Stupid Fast

Felton realizes he is acting like Jerri as he watches her sleeping that afternoon. Andrew stays outside, only coming inside after 12 hours. Felton realizes Andrew is tough. He futilely emails Gus for support. Felton leaves to see Aleah, but suddenly imagines Aleah’s father is staging an intervention and will send Felton and Andrew to foster homes, which seems plausible after Jerri’s meltdown and the horror of finding his dad’s body.

Felton likes Aleah’s passionate intensity. Aleah explains that Jerri came over last night, smelling of alcohol, to tell her dad, Ronald, it was nice talking with him. Later, a policeman—Cody Frederick’s dad—said Jerri was asleep in her car, and to be kind because she had a hard life. Aleah reveals that her “crazy and mean” mother left them (125). Felton describes another social class in Bluffton, the “townies or burners or druggies” (123). This group is lower status than “honkies,” generally lives in trailer parks, and gets into trouble. Jerri’s dad fell under this category, but her mother, Grandma Berba, did not. Jerri was good at school and rose to “honky,” or “college kid” status.

Rick and Rob Randle, two “townies,” drive up, call Aleah a racial slur, insult Felton, and throw an egg at him. “Honky” football players in an egged car are polite to Aleah before pursuing the Randles. Felton says this is all normal. Aleah likes Bluffton and thinks it is low pressure, but Felton knows everyone’s life has unique high stakes. Aleah kisses Felton on the cheek. Andrew is afraid to go upstairs and see Jerri. He responds sarcastically when Felton assures him Jerri is not dead.

Felton checks his email while Andrew sleeps. He has a message from Cody, who heard about Jerri and kindly wonders if Felton is okay. He sent a link to Rivals.com featuring training videos of Ken Johnson. Cody says Felton will also soon have a page there. Felton emails Gus that he has a girlfriend but gets angry when Gus responds immediately that she “must be a cow” because no one else would go out with Felton (134). Present-day Felton explains he thought Jerri was okay and that things would go back to comparative normal.

Felton gets a late start on his paper route. Aleah wants to go along. With laughter and help from Ronald, Aleah rides behind Felton on his bike. Felton wonders why Ronald is nice to him, and Aleah explains her dad knows about Steven, knows Felton is “a good kid,” and wants Aleah to be happy (136). They totter along and crash often, annoying the paper route customers, but having fun. Felton kisses Aleah on the lips during one tumble. At the nursing home stop, Aleah discovers that the younger lady who screams when she sees Felton fears him particularly. Aleah and Felton confess they both really like each other. Aleah regrets she cannot see Felton on weeknights because she needs practice piano. She calls him “my football player” (142). Felton runs late for weight training, but thinks this is an awesome summer.

Andrew waits for Felton outside again in the lawn chair and informs him that Jerri told him he cannot play piano inside, that she no longer wants to be responsible for them, and “has nothing left to give” (143). Felton is angry at the melodrama and is too busy to deal with Jerri. Andrew says he needs a parent, but Felton tells him sarcastically to go “re-engage” with friends. Though he feels bad for Andrew losing the piano, he thinks things will get back to normal if Andrew does not call the police. Felton decides to have a family meeting and talk about things—later. Jerri calls out to Felton to tell Andrew to “take a chill pill” which confuses Felton (145). Andrew is gone when Cody arrives.

Cody discusses the Rivals.com website. Felton wonders why colleges would care about him, and Cody explains that his size and speed make him sought-after. Cody asks if Felton and Jerri are okay and offers his support. He says his dad, the policeman, thought Jerri looked alright. Felton dismisses his concerns. He throws himself into  weightlifting, thinking about how strong he will become and how he has become a college football prospect in mere days. Later, Felton looks up the meaning of “chill pill” and decides Jerri was either telling Andrew to relax or calling him an asshole, neither of which are horrible. Felton admits, however, that the family situation seems serious.

Jerri forbids Andrew to play the piano or have friends over. She reads romance novels all day. She does not speak to Felton or Andrew, does not mow the lawn, and does not cook or buy groceries. Felton says Jerri is friendless, but theorizes that she, like him, is doing something different with her life. He and Andrew eat all the canned food in the house, but when Felton asks if Jerri is going shopping, she shakes her head confusedly and continues reading. Andrew is upset. He insults Felton constantly and rummages through boxes searching for “the key.”

Felton enjoys  weightlifting which switches off his brain. He feels like a new person. After grilling and watching a football movie at Karpinski’s house with Cody, Felton thinks football is violent and bloody: He only enjoys running and catching. Cody assures Felton that he has played for years and never been seriously hurt. Felton appreciates Cody’s friendship.

Jerri takes Felton’s TV set and puts it in her room, where it plays constantly. Andrew searches boxes. Felton spends his non-sports time hanging out at Aleah’s house, often late at night. Aleah kisses him and asks why Felton holds back with his communication. Aleah likes Felton because he is gentle but not weak: It takes a strong person to survive what Felton has and still be a good person. Andrew confronts Felton late one night, saying that there are no pictures of their dad. Felton knows this, and harshly reminds Andrew that he found their dad hanging. Outraged, Andrew plans to challenge Jerri about the missing pictures.

Felton decides that people only find you funny if they like you. Now that Felton has become one of them, the “honkies” think his jokes—like calling Karpinski “FishButtboy”—are funny. Aleah thinks Felton should do standup. Gus and Felton are both angry at each other and Felton decides that people also only listen to you if they like you.

Felton comes home from Aleah’s house and finds Andrew, wearing only his glasses and underwear, in front of a roaring fire in their fire pit. Andrew burns all his clothes and possessions. Earlier, Andrew had shaved his head. Jerri does not care. Felton calls her “crazy.” Andrew took money from Jerri, bought a single pair of black “trousers,” a black shirt with a skull on it, and a package of hot dogs, which he roasts over his fire. Felton dubs Andrew the Fire Pirate, and calls Jerri “Psycho.”

The next day, Andrew takes all the rock CDs Felton inherited from their dad. Felton is furious and confronts Jerri again. She lays fully dressed in a lawn chair in the overgrown yard. She is angry at being interrupted and refuses to do anything about Andrew, saying she “is just a small part of a larger problem” (169). Jerri mutters strangely about Felton being “his son” and saying Andrew can be a pirate if he does not play tennis. Felton is confused and angry. The two shout insults at each other and Jerri calls Felton an “asshole.” Felton bikes away.

Felton wonders why he is telling his story on a night when he should be happy and focused on sleeping and healing. He mentions again that he likes humorous stories, not gloomy ones. He revisits the to-do list he made in Chapter 12. He has achieved item one: lifting weights with Cody. He has his driver’s permit papers, but Jerri refuses to sign them and will not teach him, so item two is on hold. Felton still thinks about giving up comedy but still likes it, so he has not acted on item three. Felton decides to carry out item four and stop speaking to Andrew and Jerri.

Felton flees the house and bikes, crying, out to the Mound—the huge hill his dad jogged up years ago. There, Felton vomits and thinks that his other friends are lucky in their family situations. Aleah lost her mom, but Ronald is caring and communicative, and Aleah understands her mom’s motivations. Cody has a normal family and a dad who, as a policeman, protects people. Even Gus’s mom would never call him a cuss word. Felton feels that Jerri hates him.

Felton runs up the steep path very quickly, like the cartoon Road Runner. The view from the top is expansive. Felton jogs down and runs back up until he cannot run anymore. He lays on the ground, looking at the blue sky and white clouds, and does not care about Jerri or Andrew. Felton gets a text from Cody inviting him over on July 31st to celebrate Felton’s 16th birthday. Other kids respond by text and to his surprise, even Abby Sauter, Felton’s old  “girlfriend,” chimes in. Felton thinks his new friends and new speed are his new life.

Felton does not talk to Andrew or Jerri for three days because he avoids them completely—a tactic he used successfully for years at school. One night at Aleah’s house he and Aleah make out while watching a movie in the basement and get into some heavy petting. Felton thinks it feels wonderful. They stop when Ronald calls down that it is late. Felton, who never thought he would have sex, suddenly sees how it is possible, though he would not go that far with Aleah because he is afraid Roland would catch them.

Aleah joins Felton on his paper route the next day and says that Ronald asked what they were doing, and she told him the truth. Felton is stunned. Ronald took it well, if uncomfortably, and said that was “normal” but not to go any farther. Felton freaked out and babbles that he’ll never touch her again, but Aleah insists he better kiss her again. She asks if Felton talked to Jerri about it to get “an adult’s perspective” (179), but Felton does not intend to talk to Jerri.

Felton starts running up the Mound daily in all kinds of weather. One time, he takes the pouch of rocks that Tito gave him and throws them down the hill. Felton spends hours at the Mound because he does not want to be at home since Andrew confronts Jerri with difficult questions about their past, and Jerri yells at Andrew. Sometimes out-of-breath tourists or hikers climb the Mound and are amazed that Felton runs it, but typically he is alone. Felton loves the running and being in the present, removed from Andrew and Jerri’s fights.