The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

Mason met Mrs. Drinker when he crashed through their basement window on his sled. He lost control of the steering and ended up on the ping pong table. Matt was livid and demanded he pay them back, but Mrs. Drinker was more worried about Mason’s safety. She said, “This is a person who could be hurt! Let’s not worry about objects!” (30). Mason promised to pay Mrs. Drinker back, and she and Moonie the dog walked him back home. Mason loves Moonie, especially his tail. Mrs. Drinker came up with a plan for Mason to watch Moonie when they are out of town, which is often, because Mr. Drinker has a job that keeps him away most of the time. 

Mason looks for Calvin on the bus that afternoon but doesn’t see him. He thinks about the bus playing his morning backwards. He sees the firehouse, where there is a memorial bench for Benny. Mason often rides his bike to town to sit on that bench: “If we can’t have Benny, well, I guess I am glad the bench is there” (34). Mason reflects on the pain he still feels about his friend, which Lt. Baird stirs up about once a month. 

Mason remembers the day Benny died, when Lt. Baird gave him the notebook and orange pencil. He told Mason to write down anything he could remember about that day. Grandma and Uncle Drum told Lt. Baird that Mason struggles with reading and writing, but Lt. Baird insisted he keep the notebook. He tells Mason to write down anything, as any small memory could help solve the case. Mason reflects: “Tell you what. I have tried. But I don’t think I have those pieces” (38). 

The loop is almost complete, and the bus begins up the road to Mason’s house. The bus lets off all the kids in the development at one stop, called a cluster stop. Mason remembers the day a car hit and killed his mother on this road: “[I] [t]hought that bang was the sound. When the car hit her. But somewhere in these years my brain got it. Bang was about losing her” (39).

Mason hears the bullies in the back upset over a dead phone. They try to take Calvin’s tablet, which is when Mason finally notices him. They give the tablet back at the bus stop, but when all the boys, Mason and Calvin included, get out of the bus, Calvin becomes the target of bullying. Mason stands up for Calvin. Matt Drinker is livid and starts throwing apples at both boys—Mason protects Calvin with his body, and they run down the hill toward his house. They finally tumble inside and find Mason’s uncle and Grandma. Grandma offers both boys a banana shake. 

Calvin doesn’t seem to mind the mess in the Buttle house. He fits right in with Grandma. The boys watch as she makes them a shake, adding vanilla, ice cream, and bananas to a blender. At that moment, Mason sees a pink light in the sky, which he associates with happiness: “Pink is the color of the good parts. Best parts. Of life, I mean. Happens only sometimes” (47). Mason sees these colors in response to feelings but realizes other people don’t.

Calvin and Mason talk to Grandma until Shayleen emerges from the bedroom. She talks down to Mason about how big he sounds and how loud he walks. Mason defends himself, giving Shayleen grief, which is more fun with Calvin laughing along with him. As Shayleen starts on a long lecture, Grandma hits the blender button hard so the whirring engine drowns out her voice. 

Calvin and Mason climb the creaky old stairs to Mason’s room. The house is odd, but Calvin loves it. Mason thinks: “Tell you what. Calvin sees the best of this old crumbledown” (51). Calvin asks about Shayleen, whether she is Mason’s sister. Mason laughs and finds it hard to explain—Uncle Drum brought her home last year around apple season, and she isn’t his girlfriend. She is too young for him. Calvin nods, perplexed. Mason then explains his sweating condition, and Calvin says he has looked it up already. He likes to look up things that are unfamiliar to him. They both admire Mason’s new shirt with the duct tape sticker. 

Mason is in the SWOOF, which is busy today. He sits down to feed the Dragon again. He starts talking about Shayleen, who is part of his story. He tells the Dragon that Shayleen was a girl Uncle Drum picked up at the diner because she was crying and couldn’t pay for her own breakfast. Grandma told him she was too young for him, but he explained that it wasn’t like that. Since that day, Shayleen took over Mason’s room, and he moved to his mother’s bedroom. Shayleen used Uncle Drum’s credit card to buy things off the home shopping network. At first, the novelty of a new person in the house was exciting, but now, Mason is sick of all the things filling up the house and Shayleen’s nagging. Mason feels a tap on his shoulder; it is Annalissetta Yang.