The Perfect Score

At the library, Gavin’s group decides to throw a party and invite a bunch of children to reopen the children’s room when it’s ready. While Scott reads and the girls plan, Gavin is assigned to paint another picture on the wall in the reading nook. While he works, Mrs. Magenta signs him up for a library card and checks him out an audiobook of Crash by Jerry Spinelli because Mrs. Woods left her a note asking her to find an audiobook for Gavin. Gavin is amazed that audiobooks exist and at how much effort Mrs. Woods has put into helping him, realizing, “I had to do my part now” (134). He asks for a print version of Crash so that he can read along and checks out a picture book to read to his sister.

Though she wants to dislike Natalie because Gavin does, Randi can’t because Natalie is nice. Randi is unsurprised that Gavin’s drawing is amazing, and both she and Gavin are shocked to learn that the other wall drawings were done by Mrs. Magenta. Both argue that she should be selling her art, to which she says, “I dreamed of doing that once, but I’m afraid I’m not good enough” (138). She reminds Gavin to sign his art and leaves.

Natalie is equally surprised to find that she likes talking to Randi. After the art program lets out for the day, Scott finds a cat outside the library. Trevor and his friend try to catch the cat to use it as a football, but the cat runs. Natalie tells Scott not to worry because Trevor won’t catch the cat, but Scott isn’t worried because he’s “going to rescue him first” (141).

Mrs. Magenta thanks Scott for suggesting a party to reopen the library, telling him that he has a “great brain and big heart” (143). Scott leaves happy because he finally knows how to help his grandpa.

That night, Gavin reads to his sister before bed, which she loves so much that she asks him to read again tomorrow night. Later, he settles in with his audio and print books of Crash, and it turns out to be “the first night in a long, long time that [he falls] asleep to a story” (146).

Randi has a terrible gymnastics practice. All the way home, her mom berates her, and though Randi tries not to let it get to her, “it [i]sn’t easy” (148). When she gets home, she showers, skips her homework, and goes to bed.

On the art program’s last day at the library, Natalie notices that Scott’s backpack is strangely empty. She wants to question him about it because it is different from his normal behavior, which is something that lawyers need to notice. However, while his backpack is empty, it still smells, so she puts off talking to him, noting, “For the record: I wasn’t being lazy. I was procrastinating” (150).

Mrs. Magenta sends Scott, Natalie, and Randi to the community room to prepare for the party that starts in 10 minutes. Gavin returns his books, eager to check out more—both for himself and for his sister. Mrs. Magenta packs all the books in a bag with butterflies on it. Though Gavin feels weird carrying it, he thanks her so as not to hurt her feelings, but “little d[oes] [he] know that when [they] g[e]t close to the Community Room, it [i]s [his] feelings that w[ill] get hurt” (153).

Alone, Randi and Natalie discuss Gavin and the gymnastics meet. Randi can tell that Natalie understands that gymnastics isn’t going well, and though she doesn’t mean to, she confesses Gavin’s struggles with reading. Natalie makes a joke about when Randi kicked the football into Trevor’s crotch. Randi laughs uncontrollably until she looks up to see Gavin in the doorway, noting that “he [i]sn’t laughing” (156).

Seeing Randi laughing with Natalie makes Gavin feel like he’s been “yanked from the game and thrown on the bench” (157). He tells Mrs. Magenta that he needs to use the bathroom and leaves with no intention of coming back.

Scott sneaks outside, where he lures the cat into his backpack with broken pieces of hotdog. Natalie catches him and tells him to let the cat go. Scott refuses, explaining to Natalie that he’s going to give the cat “a nice home” (160).

The party goes well, and Mrs. Magenta thanks the children for such a great idea. Outside, the girls and Scott catch up to Gavin while Trevor and his friend fail to find the cat. Instead, they pick on Gavin for checking books out of the library, saying, “You can’t even read!” (163). Gavin shoves Trevor, who grabs Scott’s backpack for support.

Trevor realizes immediately that the cat is in Scott’s backpack. He reaches in to haul the cat out, but the cat attacks. Trevor yells and pulls back “with bite and scratch marks all up and down his arm” (164). Gavin pulls Scott away before Trevor can recover, and the two high-five.

Scott gives the cat to his grandpa so that he’ll be less lonely. His grandpa is surprised because Scott’s grandma used to have a similar cat, and he’s happy to have another cat in his life. When Scott’s mom asks if he’s sure, Scott’s grandpa says yes: “We’ll enjoy each other’s company” (169).

The next day, school is cancelled, which means that Trevor has to spend the day with his brother. Though he’s in his twenties, Trevor’s brother lives at home and lets his friends hang out with him so that they can all mooch off Trevor’s parents. Trevor is beaten up and ordered around until his friend arrives. The older boys kick Trevor and his friend out of their space, and Trevor and his friend talk about playing football next year because “[i]t [i]sn’t fun to talk about getting beat up” (173).

Randi and her mom go to a parent-teacher conference with Mrs. Woods, who immediately realizes that Randi’s mom is putting an unreasonable amount of pressure on Randi to succeed at gymnastics. Randi’s mom orders Randi to leave the room before yelling at Mrs. Woods. In the hall, Randi runs into Natalie, who forgot something in her locker. Randi’s mom storms out of the classroom, ordering Randi to come with her. Randi goes, noticing Mrs. Woods and Natalie looking at her. Randi wants to tell them that they can’t help, ending the chapter thinking, “I used to think that if rocks could change, so could people—but not anymore” (180).

Gavin struggles to feel thankful at Thanksgiving because he feels betrayed by Randi befriending Natalie. Back at school, the administration orders that Mrs. Woods’s read-aloud time be used for more CSA prep. Worst of all, Randi starts sitting with Natalie at lunch. Gavin wonders how much worse things can get: “The answer to that question turned out to be a lot” (183).

After the parent-teacher conference, Randi’s mom bans Randi from hanging out with Gavin because she doesn’t want her to “turn out to be some lowlife, like his parents” (184). Randi wants to tell Gavin what’s going on, but when Natalie and Scott sit with her at lunch the next day, Gavin starts avoiding Randi. Scott helps Randi with her math homework, but he doesn’t help Randi understand, so Scott just does the assignment for her.

Because CSA prep is taking over most of his classroom time, Scott lives for recess and Mrs. Magenta’s art program. The program’s next project will be decorating and caroling at the senior center. Scott makes a turkey ornament for the tree, and while thinking about bringing joy to lonely people, he is “excited to put [his] on the tree at the Senior Center so all the old people c[an] see it” (189).

On the bus ride to the senior center, Natalie feels guilty about sitting with Randi, though she recognizes that Gavin avoiding them isn’t her fault. Caroling goes well after she puts Trevor in his place for making jokes, and Natalie is happy to see some of the folks admiring the new ornaments. Even on the way back, everyone is in a good mood, and Natalie is pleasantly surprised by the continued “holiday spirit” (193).

Trevor is annoyed that Natalie called him out on his jokes because he only made them to cover his fear. When Trevor first signed up for football and got his shoulder pads, his brother and friends took turns hitting him with a bat to prove that he wouldn’t feel anything through the pads. One strike hit Trevor’s mouth, breaking his teeth, but instead of showing the pain, Trevor laughed, which his brother’s group thought was funny. Later, Trevor made up a story for his mom, and his brother’s group “thought that was funny, too” (196).

For Christmas, Randi’s mom stops giving her the silent treatment to celebrate the holidays. The two of them make dinner together and go to the movies, which makes Randi feel like they are actually a family. Randi gives her mom a new cookbook, which her mom loves. Her mom gives Randi a new leotard to get her motivated for competition season. Randi hates it and realizes that, with this gift, “[their] special day [i]s over” (198).