Summary

Chapter 15: After overhearing Veblen’s conversation with the squirrel and thinking it was with another man, Paul goes to a bar and consumes several alcoholic drinks in a fit of sadness and desperation. He then goes to Veblen’s cottage on Tasso Street, looks through her things for incriminating evidence, and finds none. After angrily punching her framed picture of Thorstein Veblen, Paul leaves.

The narrative then flashes back to an episode from Paul’s youth, specifically in tenth grade, age 16. Paul enters the school science fair at the encouragement of his science teacher. At the science fair, he interacts with Millie Cuthbertson, on whom he has a crush. Though Paul does not win the science fair, he is pleased to be able to spend time with Millie afterwards. They drive to his house, but they discover many of Paul’s parents’ guests...