Ghost Of Spirit Bear

When Cole walks to school for the first time in a year, he feels like a stranger in the city. He hates the smells, sounds, and chaos, and just wishes he was back on the island. Approaching the school, Cole looks around and sees various gangs, some he recognizes, others he does not. Many students scuffle and yell at one another, and one girl who tries to keep to herself is called a “slut.” Cole feels frustrated and worried about what his future holds. He doesn’t know if he will still be able to maintain his self-control and feelings of peace in such an environment. Students jeer at Cole as he goes inside, and he finds Peter soon after. Peter reports that two kids have already called him “retard,” and Cole thinks back to when Peter used to wake up from nightmares that he was being attacked again. He tells himself that he helped Peter by inviting him to the island. He wants to prove to Peter that he has changed, but he isn’t entirely sure if that is true.

In school, Cole tries to stay unnoticed, but feels singled out, and Peter feels the same. They both discuss their environment and how they might find a way to channel their anger without the pond and the ancestor stones. Cole gets an idea to ask a local grocer to use their walk-in freezer as a replacement for the cold pond, who hesitantly agrees. When Cole visits Peter’s house later, he can tell that Peter’s parents are still weary of him and don’t want him around, but Peter stands up for himself and insists that he and Cole are friends now. Peter takes Cole to a thrift store where they buy old bowling balls to use as ancestor rocks.

As the boys walk out with their bowling balls, Cole watches Peter stumble and feels ashamed. Peter takes Cole to an abandoned apartment building and suggests they climb its interior staircase with the bowling balls, then drop them out the top. Cole is reluctant; he fears getting in trouble or going back to prison, but he follows Peter up the ten flights of stairs anyway. They drop their bowling balls out the window and Cole rushes down to retrieve his, realizing he forgot to think about his ancestors or his anger. They leave their bowling balls inside and start to head back when they both spot what appears to be the Spirit Bear. Cole and Peter run toward it, but it turns out to be an unhoused man wearing a white blanket.

Later that day, Cole tells his mother about his idea to sit in the freezer. She seems unsure about it, but gives him permission and trusts him. Cole’s parents are recently divorced, and Cole continues to wonder about his father. Cole boils hot dogs and reiterates a metaphor that Garvey taught him on the island, telling his mother that life (or hot dogs) are what you make of them. It can be a celebration, or it can be ordinary. His mother looks at him with pride, feeling like her son has changed, and Cole hopes that she is right. The next morning, Cole meets Peter at the grocery store and they sit in the freezer together. He can’t manage to find peace, however, because he keeps thinking about his father. Afterward, the boys walk to school and are approached by a group of kids looking to pick on them. The biggest one, Keith, starts pushing and mocking Peter, which sets off Cole’s rage. Cole tries to intervene and punch Keith, but the school coach appears moments later and ends the fight. Cole, Peter, and the other boys are called to the principal’s office.

In the principal’s office, Keith lies and says that Cole and Peter started the fight. Not wanting to face Keith again later, neither Cole nor Peter denies it. When Garvey arrives an hour later, he’s angry at Cole for reacting the way he did. Cole can see no other solution, but Garvey points out that Cole’s reaction only caused further trouble. He explains that backing away or becoming an immovable stone can be a much more effective way to handle such a situation; he helps Cole see that he would not have been strong enough to fight Keith in any case. Garvey emphasizes inner control. He tries to help Cole understand that he can only control himself, not anyone or anything else. He tells Cole that the Circle Justice meeting coming up will decide if his banishment was effective, and to keep that in mind over the next few days. After school, Cole and Peter carry their ancestor rocks up the stairs again, but Cole doesn’t feel like he was able to let go of his anger toward Keith.