Chapter Nine

The ninth chapter is about Matt Donaghy who is suspended from school. Now he waits for the permission to return to school. Of course he knows of his innocence, but now he can rightly hope that the principal and the police recognize that he didn’t do anything cruel. Ursula Riggs promised that she and Eveann McDowd would tell the truth. He also thinks that his friends will bear witness for him, whether they didn’t send him an e-mail.

Matt’s relation to Ursula changed a lot since the alleged bomb threat. Before they scarcely knew each other, but I wouldn’t describe it as a “relation”. They didn’t speak together; much less they did something together. But since Ursula was the only one who stood up for Matt, he appreciates her behavior.

Because they didn’t have a real relation, he can’t believe the e-mail. He thinks that Skeet tries to play a trick on him. “It would be ironic if, out of the whole school, of Matt’s numerous friends and acquaintances and classmates, only U.R. was contacting him.” (p. 60, ll. 8-11) He rightly thinks that it’s impossible that even Ursula contacts him.

But later, when he talks about his friends he only mentions Ursula and Eveann: “My two friends. And you, Pumpkin.” (p. 76, l. 25)
Afterwards, he even thinks that she likes him and he suggests that he does that too, by saying: “She must like him, too. Even if nobody else did.”
The relation between Ursula and Matt has developed from zero to a good friendship only in a few days.