Schooled

Capricorn witnesses his first fight ever. He has read about violence but has never seen it until the two boys fight outside the school. When a teacher breaks up the fight, Capricorn asks the witnesses who started the fight. Capricorn, not versed in middle school’s unspoken rule against snitching on fellow students, does not think twice about telling the teacher what happened: “Buttface wanted to know what jerkface was looking at, and jerkface wanted to know what buttwipe was looking at” (19). The teacher, assuming that Capricorn is making fun of him, sends Capricorn to Mr. Kasigi’s office. Before Mr. Kasigi calls Capricorn into the office, Mrs. Donnelly shows up and takes him to see Rain.

Rain’s surgery has been a success, but Rain informs Capricorn that he is going to have to stay with Mrs. Donnelly, and continue attending Claverage Middle School, until she is well enough to go back to Garland Farm. Rain takes some responsibility for not giving Capricorn the tools that he needs to operate in greater society. She does not think much of the outside world, but she realizes that eventually he was going to have to learn how to make his way in it.