Simon Sort of Says

For the most part, Simon is used to living in a funeral home, though he avoids that side of the house as much as possible. The house has two phones, one for the family and one for the business. One day, the business phone rings while Simon’s parents are both unavailable. Simon anxiously answers, and it turns out to be Agate, who announces that she’s bringing him a puppy and hangs up before he can object.

Agate rides up to Simon’s house with the runt of the litter, which happens to be Simon’s favorite. She sets him out and explains that Simon can socialize the dog until it’s old enough to become a service dog. Simon doesn’t want to get attached but can’t help falling in love with the puppy immediately. His parents both arrive and seem unsure about the idea of having a dog, but when Agate explains that it will help Simon with his “trauma and anxiety” and Simon’s parents see how happy he is, they relent (69). Simon names the dog Hercules.

Simon is shocked by how much work it takes to raise a puppy, but his parents assure him that the exhaustion and time spent will be worth it. Hercules is nervous during his first few nights and wakes up in his dog bed often, and Simon constantly has to take him outside to avoid house accidents. Hercules also chews up everything. Every morning, when Simon takes Hercules outside, they watch the sun come up together and snuggle under Simon’s blanket. Simon feels happy and at ease with Hercules by his side.

Simon comes downstairs before school and finds his dad stressed out on the phone with someone from his church. The woman is complaining about a squirrel, believing it to be heretical in some way, and Simon’s dad is arguing with her. When he hangs up, Simon is curious to know what the squirrel did. Simon’s dad explains that some squirrels nested in the church and chewed into the cabinet that keeps the altar bread (for Holy Communion). Simon’s mom jokes that the “squirrel is now thirty percent Jesus by volume” (77), and Simon’s dad scolds her. Simon’s dad is always anxious about his work because, as a deacon, he still needs to impress the priest, and he doesn’t want anything to go wrong. Simon’s dad also has to go to Denver for rabies shots because of the squirrel, and he invites Simon to come along, but Simon isn’t quite ready for the chaos of the city yet. His dad picks up on it and makes up an excuse about Hercules not being ready. Simon decides to invite Kevin over for a sleepover, and his mom is just happy to see her son doing something “ordinary.”

Kevin comes over to Simon’s house on the long Easter weekend, and the first thing he does is play with Hercules. Afterward, the boys take Hercules for a walk down Main Street and run into Agate at the Hello Hello. Simon feels strange and unsure of how to act with both of his friends around, but he invites Agate over for pizza. The kids spend forever trying to decide on a movie to watch, and they eventually land on a DVD of Contact. Agate considers it a great opportunity to learn, and Kevin is eager to make fun of its inaccuracies. In the movie, it’s explained that prime numbers rarely appear in nature; the signal that the characters get is thus assumed to be from some sort of alien life.

When Simon goes to make popcorn, Kevin and Agate start talking about the upcoming science fair. Kevin plans to do a Hot Pockets experiment, and Agate is excited to hear Kevin’s story about a signal from a microwave that confused Australian astronomers for over a decade. Agate gets an idea, and Simon starts to panic internally about having to tell Kevin about the project (as he’s the only one with a microwave). Simon worries that Kevin will think he’s “weird” and no longer want to hang out with him.

Simon imagines all the worst possible scenarios regarding the message from space, including the possibility of media attention if it succeeds and the funding being cut off if it doesn’t. Meanwhile, Simon starts taking Hercules to school to socialize him with strangers and enjoys helping Hercules overcome his fear of large crowds. Simon tries to avoid talking to Agate about the project, but she passes him a note asking him to meet her at the farm later on, and Simon loses sleep thinking about it. He carts Hercules in a trailer on the back of his bike, which Hercules takes time getting used to.

Simon arrives at the farm in the middle of shearing time, and the goats and family members seem to be everywhere. Agate takes Simon to her treehouse, and they climb up with Hercules in tow. Agate tells Simon about how she discovered that the Vega star will be aligned with her treehouse and the radio telescopes a month from now, which will be a perfect time to send the signal and have the astronomers think it came from Vega. She got the idea from Contact. Simon starts to feel nervous about being up in the treehouse with Hercules and worries that it might break underneath his or Agate’s feet. Agate notices his panic and asks if it’s related to his trauma, and Simon denies it. With the anniversary of the school shooting coming up, Simon’s mind goes back to the day that it happened and the photograph of him standing with his arms raised, as the only survivor in the whole school. He wishes that he could just live in the present and let go of his life before.

Two days before the anniversary of the school shooting, Simon’s school hands out orange memorial ribbons to every student. Over the next two days, Simon is surrounded by ribbons that kids are either wearing or have posted in various places like basketball hoops and walls. The principal calls an assembly to lecture the students about not taking the day seriously, and Simon sits between Agate and Kevin. He starts to feel sick, crowded, and nervous about the principal’s disappointment. Agate starts talking to Kevin about the plan, which makes Simon even more nervous, and then one of the teachers catches them talking and yells at them. She claims that some students put ribbons in her tailpipes, which caused her car to catch fire. Most of the students laugh in response to hearing this.

Simon doesn’t go to school on the actual anniversary, instead spending most of the day under his bed. Food doesn’t have any taste, and he hates the presence of any sort of noise. Simon’s parents and Hercules lie under the bed with him and comfort him, waiting out the pain of the day. Eventually, Simon decides that he wants to go outside with his family and take a walk. It feels liberating, and he knows that he has come a long way since two years before. He still remembers hiding in a classroom, unable to escape.