Charlie again opens the letter with emotional ambiguity: “There is a lot to tell you about the last two weeks. A lot of it is good, but a lot of it is bad. Again, I don’t know why this always happens” (14). Bill gives him a “C” on his To Kill a Mockingbird essay because he wants Charlie to incorporate vocabulary words from class into his writing.

While at the dentist, Charlie’s mom and another woman gossip about a movie star in a magazine. Charlie thinks about how people aren’t always honest: “I think it’s nice for stars to do interviews to make us think they are just like us, but to tell you the truth, I get the feeling that it’s all a big lie. The problem is I don’t know who’s lying. And I don’t know why these magazines sell as much as they do” (15).

After the dentist’s office, Charlie and his mom drive to the cemetery to visit Aunt Helen, Charlie’s mom’s sister. He remembers how his aunt Helen used to babysit him and his siblings while his parents went out to get drunk and play board games. She would let them stay up late and watch Saturday Night Live, but he could never stay awake: “I wish I could, because my brother and sister talk about those moments sometimes.