The Originals silently take the field, and Mr. Farabi advises them to pass the ball and run when there’s space. Devlinshire gets the ball and makes a goal quickly. 

In an interview with Yumi, Diego, Timothy, Thomas, Fiona, and Willow, they talk about the atrocious first half of the game and how well Paulie played. They sympathize with Mr. Farabi, who was upset that Paulie never played well for Mitchell. Fiona feels like “Paulie’s whole life here had been one giant prank” (295).

Fiona kicks the Paulie statue repeatedly at halftime. She says that Paulie is “embarrassed” by them before shouting a Shakespearean insult at the statue. The statue falls onto the goat pen, breaking a part of the fence.

The goats escape the pen, prompting Glebus to send everyone inside except the Originals, who need to help catch the goats because the goats know them. When Gabby protests, Glebus tells the Originals to prove they can do something that Devlinshire kids can’t do. 

In an interview with Willow, Sam, and Lydia, they report that chasing the goats was “humiliating.” They circled each goat individually before leading them by rope back to the pen. The cameras filmed it all. The big ugly goat knocked Henry’s fort over and dragged a goal across the field. They conclude that the goats won.

Caitlyn announces the final challenge before the second half of the game starts: to play soccer “[their] way” by using the “element of surprise” (305). She allows all contestants to participate in the game again.

In an interview with Fiona, she explains how she distracted a Devlinshire player by shouting, “I am a strong and powerful woman!” (307). She continued to shout the names of powerful women and realized that the element of surprise works.

Gabby yells, “Fake it until you make it!” (309), and Yumi leaps like a ballerina. Glebus yells a powerful woman’s name to help Fiona. Sam tells them to do the “Fiona,” and everyone starts jumping. 

In an interview with Diego, he discusses how the game shifted in the second half as Mitchell grew more united and accurate—like an “ecosystem.” Diego recalls feeling that “[they] were all in this together” (312).

The game continues as Diego caws like a bird, Yumi leaps, Gabby quotes Jadelicious, Fiona shouts women’s names, and the twins play their zombie-werewolf game while the rest of the Originals dance around. Diego gets a goal, raising the score to 3-2. He turns and yells to do the “Caitlyn,” so she starts “wagging” her pointer finger as if scolding.

Henry blocks a Devlinshire shot, and the ball moves closer to the goal. Caitlyn reflects that she doesn’t know Paulie, but she does know about Plato’s cave, how the gods reflect the human world, how to design a competition, and how to discern funny from mean. Fiona passes to Caitlyn, who feels like she’s flying as she kicks the tying goal. The Originals envelope her in a group hug. 

In an interview with Fiona, she says she forgot about Paulie in the excitement of the tie and only remembered him when he was packing up. She said his name and he turned around and greeted her “awkwardly,” but Fiona said nothing. She studied him and realized “his eyes are sadder” (319). Paulie said he wanted to help with the goats but couldn’t.

The story about the school airs on the 10 o’clock news. Caitlyn thinks they look ridiculous playing soccer as the voiceover talks about hope within the community that the school may stay open. Caitlyn ponders how much the segment doesn’t show, realizing “it’s just this one moment out of thousands” (322). Caitlyn reads the comments on the video the next day, lamenting that the commenters didn’t read or don’t care about the story. The story disappears from the news within a few days. 

In an interview with Gabby, she explains that she knew what Yumi meant when she said Megastar was fake, but Gabby suspects Jadelicious “faked it” until she made it. Jadelicious is now a real, recognizable brand, so “something doesn’t have to be exactly, literally true to be real” (325).

Caitlyn writes a note to Anna about her new school and the goats and then asks Anna to say hello to everyone at her old school. She concludes by saying she hopes Anna is having a good year. 

Caitlyn folds the letter and stores it in her desk, knowing that she isn’t brave enough to send it. Caitlyn decides to write something else instead. An invitation to the “Season Finale” of the competition on Friday, November 10, at 4:00 p.m. follows.

Fiona adjusts her tunic as she watches Paulie arrive in jeans and a sweatshirt. Caitlyn welcomes Paulie in her “speech voice” to the final episode. Caitlyn tells readers it was her idea to explain the whole competition to Glebus, who agreed to help with the handwritten invitations. Paulie asks what’s going on, and Caitlyn asks him to put a chain of vines around his neck and follow her. 

In an interview with Henry, he talks about discovering that myths are “patchwork” without a single source, which makes him think that everything will disappear.

Caitlyn offers an overview of the competition to Paulie. Caitlyn is surprised that “there’s nothing surprising” about Paulie (334). Everyone is silent except the goats. Caitlyn asks Fiona and Diego to step forward, declaring them fierce competitors and saying that kleos belongs to them both. 

In the final interview, Diego and Fiona talk about their feelings during the final elimination. Diego was thinking that everything is “accidental” and then admits that he was also thinking he wanted to win. Fiona recalls thinking that no matter who won, she would still miss Paulie. Diego adds that new friends will never understand their stories. They end the interview with “the feels,” and Fiona thanks Caitlyn for organizing the competition, calling it “pretty cool.”

Caitlyn praises Fiona for being “original” and not following rules as she tries new things fearlessly, but she declares that she is not the next Paulie Fink because she is too original. Caitlyn praises Diego for his arete and celebration of others throughout the competition, but he is also too original to be the next Paulie. Fiona and Diego offer their sacrifices to the Paulie statue. Caitlyn then announces that the next Paulie is an “individual” with a “remarkable ability to disrupt [them], to surprise [them], to make [them] laugh, and—most importantly—to unite [them]” (339): It’s the mean old goat, which belches as Mr. Farabi leads it out of the pen. Gabby yells, “The scapegoat wins […] it’s perfect!” (340). Paulie is confused.

Per Caitlyn’s instruction, Paulie places the vines around the goat’s neck. The Originals hug in excitement. Caitlyn announces that the ceremony isn’t over and asks everyone to touch the goat, imagining that they exorcise their bad luck in doing so. The originals chant “Pharmakos!” and then “Katharsis!” followed by “Paulie Fink!” The human Paulie remains confused. The old goat boards a truck to go back to the farm, and the class cheers for Caitlyn. She isn’t ready to go home, so she asks Mr. Farabi for a kickball. 

In a letter from Paulie, he addresses the readers and introduces himself. He clarifies that not everyone in Devlinshire Hills has a pool or an inheritance. He knows the readers know more about him than they want to, so he tells stories instead. The first is about a “loser” who arrives at a new school in fourth grade and drives his peers and teachers “bonkers.” The loser thinks his disappearance will bring his peers relief. In the second story, a “god of chaos” rules the school by using the element of surprise and wit (345). People later build a statue for him and compete to see who can take his place. In a third story, a “rich, spoiled” child has everything but never fits in. He attends several schools in California and then returns east to a school that functions within his family’s estate. His mom moves him to a new school after she tires of the phone calls and letters from the principal. Paulie points out that the stories differ but are all true. 

Paulie continues to explain that his great-great-grandfather Julius Hewitt Mayberry Oxthorpe constructed a textile factory on the river in Mitchell and an estate in town. Over the generations, the business declined, and Forrest Oxthorpe sold it to a corporation. His daughter, Beatrice, married a gallery owner named Gilbert Fink in California and divorced him just after they had a child: Paulie. He told the Originals once that he was an Oxthorpe, but they didn’t believe him.

Paulie says that Caitlyn hosted a great competition, but she didn’t include his story. He shares what happened after the game: Diego wrote him a note to “stay legendary,” and Fiona gave him the scrap of fabric from his T-shirt that said “pick” because she hopes he continues to choose surprise. Paulie wondered what would happen if he were the person they saw him as. He asked himself if he could pull the “ultimate trick” and save the Mitchell School.

Caitlyn reflects on how the late afternoon light obscures how dilapidated the estate is. She looks at the Originals walking with arms linked in tunics and thinks, “We are history” (352). Caitlyn joins the line. The sun will set soon, everyone will go home, and the competition will fade away, she thinks, but “not just yet” (353).