Joe gets up early on the first day of his senior year to avoid speaking to his parents. His mother catches him going out the door, and he gives her a kiss. He has to wait for the Eastside bus in front of the 7-11 store, where Loyal High kids hang out before school. John is on the bus, and the two sit together. Joe is annoyed at the chatter of the private school kids talking about their extensive summer travels. Unsure of where to go at Eastside, he lets John guide him around the campus.

Joe gives a systematic rundown of his classes in this chapter, which are all solids except for physical education (PE), the last class. At lunch, he sees John and other kids playing basketball and is amazed at how good they are. He had assumed the team would not be worthy and now begins to wonder if he is worthy of the team.

He likes his young, pretty English teacher, Miss Mitchell. She picks up on Joe’s last name and asks if he knows the Doctor Faustus story. She says they will read Marlowe’s play and that the drama club will perform it later in the year.