The Running Dream

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2011

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Part 3, Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3, Chapter 7 Summary

Excited about the prospect of running again, Jessica goes home and shows her family the videos of the runners with specialized prosthetics. She explains that the team is having a fundraiser so they can purchase a leg for Jessica. But Jessica’s dad is not convinced this will happen. She eavesdrops on her parent’s conversation in the kitchen and is floored when she hears her father say that “if it’s a pipe dream, it’s cruel!” (143). The running prosthetic costs twenty thousand dollars, and he doesn’t believe the team can raise that much money from bake sales and carwashes.

When Jessica’s father expresses how hard it has been to cover the medical bills as they are, his wife suggests they contact a lawyer, in order to apply pressure on the family of the man who caused the accident. He retorts with the point that the lawyer will take half of whatever settlement is agreed upon, and it will take years for it to happen, anyway.

Jessica sneaks away but says she “can’t escape the guilt” (144). Perhaps the money her team raises should just go toward her medical bills or the regular prosthesis. Jessica feels that she is a burden to everybody.

Part 3, Chapter 8 Summary

On the drive to school the next day, Jessica expresses her shock and doubts about the running prosthesis to Fiona. Her best friend’s response is a shrug and, “So we’ll raise twenty thousand dollars” (146). Depressed, Jessica considers going home sick but is afraid to because of how much school she has already missed.

At lunch, Fiona suggests they eat outside in the courtyard. She leaves Jessica on a bench while she goes to the cafeteria to get food. Jessica watches everyone around her and notes that no one notices her because “they’re just into their own things” (147). Fiona returns, and Jessica admits that she is having a tough day. Again, she questions whether they will be able to raise the money for her running leg. She compares it to how long it took for the team to raise two thousand dollars for a new discus cage: two years. Fiona points out that Jessica is a person and people will want to help her if she will “[g]ive them a chance” (147). Jessica knows this sentiment should lift her spirits, but she only finds reality intruding further into her thoughts.

Part 3, Chapter 9 Summary

Jessica has her socket fitting, although her excitement is tempered by her worries about how much money her parents are spending to cover her medical bills. However, she takes heart at the sight of Hank’s receptionist, Chloe, who reminds Jessica of what she may be able to do in the future.

In the patient room, Hank places the socket over Jessica’s stump and asks her to do a series of movements to be sure that the socket fits correctly. Finally, he has Jessica stand and lean on a block of wood. It’s the first time she has stood on both of her legs since the tragedy occurred. She finds it a strange sensation, and she points out an area inside her knee where she feels some pressure.

Within a week, Jessica will receive her temporary prosthesis. Because Jessica is still growing, and her leg is still changing, she will learn to work with the interim leg before moving to a more permanent model. Jessica’s mother asks to speak privately to Hank about “administrative matters” (151), which Jessica takes to mean money. As she pulls her shrinker sock back on her right leg, she thinks about how she will have a leg and the chance to walk again in one week.

Part 3, Chapters 7-9 Analysis

The idea of getting a running prosthesis and being able to race again fills Jessica with excitement. She goes home and shows her family the videos, hardly daring to believe that this could be true. Then she overhears her parents talking in the kitchen, with her father saying the team will never be able to raise funds for the leg and that it was cruel to let Jessica think it could happen. The conversation turns to money and lawyers. Jessica sneaks away feeling guilty.

At school, Jessica shares her concerns with Fiona, who doesn’t have the same worries that Jessica does. She is fully confident that the team will raise the money. Fiona encourages Jessica to have some faith in people who want to help her.

Jessica’s socket fitting brings her a step closer to getting a temporary prosthetic leg. The fitting gives her the first opportunity to envision a future where she will be able to walk again.