Shattering Glass

The opening quote in the chapter comes from Charles Crocker, aka Deputy Dog, the former principal:

I thought what those boys were doing for Simon, sort of adopting him into their group, was such a hopeful thing…When Rob came to me with his plan, I thought it was generous. I also thought it would be fun. And mostly I thought that the other students would learn something about the goodness of people from it. They learned something about people. But nothing about goodness (93).

He then says he retired from being a principal after that year and now sells insurance.

The last football game and homecoming are coming up, and Rob decides it’s the right time to turn Simon into Mr. Popularity. Everyone has a date to the dance except for Young. After school, in the weight room, Young says that he probably isn’t going to the dance. Rob says that Young must go, and that he should ask Ronna Perry to be his date.

The dance’s theme is “Homecoming under the Stars,” and Young and Ronna go together. While dancing, they exchange flirtatious banter and it’s clear that they have both secretly liked each other for a while.