Chapter 6

I'm back at school now and everything seems back to normal. I am in the same room Finny and I were in over the summer. Some of the other kids rooms have changed but that is about it. I wanted to be assistant crew manager and that I was. It ended fast tho when i got into a fight with the manager. I also meet the master who is in charge of my dormitory. He tells me that he didn't appreciate me taking advantage to the substitute during the summer and doing illegal things. The only thing that I regret though that I didn't take more advantage of it.

Chapter 5

Finny's leg had shattered from the fall off the tree he had. I have been getting many questions concerning him but nobody really suspects me of doing anything wrong. I tried to stay away from everyone so I stayed in my room and studied. "I spent as much time as I could alone in our room" (53). I decided to put on his clothes one day in our room. I looked in the mirror and saw Finny and his expressions to the fullest. "But when I looked in the mirror it was no remote aristocrat I had become, no character out of daydreams. I was Phineas" (54). For some reason this gave me so much relief. Unfortunately, the next morning when i woke up, it was gone. That morning though Dr. Stanpole yelled up to me and said "Finny's better!" (54). When I hear that Finny will be able to walk again but never be able to play sports i burst into tears. "I cried for Phineas and for myself and for this doctor who believed in facing things" (56). I get to see Finny and started to ask questions about the fall. I wanted to know if he remembered anything about it or what made him fall. He denies it and I was just about to tell him that I shook the branch when the doctor came in to get me out. The summer session ends and we all go home. On my way back to Devon for September I stop in Boston to see Finny. I come out and tell him that I shook the branch and it only made it worse. I wish i could take the words back but they are out now and it is for the better. Finny will be back to Devon around Thanksgiving.

Chapter 4

Finny and I wake up on the beach at the crack of dawn. Before we start to head back I take a nice dip in the water. We just got back for a test I had and ended up failing it. It was the first test I have ever failed in school. "It was the first test I had ever flunked" (42). Finny made me quickly forget about it as he made me play a good game of Blitzball that took up most of the afternoon. That night I went back to the dorms and I started to study. Finny trys to tell me that I worry to much about my school work and that I want to be valedictorian. "You want to be head of the class, valedictorian, so you can make a speech at graduation" (43). I disagree with his statement at first but the more I think about it thats exactly what I want to be. I want to be on the same level as Finny only with academics, not athletics. "I'd kill myself out of jealous envy" (44). This is what Finny said when I asked him if he would car if I was the head of the class. Obviously, he was joking. Still the society is going well with nightly meetings Finny and I have. When Finny and I were about to jump off the tree Finny falls right on to the bank and hurts himself. Then i presume to jump of the branch.

Chapter 3

Although Finny saved my life on the tree, I don't feel like I have to repay Finny because I never would have been on the tree if it wasn't for Finny. "Yes, he had practically saved my life. He had also practically lost it for me" (25). The Super Suicide of the Summer Session group started off great because Finny got 6 other kids to join. Rules begin coming out and one rule is the Finny and I have to jump out of the tree before every meaning. I don't really like this rule although I still find myself ending up jumping out anyways. A new game came out this year for camp called Blitzball. It is played with one ball and how ever many people you want. Finny is especially good at this game because he is so athletic. "Blitzball was the surprise of the summer. Everybody played it" (31). A day at the pool Finny decided to try to break one of the school swimming records. I timed him and he beat it first try. He told me not to tell anyone even though I wanted everyone to know. Finny wanted to ride down to the beach on bikes, which was forbidden never mind it was a couple hours away. I ended up giving in and i took the ride with him. The ocean was freezing cold but the sand was scorching hot. "At the teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal. Which is what you are" (40). Finny said this to me as we were about to get some sleep on the sand dunes. I was about to say the same thing back but i hesitated, and didn't reply.

Chapter 2

The next morning when Finny and I woke up Mr. Prud'homme showed up at our dorm. He is a substitute teacher for the summer and he likes to enforce laws. He knew that we missed dinner and he wasn't to happy about it. "He enforced such rules as he knew; missing dinner was one of them" (14). But sense Finny is so good at talking his way out of things nothing came upon it. We go down to have some tea with Mr. Patch-Withers and some classmates. We all talk then Mrs. Patch-Withers notices that Finny is wearing the school tie as a belt. I am excited to see how much trouble he is going to get in. Mrs Patch-Withers yells "I have never heard anything so illogical as that in my life!" (20). As always Finny talked his way out of it. The thing that surprised everyone was when he made Mr Patch-Withers laugh when he said "I'm glad i put on something for a belt! I certainly would hate the embarrassment of having my pants fall down at the Headmaster's tea" (21). As we leave the party we decide to go jump off the tree once again. We decide to jump off the tree together to secure our friendship and our new society. As i was about to say something i began to slip. Finny grabbed my arm, thank god, and i regained my balance. We then continues on and jumped off the limb. Later that night i realized the Finny may have saved me from dieing. "Finny had practically saved my life" (24).

Chapter 1

Hello I'm Gene. I went to Dover School in New Hampshire around 15 years ago. As i was around town, the school has been looking a lot newer than it looked when i went. I decided to go back and take a walk around the school just to see what was different. I walked in the school and its still a very calm, clean place. Although it might be to clean for my liking. "I didn't entirely like the glossy new surface, because it made the school look like a museum" (1). I decided to walk around and go to two places that remind me of fear. I walk to the staircase and realize how strong the stairs are. After 15 years of stomping on them by so many different people they are still in such good shape. After the stairs I wanted to go see a tree that also gives me fear. On my way to he tree i passed some dormitories i remember and the gymnasium. I get to the river and look for one certain tree. I know which tree it is because of the number of scars on it and by the one branch that sticks over the river. "Finally identified the tree i was looking for by means of certain small scars rising along its trunk, and by the limb extending over the river, and another thinner limb growing near it" (5).

Finny jumped off the tree first to show everyone that its easy and fun. I get pressures into jumping off but i tell people i did it out of my own will to feel more tough. "I never backed away from anything in my life!" (10). Me and Finny keep wrestling so we end up missing dinner. We went back to our dorms and started our homework.