Chapter 6

The phone I used to talk to Phineas on.

Coming back to Devon was weird. It felt like we had never left. We went back to the same teachers and started the year by going to chapel. This sermon was saying, "If you broke the rules, then they broke you" (66). This, however, seemed laughable, because during the summer session, we had our own rules. A few days ago, for my first appointment of the session, I was supposed to report to the Crew House. When I got there, Quackenbush was waiting. He was in charge, and something about him rubs me the wrong way, so I was not happy when he gave me an attitude about being late. He then told me to get him towels. Later in the day, we started to argue. It was mostly because he was talking about how I wasn't doing enough in school. He told me to, "Go to hell" (70). As this was going on, I realized that noone really likes him, and it has been that way since he has been at Devon. I was actually pitying him for this, but then I realized that I was really angry at him because he didn't know anything about the summer session and did not understand it. The final straw, however, was when Quackenbush called me maimed. This made me punch him in the face, and we began fighting, trying to throw the other over the bridge we were on. This only caused us both to fall over and the fight was over. I then felt as though I was Finny's defender. Because I'm the one that crippled him, I need to make sure that noone will say anything like that, which could hurt Finny when he gets back. After our fight, I saw someone walking up to me, telling me I had a phone call. As I was walking, Mr. Ludsbury came up to me, asking about the "gaming" that went on during the summer. Of course, I played dumb, but it didn't stop him from telling me I had been "slipping" throughout the year. When I got on the phone, I was surprised to hear Finny. He was calling to see if anyone had been put in my room, in place of him. He said he had been having a little doubt, and just wanted to make sure that he was wrong. "Roommates are roommates. Even if they do have an occasional fight" (75). This made me assure him that I wouldn't let anyone else take his place. After that was all cleared up, he asked me what sports I was trying out for. I told him that I was assistant crew manager and he was incredelous. It was just that I didn't want to play sports if Finny couldn't. When I told him that "I was too busy for sports" (77), he replied with a simple statement. "Listen, pal, if I can't play sports, you're going to play them for me" (77). It was then that I realized I was going to have to become a part of Phineas.