The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

In the root cellar, Mason prepares to draw the aurochs. He is nervous, but also confident. He tells Calvin, “I don’t need the photo. I see him. The aurochs. I’m not sure why. But he’s right there when I shut my eyes” (170). Mason begins drawing, feeling the lines. It looks good! He keeps going, and he realizes he is grunting and snuffling like the ancient ox. Calvin urges him on. He finally finishes the black eye, and howls like an aurochs. His howl is followed by a bark and a scratch at the door. Moonie is outside. The boys sneak him in, and he sniffs around before settling on the rug in the middle of the root cellar, right next to the aurochs. 

Calvin gives Mason oil crayons to color the aurochs. Mason asks Calvin why he thinks he was able to draw it so well. Calvin tells Mason the aurochs is his symbol. Calvin has been busy drawing the dead man with the head of a bird. Calvin explains that he is interested in the man, but assures Mason it’s not his symbol. He talks to Mason about the bird beside the man, and how it is a symbol of a guide to the spirit world. Mason thinks about how Benny could tell him more about that—if there is a heaven, he knows Benny is there. 

Mason and Calvin meet Ms. Blinny in the SWOOF. They help her clean up a glitter mess, and then they return to eat their lunches. Ms. Blinny is making painted rocks with positive character traits on them for students to reflect on. As lunch comes to an end, Mason realizes the newspaper Ms. Blinny is using to protect her desk has a picture of Benny on it. Ms. Blinny explains they frequently run stories about him to get more information. Calvin suggests Mason take the picture home, so he can keep it. Mason is thrilled: “I hold it up close to my eyes. I think this: I want see him and see him and see him” (186). 

It is Wednesday, so the bus stop is quiet. Calvin and Mason have banana shakes and talk to Grandma about their day. She asks about the people working in her old position. She used to help special needs kids at the school. Shayleen comes out, nervous, asking when Uncle Drum will be home. Grandma tells her that she won’t be able to buy the denim jacket she wants on the home shopping network. Shayleen is insistent, looking out the window. She wants a “distressed” jacket. Mason tells her he can run over her current jacket with the tractor. He is sincere, but Shayleen starts crying. Mason thinks, “Truth is, I feel bad for Shayleen. Not about the jacket, but about how she doesn’t get happier even when she gets to buy” (189). Mason apologizes for teasing Shayleen, and he leaves. 

The boys are in what Calvin calls Wednesday mode because they don’t have to worry about the lacrosse kids. They walk around the orchard. Mason talks about the apples, and Calvin asks why they don’t use the trees. Mason explains the sadness that lead them to sell part of the orchard. He tells Calvin he has asked Uncle Drum to sell cider again, but he won’t do it. Moonie arrives, and they play with him at the pond. Mason takes out the photo of Benny. Calvin says he has read articles about Benny and the information they are looking for. He says the case is associated with orchard. Mason is a little surprised. He says, “So the Buttles are in the newspaper too. We are in there with Benny” (195). For a moment, Calvin looks at Mason with the sad-to-see-you look. 

Matt Drinker and Lance ambush the boys. They are coming around the pond, with their lacrosse sticks full of apples. They begin flying, and Calvin and Mason decide to split up and meet in the root cellar. Mason watches Calvin run ahead and distracts the boys so they don’t both chase Calvin, who can’t run very well. Calvin disappears, and Mason runs with Moonie toward the Drinker’s house. He assumes if he can return Moonie, he’ll be safe. Corey is in the Drinker’s yard, and he yells at Matt and Lance to stop. They don’t. Just as Mason gets to the Drinker’s door, he calls for Mrs. Drinker. Before he can say anything, Matt slams him into the side of the house. He falls, though Moonie gets away safely, skittering behind Mrs. Drinker. Mrs. Drinker yells at Matt to apologize, but he refuses. She sends the other boys away and demands Matt come in for supper. Mason walks away with the other boys, and as he does, Corey nods his head and waves back at him. It is a friendly wave. Mason realizes, “He seems sorry about them [the other boys] being the way they are. I can see it on his face” (203). 

Mason goes to the root cellar, but it is empty. He asks the aurochs if it has seen Calvin. He assumes Calvin went home because he got hungry. He goes in to dinner, running into Uncle Drum at the door. They are having sausages for dinner. Shayleen is pouting because she didn’t get her jacket. In the middle of dinner, the phone rings. No one gets it, expecting a telemarketer. It’s Margie, and she is looking for Calvin. Grandma calls back immediately and asks Mason when he last saw Calvin. Mason is unclear— he can’t quite remember. Calvin is not at home. Mason and Uncle Drum go outside with flashlights. Mason is shouting Calvin’s name, and with each silence he becomes more panicked: “I watch [a] cruiser turn into Calvin’s driveway. The world goes upside down” (209).