Chapter 12: Autumn Term/Cassie and Matthew Summary

A classmate named Bindy MacKenzie tells Cassie she believes Matthew is a trumpet player. In his next letter, Matthew threatens to rip Cassie's eyes out if she doesn't stop writing, to which she responds that she has good eyesight. She tells him she, Lydia, and Emily cut school a lot and go to movies. They cut school less than they used to because they once hurt a teacher's feelings for skipping a study session, for which the three girls each blamed the other and stopped speaking. Cassie reveals to Matthew that Lydia gives her and Emily secret assignments. When Matthew threatens to break her fingers, Cassie claims she has long fingers, good for playing piano and picking locks. Cassie lies to Claire, her counselor, about her greatest fear, but admits to Claire that...