Chapter 4 Summary

In this chapter, we see the first day of Mrs. Olinski's homeroom from her perspective. She is very nervous, even more so than Ethan suspects in the previous chapter. It is also clear that Mrs. Olinski is less sure than Ethan that Hamilton Knapp is bullying her. Mrs. Olinski gives Ham the benefit of the doubt, thinking that perhaps her writing on the blackboard really is too low to be seen from the back seats. When she returns to the classroom to find the word "cripple" on the board, she thinks that it is not just the sixth grade that has changed while she has been gone. Sixth graders have changed, too.

At the Academic Bowl finals, the commissioner admonishes the crowd for applause after Ethan's correct answer. Mrs. Olinski remembers another day when inappropriate applause helped her to pick the final member...