The View From Saturday

Mrs. Olinski and Margaret Draper met during Mrs. Olinski’s first teaching job. Margaret had been the “superb” school principal, and after she retired, she kept in touch with Mrs. Olinski. The following summer, Mrs. Olinski was in the car crash that killed her husband, bringing the two women even closer (Margaret had also lost her husband). When Ethan Potter, Margaret’s grandson, is assigned to Mrs. Olinski’s homeroom, she watches him closely and decides that Ethan might be a good addition to her Academic Bowl team.

During the Academic Bowl, Ethan hits his buzzer to answer the third question. The question is about places in New York State that are associated with “women famous in American history” (60). He answers correctly.

The second portion of Chapter 3 is titled “Ethan Explains the B and B Inn” and describes Ethan’s experience at Epiphany Middle School and how he becomes a member of The Souls (61).

Ethan lives further from the school than all the other students, so he boards the school bus first and gets off last. On the first day of school, Ethan chooses a double seat at the back of the bus and puts his backpack beside him—blocking the other seat. As the bus picks up students, Ethan thinks about his deep and ancient family ties to Clarion County. Ethan’s mother comes from a long line of “strong women.” Ethan’s triple great-grandmother was arrested after marching behind Susan B. Anthony to the polls in Rochester. Ethan lives on a farm and helps his mother sell fresh produce and eggs at the farmer’s market. Even though Ethan has an older brother, Luke, the family expectation is for Ethan to take over the farm. Ethan has not told his parents that he has no interest in the farm and wants to work in New York City, designing theater costumes and stage sets. Luke is in college, and Ethan feels overshadowed by his almost mythically stellar reputation.

Ethan describes a part of Clarion County called “The Farm,” a suburban subdivision parceled off from land belonging to the oldest farmhouse in Clarion County, Sillington house. The “historical residents” of Epiphany, mostly farmers, do not like the subdivisions or the suburbanites who live there. Ethan explains the difference between the two groups by their opposing perspectives on dirt: “To them [suburbanites], the earth is something to be respected and preserved, but dirt gets no respect. A farmer likes dirt. Suburbanites like to get rid of it” (64). As Ethan looks out of the school bus window, he notices that the bus takes a different route than normal and heads toward the sprawling Sillington farmhouse.

Outside the house, Ethan sees a man wearing a blue apron and a white turban standing beside a boy wearing shorts and knee-length socks and holding a leather book bag. After boarding the bus, the new student waves back to his father (another thing, like shorts and knee-socks, that Epiphany students don’t do). The new student stops by Ethan’s double seat and, in a British accent, asks whether it is occupied. After sitting down, the boy holds out his hand and introduces himself, “Julian Singh” (66). Ethan says his name and shakes Julian’s hand, surprised by the unusual gesture. Curiosity overrides Ethan’s wish to ignore the boy, and Ethan asks whether his family bought Sillington house. Julian tells Ethan that his father, a chef, bought Sillington house to turn it into a bed and breakfast. Even though Ethan has more questions, he just looks back out of the window. When the bus arrives at school, Ethan waits until all the students are off in hopes that Julian will not be waiting for him—but he is, so they walk to Mrs. Olinski’s room together.

Mrs. Olinski is a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down by injuries sustained in a car crash. She writes her name and “PARAPLEGIC” on the blackboard before introducing herself and explaining her accident to the class. Hamilton (“Ham”) Knapp, the class bully, mocks Mrs. Olinski by asking her to write higher up because he can’t see clearly. Ethan sees Nadia sitting two rows in front of him, and he reminisces about rescuing turtle hatchlings this summer with her and his grandparents in Florida. Ethan regrets not telling her how much he “liked seeing the halo the sunlight made of her hair” (70). Noah Gershom and Julian sit a few rows behind Ethan. At lunchtime, Ethan sees Julian sitting alone with a lunchbox brought from home and notices him leave the lunchroom early. By the time Mrs. Olinski catches up to Julian, he is already in the classroom, standing by the blackboard and holding an eraser. On the board, the word “PARAPLEGIC” has been erased and replaced by the word “CRIPPLE.” Silently, Mrs. Olinski erases the word “CRIPPLE.” Ethan sees Ham Knapp and Michael Froelich smile and exchange glances.

Julian is relentlessly bullied. He is mocked for his British accent and clothing, but Ethan notices that Julian continues to be cheerful and never succumbs to peer pressure. Julian eventually understands that Ethan does not want to walk with him to class from the bus. Three days after Julian starts walking to class alone, Ethan sees Michael waiting to ambush Julian. Ethan runs off the bus, links arms with Julian, and blocks Michael. However, Ham grabs Julian’s leather bag and scrawls “I am a ass” in black marker on it (73). The following day, Ethan notices that Julian has changed the scrawl to “I am a passenger on Spaceship Earth” (73).

During the fall farmer’s market, Julian and his father, Mr. Singh, visit Ethan’s mother’s stand to buy pumpkins. Julian pays Ethan with a folded $10 bill. Inside the fold, Ethan finds a Post-it Note with “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Chapter VII Title” written on it (76). Ethan looks up the title: “A Mad Tea Party” (76). The following day on the bus, neither Julian nor Ethan mention the invitation, but Ethan finds another note attached to his backpack: “Tea Time is always 4pm. World Atlas Map 4: D-16” (77). While Ethan is looking up the map coordinates in the library, he sees Nadia flipping through Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and suspects that she is also invited to the tea party. Ethan is excited about the party and appreciates Julian’s secret style of invitation since, in Ethan’s opinion, non-secret invitations highlight who has been excluded. Ethan decides to take Julian a jigsaw puzzle as a gift. The only difficult one left in the store is heart shaped, but Ethan gets it anyway. Ethan walks the mile and a half to Sillington house. When he arrives, he sees Nadia and Julian outside with a puppy—one of Ginger’s puppies and Nadia’s gift to Julian. Noah arrives with a wrapped gift and joins them on the front porch. Noah quizzes Nadia about the puppy, questioning who gives a puppy as a gift with its name already chosen. Nadia explains that she named the puppy Alice because of Julian’s invitations. Inside Julian’s house, the group sees a portrait of Julian’s late mother, who was a “chanteuse” (singer) on a cruise ship. The new friends sit around a long table, drinking tea, eating small sandwiches and cakes, and sharing jokes in an easy atmosphere. Julian opens his presents. Noah’s gift is a calligraphy set and the promise to teach them all how to master calligraphy. Julian is thrilled with the puzzle Ethan brought, and they start working on it. The group discovers Julian’s talent as a magician when he “produces” mints while pretending to pluck a puzzle piece from Nadia’s hair. As the three friends are leaving the party, Julian says, “Same time next week. But, please, your presence but not presents” (88), and so begins the teatime tradition at Sillington house.

The following week, the group helps Mr. Singh strip wallpaper. Nadia strips the longest piece, so she wins the right to choose their group’s name. She decides on “The Souls,” and after a brief discussion, they all agree. One Saturday teatime a few weeks later, Ethan asks the group which day they would live over again if they got the chance. Nadia says she would relive the day she helped rescue the turtle hatchlings with Ethan, Noah says he would relive the day he was best man at Izzy and Margaret’s wedding, and Julian tells them about a day on the cruise ship when a master magician, Gopal, told him that he had “chops,” the highest compliment for a magician. Before Ethan gives his answer, he thinks about how The Souls have changed him, allowing him to come out of his shell, share jokes, and discuss any subject openly. Ethan finally gives his answer: “I would like to live over the first day of our tea party. And look […] every Saturday since, I get to do just that” (93).