Contents
Sleep
Overview
Back at the outdoor movie, no one initially realizes August and Jack were attacked, but news quickly spreads among students. Teachers discover the incident, and Mr. Tushman escorts August to the nurse and coordinates an inquiry. August withholds identifying details, then lies awake replaying the seventh graders’ faces and a girl’s horror, deepening his sense of vulnerability.
Summary
Unable to sleep near 2 a.m., August reads under his sleeping bag, too scared to turn off the flashlight and thinking about the night’s events. Returning to the outdoor movie, he notices how normal everything looks despite what happened to him and Jack.
Amos, Miles, and Henry rejoin their group and quietly spread word of the confrontation. Whispered conversations ripple through the crowd, and on the bus back to camp, classmates check on August while boys speculate about the seventh graders’ identities and possible payback.
Although August plans not to tell teachers, Mr. Tushman and staff notice his torn sweatshirt and bloody elbow. At camp, Mr. Tushman brings August to the nurse for treatment while he and the camp director question Amos, Jack, Henry, and Miles for descriptions of the attackers.
When questioned, August says he can’t remember the attackers’ faces, though he clearly does. Later, alone and sleepless, he replays the girl’s look of horror and Eddie’s hostile stare, understanding more deeply the feeling of being led “like a lamb to the slaughter.”
Who Appears
- August PullmanNarrator; injured and shaken after the attack, treated by the nurse, withholds attackers’ identities, lies awake haunted by their reactions.
- Mr. TushmanTakes August to the first-aid office and helps lead questioning about the seventh-grade attackers.
- Jack WillAugust’s friend and fellow target; gives details to adults about the confrontation.
- AmosHelped defend August; informs friends and provides a description to staff during the inquiry.
- MilesDefender alongside Amos; participates in recounting the incident to adults.
- Henry JoplinHelps protect August; questioned by Mr. Tushman and the camp director.
- Camp NurseCleans and bandages August’s injured elbow after the incident.
- Camp DirectorJoins Mr. Tushman in interviewing students to identify the seventh-grade bullies.
- Summer DawsonFriend who sits near August; part of the group that learns what happened.
- EddieSeventh grader who menaced August; his hostile look haunts August later.