Here in the Real World

Ware thinks about what Jolene said about reality and feels like the way he perceives the world is never as clear as it is for her. He looks down at his legs and notices they’ve become muscular, and the baby fat in his stomach is gone. This makes Ware feel proud and encouraged by the fact that at least some part of him is changing. He decides to go back into the moat and try to be reborn again, yelling out that he wants to be “normal.” Jolene overhears, which mortifies Ware at first, but she gets in the water and offers to dunk him. She adds, however, that he should never ask to be “normal,” because there are things far better than that.

Ware goes into the bar and Walter serves him a ginger ale and some bar nuts. Ware thinks about his problem and admits that he’s been lying to himself and others all summer; he doesn’t really want to be someone else after all. He just wants to be okay with who he is. Walter points out that Ware is a good friend to Jolene, and that being a friend is one indication of being okay with oneself. Ware feels bad for Jolene not having her parents around, and Walter worries about her too, so Ware promises to protect her, the way he would any friend. Walter looks at Ware and believes that his life will be one worth talking about.

Ware, Jolene, and Ashley stand together in the lot, realizing there is a week left of summer and still no way to save the garden. Ware asks Ashley if she’s helping out for a school project, and Ashley explains that she saw hundreds of geese injured on a wet road in Canada once, and has pledged to protect birds from this fate in the future. Jolene hears this and Ware can tell she’s embarrassed for judging Ashley, but she attempts to make up for it by offering to donate bar nuts to the birds. As Jolene blows her bangs out of her face, Ashley fixes them for her and tells Ware that Jolene is “at a really hard stage right now” (259).

A man pulls up to the lot and puts up a new notice indicating that the auction for the lot will take place on September 8. Jolene runs off, too upset to speak, and Ware comes up with a plan to have Ashley take his film to her father. He asks her to come back to the lot later that night. When she leaves, Ware takes it upon himself to use a tablecloth to create flags, and strings them up on the building. He films the ruins in their transformed state, hoping to capture the power of renewal and rebirth.

Ware arrives at the lot and finds Jolene destroying her plants. He tries to stop her as she accuses him of giving her false hope with tears in her eyes. Ware desperately wants to comfort Jolene and wipe her tears away, but he knows she would never let him. He tells her that he hopes his film will convince the city to buy the lot, and convert it into a community garden and playground for the rec center. Jolene stares at Ware and calls his idea stupid, believing it will never work out the way he hopes. She thinks the lot will be turned into a strip mall full of people who litter and buy lottery tickets. Ware asks Jolene just to wait a little while longer, and she cries as she leaves, still unconvinced that the situation will turn out well.

Ware’s parents are thrilled to finally own their home, and Ware shares in their joy, but worries about Jolene and her garden. Over dinner as they celebrate, all Ware can think about is how much he wished the summer had more time left.

Ware finds Jolene at the lot, watering her plants but looking completetly sullen. Ashley shows up and sadly announces that the lot was already purchased, and that it’s going to be converted into a strip mall just as Jolene predicted. Jolene stomps away, and Ware looks around, wishing there was something he could do.

Ware asks his parents if he can have the backyard, as they promised to give him something in return for their being so busy all summer, and they agree. He calls Ashley, and invites her to help him move the papaya plants to his backyard.

Ware goes into the community center one last time, but one of the staff there mentions seeing his film and asks if he wants to start a film club there. Ware happily agrees, and decides to invite all the kids that he previously noticed seemed to be like him, on the outside of things looking in.

Jolene discovers that all her plants are gone from the lot, and instead of trying to explain, Ware decides to lead her to his house and show her what he has done. Jolene doubts him the whole way, but when she sees the backyard and all of her plants there, she is flooded with relief and gratitude. Ware tells Jolene that the yard is her new garden, complete with a sign reading, “The Real World,” because while bad things happen, the real world is also filled with people doing good.

Ware’s mother sees the garden in the backyard and admits it isn’t exactly what she was expecting, but she beams when she hears that Ware made a friend over the summer. Jolene tells Ware’s mother that they met at the lot after Ware quit going to the rec center, and hearing this news, Ware’s mother wants to have a private conversation with him.

Ware tells his shocked mother about his summer at the lot with Jolene, and everything he learned and gained from those experiences. He mentions how he learned to make things grow, to see himself as an artist, and to be a hero. Ware also reveals overhearing his mother wish for a “normal” child, and his mother apologizes, admitting she was stressed and didn’t mean it. Ware’s mother asks to see his film, and both his parents sit by his side and watch it together. Afterward, Ware’s mother tells him how lucky she feels to be raising an artist, and Ware goes to bed filled with joy and warmth.

Jolene starts coming over every day after school to tend to her plants, and she also starts to bond with Ware’s family. Ware’s mother creates a schedule to keep track of the plants’ growth, and Ware’s father bonds with Jolene over a shared love of sports.

Jolene tells Ware that she and him have to work for Walter to pay off the water bill. She also announces that Ashley showed the video to her friends, one of which recognized Wink as an endangered gopher tortoise. That means that it will take weeks, or maybe even months, to ensure his safety and habitat before the lot can be cleared.

Two months pass, and then Ashley calls Ware to tell him the cranes are going to fly over that night. Ware tells his parents and then goes to Jolene’s apartment to tell her the good news. A woman with hair like a sunflower opens the door, and Ware realizes how he must have hurt Jolene when he made fun of her aunt months before. He apologizes to her, and she apologies in return.

Ware, Jolene, Ware’s parents, Mrs. Stavros, Ashley, Walter, and many others gather at the lot that evening to watch the cranes fly over. Ware brings his camera and films everything, capturing ordinary people and ordinary moments through a unique lens. When the cranes fly over, Ware feels like one of them in a sense, as though everything he hoped for ended up coming true in its own way. He finds the courage to take Jolene’s hand, and she squeezes his in return.