Content Warning: These Chapter Summaries and Analyses sections contain references to drug use and suicide.

Oliver calls up the Dellecher office to discuss his new monetary situation. The teachers assure him that between loans, work-study, and scholarship applications, they will work something out. Oliver retires to his book-lined room and broods. Leah visits him and asks him if he doesn’t like her. Oliver tells his sister she’s “the only one in this house worth a damn” (230). Later, James shows up at Oliver’s home unexpectedly. He says he couldn’t bear to be at his own house. Oliver welcomes him and settles him in his room. They lie down beside each other and discuss Richard’s death; Oliver once again mentions Hamlet and the sparrow. James says the only way to deal with his guilt is to “absolve [himself]. Blame it on fate” (237).

Oliver notes that James being in his bed feels natural. He cannot decipher his feelings towards James. Caroline and Leah sneak up into Oliver’s room and goggle at the two men, calling James Oliver’s boyfriend. James doesn’t mind the teasing and tells them Oliver is hooking up with the hottest girl in their year. Leah and Caroline know this is Meredith and can’t believe she would date Oliver.