Dunkin wakes feeling great again, though a bit muted from his meds. After breakfast, Dunkin considers his options. When he doesn’t take his meds, he feels energetic and more like himself. However, Dunkin also recognizes that sometimes he has too much energy and his “brain sort of short-circuits” (169). He figures that he can probably self-monitor, but he has a blood test in two weeks, so he should take his medications until then to avoid hospitalization. When he takes his dose, he feels duller immediately, despite knowing that he’s only just swallowed the pills. 

When Dunkin sees Tim and Dare in the hall, he thinks about how Tim could be a truly good friend to him. He realizes that Vasquez and the others aren’t really good friends; they wouldn’t listen or care about anything serious or personal. Dunkin heads over to Tim’s locker to say hi, but Vasquez and some other guys rush in first, slamming Tim’s locker before running off. Dunkin notes how mean Vasquez’s action was and how sad Tim looks, but he doesn’t go over.

As Vasquez throws grapes at Tim during lunch, Dunkin feels bad for him. He admires that Dare sticks up for her friend; he wishes that he could get up and go sit with them to show Vasquez what a jerk he is, but he doesn’t want to “throw away something as amazing as making the team” (172).