Officer Paul Galluzzo pulls Rashad outside Jerry's Corner Mart and beats him on the sidewalk, breaking his nose and ribs.

Quinn witnesses Paul Galluzzo beating Rashad outside Jerry's and recognizes the officer as Guzzo's older brother.

Rashad arrives at the hospital and is charged with shoplifting, resisting arrest, and being a public nuisance.

Rashad's father insists Rashad must have done something wrong to bring on the officer's violent attack.

Dr. Barnes tells Rashad he has internal bleeding around his lungs and must remain in the hospital for monitoring.

Spoony turns on the hospital TV to show Rashad that his beating has become the lead news story.

Quinn attends the Galluzzos' barbecue and sees Paul casually icing his injured right fist at the grill.

Quinn tells Paul during a basketball game at the barbecue that this is not a game and walks away.

Carlos spray-paints 'RASHAD IS ABSENT AGAIN TODAY' in neon blue across the school's front sidewalk.

English tells Quinn 'Shame on you, man' during basketball practice for making excuses for Paul's actions.

Rashad's father confesses he once shot and paralyzed an unarmed Black teenager while serving as a police officer.

Guzzo blindsides Quinn with two punches after basketball practice and declares their friendship over.

Dr. Barnes tells Rashad his internal bleeding has stopped and discharges him from the hospital.

Quinn calls the police on Friday morning to officially register as a witness to Rashad's beating.

Everyone lies down in a die-in at Police Plaza as Berry reads the names of unarmed Black people killed by police.

On a Friday afternoon, Rashad Butler is brutally beaten by Officer Paul Galluzzo outside Jerry's Corner Mart, landing him in the hospital with a broken nose, fractured ribs, and internal bleeding. Quinn Collins witnesses the attack and recognizes the officer as his best friend Guzzo's older brother, yet flees the scene without speaking up. As Rashad recovers, his father unfairly blames him for the incident, while Spoony ensures the story reaches the national news. Back at school, tensions escalate on the basketball court until Guzzo ends his friendship with Quinn in a parking lot fight, and Rashad is finally discharged from the hospital. On Friday, Quinn makes an official witness statement to the police, and the week culminates in a massive die-in protest at the Police Plaza where Berry reads the names of victims of police violence.

The core events of a police beating and the week that followed.

Rashad changes out of his JROTC uniform after school and takes a bus to Jerry's Corner Mart to buy snacks.

A female customer accidentally trips over Rashad's duffel bag, causing the store owner to suspect him of shoplifting.

Quinn and his friends climb over the alley fence to escape the scene of the beating without being spotted.

Spoony arrives at the hospital furious and vows not to let the authorities sweep Rashad's beating under the rug.

Quinn attends Jill's party on Friday night but cannot stop thinking about Paul's expression of rage during the beating.

Spoony reveals he sent the smartphone video of the beating and Rashad's ROTC photo to the TV news station.

The basketball coach urges the team to leave outside issues off the court and focus on playing as one unit.

English, Shannon, and Carlos visit Rashad in the hospital and hear his full account of the beating for the first time.

Carlos tells Rashad he is going to 'do something' about the situation as the group prepares to leave the hospital.

Rashad's friends and brother gather at the hospital to finalize plans for a protest march the following Friday.

Katie Lansing, the woman who tripped at Jerry's Corner Mart, visits Rashad in the hospital to apologize and offer to testify.

Quinn wears a homemade shirt reading 'I'M MARCHING' on the front and 'ARE YOU?' on the back to school.

Rashad's mother arrives at the hospital with a lawyer and decides to press charges against Officer Galluzzo.

Rashad leaves his completed drawing of the beating as a thank-you gift for nurse Clarissa before being discharged.

Rashad and Quinn lock eyes during the die-in, sharing an unspoken connection as they lie on the ground together.

Before the beating, Rashad is simply a teenager heading to a corner store for snacks when a small accident sets off a chain of events. Quinn and his friends flee the scene, while Spoony channels his rage into activism by sending the video and Rashad's ROTC photo to the news station. Rashad's friends visit him at the hospital to hear his account for the first time, prompting Carlos to vow he will do something, while the basketball coach tries to keep the team focused on the game. Over the week, Rashad's mother hires a lawyer and presses charges, Katie Lansing visits the hospital to offer testimony, and Rashad's friends finalize plans for the Friday march. Quinn wears a bold protest shirt to school, Rashad leaves his drawing as a gift for nurse Clarissa, and the week ends with Rashad and Quinn sharing an unspoken connection during the die-in.

The supporting moments and relationships that drove the week's crisis forward.

Quinn steals his mother's bourbon and walks his younger brother Will to a neighbor's house before meeting Guzzo and Dwyer.

Quinn watches his brother Will's soccer game on Saturday and runs into Jill, who asks about the Galluzzos' upcoming barbecue.

Pastor Jerome Johnson visits Rashad in the hospital and tells him everything happens for a reason, frustrating Rashad deeply.

Rashad watches the hospital TV and learns that the name of the officer who beat him is Paul Galluzzo.

Rashad's mother brings his sketchbook and pencils to the hospital, giving him the means to process his experience through art.

A news promo mentioning both Paul Galluzzo and Rashad plays on the TV during the Galluzzos' Sunday afternoon barbecue.

Quinn realizes he once triggered Paul's violent beating of a neighborhood bully by telling Paul about the bullying.

Quinn concludes that racism permeates every aspect of American life and that he has been unknowingly contributing to it.

Rashad begins drawing the scene of his own beating in his signature circular style inspired by Harlem Renaissance painter Aaron Douglas.

Spoony shows Rashad photos of copycat graffiti tags and the spreading hashtag #RashadIsAbsentAgainToday across Springfield.

Paul pulls Quinn aside before school and claims he was simply doing his job when he beat Rashad.

Tooms reads Ralph Ellison's 'Battle Royal' aloud in English class 'for Rashad' after students are told not to discuss it.

Rashad breaks from his usual style and draws a face on his self-portrait of the beating, starting with the mouth.

Rashad removes the bandages covering his broken nose before leaving for the protest so people can see what happened to him.

The novel closes with a third-person view of Rashad and Quinn among the crowd, suggesting 'a new tomorrow, an arm's length away.'

Before and after the beating, small moments expose deeper layers of each character's worldview, from Quinn stealing bourbon like any ordinary teenager to Rashad discovering the name of the man who hurt him from a TV news broadcast. During the Galluzzos' barbecue, a news promo forces the gathering to confront what happened, while Rashad's mother quietly delivers his sketchbook, giving him the tools to reclaim his story through art. Quinn confronts his own complicity when he realizes he once told Paul about a neighborhood bully, effectively ordering a violent beating, and gradually understands that ignoring racism makes him part of the problem. Rashad processes the trauma through drawing, eventually breaking from his usual style to add a face to his self-portrait — starting with the mouth — symbolically reclaiming his own voice. The novel ends with Rashad removing his bandages to face the protest openly, and a final third-person image of the two boys in the crowd pointing toward hope for a new tomorrow.

The revelations and turning points that shifted how characters saw themselves and each other.