Summary

Chapter 18 opens with another anecdote from the narrator’s in-progress novel. The protagonist of the novel has been locked in the room above the classroom by the man who was her teacher/boyfriend. The protagonist’s only form of pastime comes from playing with assorted objects she finds in a desk. There is a small bed in the room that the man apparently put there. The narration heavily implies that the man repeatedly rapes the protagonist. Days and weeks pass, and the protagonist is unable to escape. She forgets what her own voice sounded like. She occasionally hears the voices of students through the window of the room, but she is shocked to realize that she cannot understand what they are saying. The only voice that she can still understand is that of the man. The narrative then shifts focus back to the narrator...