86 pages 2 hours read

Wendelin Van Draanen

The Running Dream

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2011

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Part 3, Chapters 4-6

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3, Chapter 4 Summary

As hard as she tries to keep up with her schoolwork, Jessica feels overwhelmed. Her biggest concern is with math, and she reaches out to Fiona for help. But Fiona is unusually busy and doesn’t have time to meet up with Jessica to tutor her. Feeling alone and abandoned without Fiona, Jessica remembers Rosa’s invitation to have lunch in Room 402. She heads there and is welcomed in by Rosa, who offers to help Jessica with the math homework.

With Rosa’s patient, diligent assistance, Jessica figures out the math problems. Rosa offers to help anytime, and even says she can come over to Jessica’s house. In particular, she would like to meet Sherlock. Confused, Jessica asks Rosa how she knew about her dog. Rosa explains that she would see Jessica and Sherlock run past her house. It turns out the girls live near each other, making a visit easier to imagine.

Part 3, Chapter 5 Summary

That evening, Jessica has her running dream again. This time, when she wakes up crying, she remembers something different about the dream. There was a mermaid fountain, the one in front of Rosa’s house, and Rosa was on her porch waving as Jessica ran past.