridge’s true feelings for Sherm, but she insists they are only friends and does not want to kiss him. Bridge asks Em if she heard music when she met Patrick and explains her mom’s theory. Em thinks Bridge has misunderstood the metaphor and explains that a person just knows when they meet someone they like. Bridge thinks that she likes being around Sherm but is still uncertain about what that means.

Later, Bridge has another mummy nightmare in which she feels paralyzed and wrapped in her sheets. Her mom is there almost instantly and just stands close by, not touching Bridge because she knows that will only make things worse. The nightmare subsides, and Bridge falls back asleep as her mother gently caresses her head just like she did in the hospital.

Sherm writes to Nonno Gio two months and 12 days until his birthday. He fears Bridge hates him for telling Mr. Ramos about the photo, but Patrick told him via text that he thought it was brave. Sherm is conflicted about what his actions say about him.

The mystery narrator recalls a time last fall when she and Gina were new friends and they saw Marco Saks, an attractive sophomore Gina has known since childhood. Gina claimed that he was like a brother to her, but less than a month later, she confided in the narrator that she was in love with Marco. Gina claimed she had loved him for two years but couldn’t tell him or it would ruin their friendship. Gina told the narrator that she was glad to have a trustworthy friend.

Back in the present moment, Alex enters the café and tries to flirt with Adrienne, but she is not amused. Alex orders a smoothie and tells Adrienne to pick the ingredients. She serves him a disgusting smoothie made of a sandwich wrap and milk. Alex asks if she did it because of what happened with Jamie, but she does not respond. Later, the narrator asks Adrienne to clarify, but she just claims that Alex is annoying, and that Jamie needs new friends. Adrienne asks what or who happened to the narrator, and she thinks to herself, “I happened to someone” (180).

Bridge sees Sherm on the way to school, and they walk together as Bridge apologizes on Em’s behalf. Bridge is not angry with Sherm, but she decides not to tell him that she took the photo of Em. Sherm reminds her of the riddle of the two doors and says, “I had to pick a door” (181), and he is glad he stopped the picture’s circulation. He says David Marcel is the one who sent the photo to everyone, and he is certain David is suspended from school because he and all his friends hate Sherm now. After hearing Sherm’s side of the story, Bridge realizes the high price Sherm has paid for doing the right thing. They agree to walk to school together again the following day.

While Bridge’s mother is packing for a trip to play at another fancy wedding, she tells Bridge that she knows about Em’s photo. Bridge’s mom wants her to know it is okay to tell her if she is attracted to someone and to tell her first if she is thinking about doing what Em did. She relates the story of when she got her ears pierced in high school without permission. Her grandmother made her remove the piercings, claiming that her body did not belong to her until she was 18. Bridge’s mom wants her to understand that her grandmother was wrong, and that Bridge’s body belongs to her, especially after all she has endured after the accident.

It is two months and four days until Nonno Gio’s birthday. Sherm writes that he and his father talked, and his dad told him about Nonno’s phone calls. Sherm admits to deleting the voicemails and that, despite all the trite ways his father tries to explain it to him, he does not understand how Nonno has started a new life in Hoboken without them.

The school rejects Em for the Talentine show, and she assumes it is because of the photo scandal. Tab makes it but is furious Em can’t be in the show.

Em assures Tab that she looks forward to cheering her on from the crowd, but Bridge will be backstage working with the tech crew and won’t be able to join her.

The unnamed narrator remembers when the problem began with her friends. Around Halloween, the narrator, Vinny, Zoe, and Gina were at the Dollar-Eight, and Zoe wanted to play truth or dare. Vinny singled out Gina and dared her to reveal her crush. When Gina said she couldn’t, Vinny forced her to take the dare and told her to eat an entire tube of ChapStick. Vinny claimed it was not poisonous, but the narrator thought she was lying. The narrator told Vinny the dare was disgusting, a word Vinny hated. Vinny abruptly left with Zoe following behind. Gina thought Vinny hated her, but the narrator says Vinny will be fine because she has a lot of friends. Gina said she also has a lot of friends, but they never intentionally hurt each other. The next day, the narrator receives a note in her locker cruelly uninviting her to Vinny’s Halloween party.

The tech crew decides on the Apollo 11 moon landing as their Talentine show theme and agrees to keep it a secret. After the meeting, Bridge asks Mr. Partridge, who was a judge for the show auditions, why Em did not make it. Mr. P explains that Em was unofficially banned and acknowledges that it is unfair. Bridge wonders why he did not fight for her, and he says, “[…] I know how to pick my battles” (196). Later, Bridge is watching the Rudolph movie with her parents when Jamie arrives home from practice. He shows Bridge an eBay listing for his Rolling Stones t-shirt; Jamie only paid $7 for it, and Alex is asking for $100. Bridge tells Jamie he can end the game and just ask for a new t-shirt for Christmas, but he is determined to win it back. Overnight, Bridge hears Jamie close a door. The next morning, she learns he waits to walk to the restroom until midnight when his step count starts over. Bridge tells Jamie he needs a new best friend.