Stupid Fast

At 6:12am, Felton manically juggles three sock balls that Grandma Berba has freshly laundered. He drops one and continues juggling two sock balls.

Felton realizes in retrospect that he was acting irrationally after learning about his dad. Over the next three days, Grandma Berba takes care of things: cooking, cleaning the house, taking care of the yard, and buying the boys new clothes. Felton retreats to his room to sleep, coming out only to eat, watch TV with Jerri, and do his paper route with Andrew and Grandma Berba, who drives them. Felton does not see Aleah, even though she comes over daily to mentor Andrew on the piano. Felton stays in his room, embarrassed, and thinks Aleah could seek him out if she wanted. Felton also ignores his texts, phone messages, and email which fill up from Coach, Cody, and the other “honkies” as Felton unapologetically still calls them.

Felton searches for information about his dad, finding articles about Steven’s tennis prowess and a photo that Felton downloads and studies. Steven looks powerful, strong, and just like Felton. Felton is mad at himself for missing his dad, mad at Jerri for her lies, and mad at himself again for being mad at Jerri because she was a victim. Felton decides it is his “job” to help Jerri recover and prove that he is not his dad, but Grandma tells him he cannot help Jerri, he needs to just be a kid. Jerri receives medication and must go to a mental health treatment center in Arizona. Felton does not want Jerri to leave. Felton realizes that soon Aleah will leave, Gus will return, school will start, and it will be his birthday—which he is trying not to care about.

Two days before Felton’s birthday, a pickup truck dumps bags of trash in Felton’s driveway. The bags are filled with beer bottles and slips of paper reading “faker.” Aleah arrives to practice with Andrew and sees Felton for the first time in a while. She smiles, but Felton stays distant. He says the trash is meant for him and “honkies” are responsible. The word makes Aleah wince.

Furious, Felton cleans up the stinking trash. His life is a mess, and he has bigger issues than “their piddly assfaced circles” (263). They only want him for football, which Felton refuses to play. He thinks Grandma Berba probably saw Cody’s truck dump the trash. Thinking of how they all turned against him, Felton works himself into a rage. He wishes his dad were alive to help him beat them up. Felton wants to run up the Mound, but remembers he destroyed his bike. He runs up and down the road instead, thinking threatening thoughts.

One day before Felton’s birthday, more trash blocks their driveway. Grandma Berba wants Felton to explain who is harassing him and why. She wonders if it is someone from an opposing sports team, but Felton denies being in sports. Grandma says that Felton is an athlete which is partly why Jerri broke down. Grandma wonders if they should call the police, but Felton implies the perpetrator is the policeman’s son. Felton cleans the trash, then runs angrily up and down the road.

Grandma takes a call for Felton from Coach Johnson, but Felton tells her to say something rude to him. Grandma warns Felton against being impolite to her. Coach asked after Felton because the school will be filming Felton’s drills. Coach wants to create Felton’s recruiting profile, and college recruiters want to meet him. Felton does not care. Grandma confronts Felton about his refusal to return phone messages, wondering what is wrong with him. Felton angrily says he does not like feeling responsible for Jerri’s mental health crisis and for looking like his dad. Grandma acknowledges he is upset but underlines that he cannot speak to her like that. Felton feels guilty.

Felton finally turns on his phone. He has more “faker” texts from unknown numbers and one from Cody about his birthday party. Felton erases them all. He thinks Aleah could visit him if she wanted, but Felton calls her cell, leaves a message, and waits for her to call back.

Felton anxiously watches his phone and waits for it to ring. He is hopeful Aleah will call, but worried Cody will call and dress him down. Felton is full of nervous energy and eats Grandma Berba’s excellent lasagna like a starving wolf. He tries to watch TV with Jerri but is too fidgety. He decides to go running, but first takes a hammer from the garage and destroys his phone. Felton feels claustrophobic. He realizes he cannot get to the Mound to do his running, so he tries the road, but it is too dark. Instead, he runs laps around the house which is now brightly lit since Grandma arrived. Felton is glad his phone is dead, but also dismayed. 

Grandma Berba wakes Felton early, brightly wishing him a happy birthday. Jerri goes along with them on Felton’s paper route. There is more trash in the drive, but Grandma plows through it with the SUV. Grandma stops at Aleah’s house, where Andrew and Aleah together perform a complex piano riff on the happy birthday song. Felton emotionally remembers first hearing Aleah play and other memories of her. He praises them. Andrew hugs Felton and Aleah wishes Felton a happy birthday. She, Andrew, and Grandma leave to finish the route.

Felton sits with Jerri while Ronald cooks breakfast. Jerri tells Felton that his running is beautiful in the same way as Aleah’s piano playing. She does not want him to quit sports because of her. Felton argues that he does not want to be an “asshole jock” like the trash dumpers and his dad. The “old Jerri” surfaces for a moment and explains that Steven was happiest when he was physically moving, and he was beautiful in movement like Felton. Jerri tells Felton she loves him.

Felton notices that the Jenningses are packed; they plan to leave that day. After a happy breakfast, Aleah takes Felton aside and says that Roland told her to “give [him] space” but she wants Felton to know she had a great summer, he is her ideal boyfriend, and she wants to stay together (280). Felton, though surprised she still likes him, wholeheartedly agrees.

The family celebrates Felton’s birthday in Dubuque, Iowa. Grandma gets Felton an expensive, fast road bike which Felton feels mirrors his own personal speed. Felton also gets a new phone. He appreciates Andrew’s work with Aleah to make his birthday special. Back home, his first text is from Aleah, on her way home to Chicago. She reiterates her commitment to him. Felton goes outside to run off his energy.

When a minivan approaches, Felton thinks it is the trash-dumpers. Felton grabs handfuls of gravel and throws it at the van. Karpinski yells, girls scream, and Cody shouts: The van is filled with Felton’s “honky” friends. Felton asks why they are there and discovers they are bringing his party to him. Felton awkwardly says he thought they were someone else. Karpinski assumes he means John Spencer. Felton realizes he has treated them badly. He learns that Spencer is no longer a problem: When Ken Johnson learned Spencer and his friends were harassing Felton with the notes and trash, Ken threatened to beat them up. Ken feels awful about what he did to Felton.

They drive to the Mound. Felton vows not to listen to the distrustful voice in his head anymore. They climb halfway up and joke and eat cake. Cody tells Felton they have always known about his dad, and they apologize to him for past meanness. Felton, trying not to cry, thanks them, and says he is “weird.” They joke about Felton’s weirdness and their own. At home, Felton reassures Grandma and Jerri about the trash. He will now bike his paper route to help get ready for football. Felton thanks them for the best birthday, making Jerri smile.

Felton, Andrew, and Grandma Berba take Jerri to the airport. On the way, Grandma describes the facility Jerri is going to as more of a resort rather than a hospital and says Jerri can leave whenever she wants. Jerri replies that it is a “mental healthcare center” (293). Andrew thinks it sounds great and wants to go. Jerri wonders if he needs psychiatric help and Andrew says he does. Felton watches Andrew and Jerri in the backseat happily holding hands. Jerri hugs them goodbye at the airport and tells them to look for something she left on her bed. Andrew thinks it is her diary.

He’s right: Jerri left her diary for them. They wonder if it holds her life’s story and are surprised and amused to find it mostly full of badly drawn cat pictures until a photograph falls out. It shows Steven, smiling, holding Jerri, and Felton as a grinning toddler with a “Jew-fro” like his dad’s. The boys are amazed to see Steven smiling. On the back of the photograph, Jerri wrote that Steven was nicer than Grandma admits.

It is 6:47am and Felton hears Grandma stirring upstairs. It is time to end his “dark, dark tale” (296).

Felton throws himself into football practices and conditioning. He enjoys it but finds the plays confusing. He runs too fast when he has the ball, leaving his linemen behind, and otherwise, does not know where to run. He fumbles and runs the wrong way. Coach and his friends reassure him. Coach thanks Felton for not pressing charges on Ken.

Home life is peaceful. Felton eats huge amounts of food. Andrew plays the piano again. Jerri calls each evening and talks about happy things. Felton talks with Aleah, who misses everything about Bluffton. She is hopeful the college will bring her dad back.

Felton’s first real football game—against “killer” Jay Landry, whom Felton saw in a video—is coming up. Their first scrimmage is a failure. Felton worries he should stick to track, but Aleah encourages him. Coach gives Felton a DVD of the famous running back, Walter Payton, who played for the Chicago Bears in the 1980s. His nickname was “Sweetness.” Felton is moved by how in control and “beautiful” Payton’s movement is. Felton suddenly understands what he needs to do; go slowly sometimes, then explode. Felton greatly improves.

The night before the game, Felton is full of nervous energy. Jerri calls and wishes him luck. Gus returns and apologizes to Felton: He was jealous of Felton’s email about Aleah and did not realize how bad things were at home. Gus remembers that Felton’s dad was huge. Gus also takes back his paper route, to Felton’s relief. Aleah announces she and Ronald are driving down for the game. Felton cannot sleep.

It is 7:06am and Grandma and Andrew are awake. Felton tells the reader about last night’s football game.

At the game, Felton waves to Aleah and Ronald in the stands. He spots Grandma and Andrew, who waves a Beethoven pennant. He sees Gus and Peter Yang. Felton is surprised that the stands are packed: He has never been to a football game. Felton focuses on stretching and warming up. The stadium lights and green grass seem very vivid. The opposing team takes the field and talks trash. Jay Landry focuses on Felton. Coach advises them not to let the other team get in their heads. Felton is full of adrenaline. The other team sacks one of their players and Landry says Felton is next. Cody, team captain, tells Felton to go left. Felton gets the ball and keeps his speed controlled. Karpinski and Reese clear a path for Felton. Landry comes after him, but Felton explodes with speed, easily avoiding Landry.

Felton does not think of any of the people in his life as he runs; he does not think at all. Everything feels silent and moves in slow motion, as if he is riding his dad’s old bike downhill to the end of the field. Felton stops at the end of the field. The stands are silent for a moment, then erupt “like Chinese New Year” (311). Felton says he is “stupid fast.”