Phoebe is visibly upset at school the next day, and insists that Sal sleep over the following night. In English class, Mr. Birkway asks the students to spend 15 seconds drawing their souls. He then places these on a bulletin board, and Sal notices that every student’s drawing follows the same pattern: a shape with a drawing of some sort of object inside it. Two drawings, however, are completely identical: “[A] circle with a large maple leaf in the center, the tips of the leaf touching the sides of the circle. One of the maple leaf circles was mine. The other was Ben’s” (125).

Phoebe cries in her sleep that night and tries to get out of school the next day by claiming to be sick. Meanwhile, the household is in a state of upheaval, because chores Mrs. Winterbottom used to do—e.g. making breakfast—have been neglected. Sal remembers going through something similar when her own mother left, and continues to experience a sense of déjà vu at school, where Phoebe claims her mother is on a business trip to avoid discussing the real situation. Phoebe once again insists that Sal come home with her, this time to search for clues into Mrs.