93 pages • 3 hours read
Joyce Carol OatesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
It is February. Reminiscing on her shyness before she invented Ugly Girl, Ursula realizes she is now shy in front of Matt. On the stairs to homeroom, Matt asks if she is going his way. Embarrassed, she turns in the other direction. She goes through the seniors’ wing of the school, where she wonders if anyone has talked about her quitting the basketball team.
Matt writes an email to Ursula. He wonders why she is not being friendly at school. Maybe the past three emails he sent haven’t gone through? His email reveals that though he is back to his old life, things now feel different, and his friends are not really his friends anymore. Matt deletes the email before sending it.
Ursula is called to Mr. Parrish’s office. He commends Ursula’s handling of the bomb threat situation and notes that school administrators have written exemplary college admissions letters for her. He asks if she and Matt spend time together and is surprised to hear they do not. In the cafeteria Ursula sits with Eveann and Bonnie LeMoyne. When Matt passes, Ursula freezes. Bonnie admits the team is doing terribly without Ursula.
By Joyce Carol Oates