Summary

Part one joins Charlie at the end of his final year of high school. He states, “The world would end at five to four, just after the disco” (3). At the dance, Charlie sits on the edge of the school gym and watches his classmates amusing themselves. A sense of sentimentality is in the air, and he thinks about his three closest friends, Fox, Lloyd, and Harper, who are starting college in the fall. Mr. Hepburn, Charlie’s geography teacher, darts over to talk to Charlie who is one of his favorite students. Mr. Hepburn prods his student, asking what intrigues him. The two briefly discuss Charlie’s academic performance, and although Mr. Hepburn touts Charlie’s positive attributes, Charlie states, “But I didn’t get the grades'' (8). Charlie’s poor performance in his final year comes up many times throughout the novel and...