The Unwanteds

Alex trains as often as possible, determined to catch up to the others. He learns spells associated with art. Still annoyed at Lani, he spends most of his time alone and has “completely abandoned his friends” (100). One day, however, his loneliness compels him to dine with the others. Their conversation is interrupted when everyone is summoned to the theatre. A sarcastic comment from Samheed causes Alex to react with anger, but before a fight can break out, the statue of the winged cheetah appears above. After disrupting the fight and knocking the children to the ground, it leaves. As they leave for the theatre, Alex apologizes for his recent behavior, and his friends accept his apology. 

Every single person and animal gathers in the theatre. Mr. Today announces his fear that Artimé may be discovered before the next batch of Unwanteds arrive. If this happens, he believes High Priest Justine will want to kill everyone in Artimé. Thus, Warrior training will intensify. While the crowd applauds, Will and Samheed sneak away. 

Samheed later finds Lani, Alex, and Meghan in the library. Alex and Meghan are practicing origami spells. On Samheed’s advice, Alex draws eyes on an origami dragon and finds that it flies much better. Alex then adds a tongue and flames. After sending it on a failed attack against an ostrich statue, he promises to make an army of origami dragons. Alex asks Lani what she is reading, and she reveals she has been learning killing spells. They joke together about how she will practice. 

Soon, everyone in Artimé is practicing magic. A stone statue of a woman named Florence leads them in practice duels on the lawn. Alex tries out his origami dragons and a splatterpaint brush, which coats enemies in a magical mold of splatterpaint. He watches as his friends practice spells of their own. Though Florence warns about the dangers of lethal spells, Lani and Samheed can barely disguise their fascination. 

After weeks of training, Alex is exhausted. One night, he wakes up drenched in sweat after dreaming of Aaron again. Unable to return to sleep, Alex explores the mansion and finds a strange hallway; to most students, it appears as nothing more than a “solid, mirrored wall” (113). He enters, finding sofas, windows, a kitchen, and an office. Alex realizes it is Mr. Today’s office. He tries to enter, but a glass shield blocks his way. He hears a voice behind him.

Alex turns around to find Samheed behind him. Samheed reveals that the images on the blackboards in the office are live pictures from Quill. Samheed has been inside the office and seen the people of Quill going about their business. The boys return to the main mansion together and, before departing, Samheed suggests that Alex return to Mr. Today’s office at lunchtime the next day to better “check out” (118) the live pictures but warns him against getting his hopes up. 

Lani is always reading. She reads while walking and, one day, crashes into Will. He reacts rudely, but she departs for breakfast and sits beside her friends. She complains about Will, and Samheed defends his friend. They head to their Warrior Training and begin to learn defensive skills. Samheed whispers to Alex that they should be learning lethal skills, but Alex is unsure. Their whispering is caught, and they are dragged to the front of the class with Lani, who is told to attack the boys while they try to defend themselves. The class discusses the weapons of the Quillitary: knives, shields, slingshots, and old, rusty pellet and BB guns. The governors, Lani says, have handguns. The boys successfully defend themselves from Lani’s attack and, while the crowd cheer, Alex tells her that she was great. Having made himself invisible, he kisses her on the cheek and Lani blushes at the idea that Alex has finally noticed her. 

After the class, Alex slips away and heads for the hidden hallway. He sneaks into Mr. Today’s office and examines the live pictures of Quill. He hopes to catch a glimpse of Aaron but cannot find his brother anywhere. Just as he is about to give up, he sees Aaron enter an empty dorm room and his “heart leaped” (126). After staying as long as he dares, Alex exits the office, wondering why Mr. Today has a live picture of Aaron’s room. For the rest of the day, he ignores everyone else, lost in his thoughts. 

Alex joins his friends after two days lost in his thoughts. He dreams of bringing Aaron to Artimé. He remembers how Aaron had also drawn pictures in the dirt; thus, Aaron should also have been an Unwanted. Alex wakes up, having fallen asleep beside Lani and Meghan. Noticing the tension between Lani and Alex, Meghan makes her excuses and leaves. Lani angrily makes Alex promise not to ignore her again. Meghan returns, talking about a secret project being worked on by Samheed and Will. They discuss magic, and Lani reveals the answers to many of their questions, all found in the books she is always reading. Drawing three-dimensional doors, they realize, can allow people to magically step through them. When Meghan leaves, Alex and Lani discuss their parents and what they left behind in Quill.

The students learn as many different types of spells as possible. In one of Ms. Octavia’s classes, Alex premieres a spell of his own creation. He demonstrates his trapping clay against Lani, then watches as everyone else tries his spell. In a corner, Lani talks to him about the 3D art he has been attempting. She deduces that he wishes to return to Quill and warns him that he will “wreck everything” (137). Though Alex disagrees, Lani says that Aaron is evil. Reluctantly, Alex agrees to stop his quest to bring his brother to Artimé. Alex sees Will, who motions for Samheed to meet him in the library.  

Alex has memorized his brother’s dorm room. Even as he works privately on a magic door to the dorm, he cannot help but think about Samheed and Will. One day, he visits the library to work in private. Searching for a desk, he goes to the third floor, marked “ARCHIVES” (141). He finds a place to work and examines his painting in a fresh light. 

Mr. Today is visited by several teachers and living statues. It is revealed that Alex knows about the secret hallway and has visited three times. They discuss Alex’s mental state and his progress, as well as Will’s suspicious behavior. Mr. Today explains that Will, the son of a Quillitary general, has been bitter since his arrival, particularly because Aaron has taken his privileged place at the Quillitary. Mr. Today points to a live picture of Aaron, who is in High Priest Justine’s office, having just been promoted to assistant secretary. Mr. Today believes that Will seeks “revenge on Aaron” (143) but does not know how. However, Mr. Today will not act against either Alex or Will because, as of this moment, neither has broken a law; punishing them preemptively would turn Artimé into Quill. Mr. Today gives orders for how to handle Will and Samheed while promising to take care of Alex himself. 

Alex stays up every night, distraught with worry over how to save Aaron. One night, he ventures out for a walk to clear his head, unaware that his every move is being reported to Mr. Today. He wanders through the jungle until he arrives at an iron gate. There, four girrinos mistake him for Will. They tell him that those who approach the door tend to do so “in hopes of seeing [the iron door] in a different light, from the good side of things and thereby casting out the horrid memories of Quill” (146) or to escape. But the door is locked from the other side, Alex notes, and he wonders who would want to return to such an awful place. Alex is told of a second way into Quill, through a secret passage in the palace that was created by Justine and Mr. Today. Alex realizes that he has been lied to about the dangerous world beyond the walls of Quill and that those who are old enough to remember have been made to forget with magic. Alex wonders who would do something so terrible as to take people’s memories.