We Dream of Space

On Saturday night, Cash settles in on the couch with his father to watch the Philadelphia 76ers play the Detroit Pistons. Cash is a devoted fan of Julius Erving, known as Dr. J, small forward for Philadelphia. While Bird goes outside to look at constellations and Fitch is holed up in his room listening to music, Cash broaches the subject of Penny with his father. He is hesitant, but eventually reveals that he likes her, but she is dating someone else. Mike tells Cash that Cash’s mother was very popular in high school, where they met, and that there were many other young men who were also interested in her. Mike tells Cash that the strategy he employed to stand out and catch her attention was to “one-up all the other guys any way I could,” telling his son “all is fair in love and war” (136).

Engaging with space in his own way, Fitch sits in his room reading a Choose Your Own Adventure story called Space and Beyond. Bird invites him to come outside with her, but he declines. He recalls a time he and his twin sister did almost everything together, and he cannot remember how or when or why that changed. Changing his mind, Fitch finds his sister outside sitting on the hood of the family car staring at the sky. Fitch asks her if she thinks there is life on other planets, and Bird says that she does. She tells Fitch that one day she might discover it for herself, revealing that she dreams of becoming an astronaut like Judith Resnik. Fitch tells Bird that if she ends up getting abducted by aliens, she shouldn’t leave without him.

Back inside, Fitch donates one of his audio cassettes to Bird, so that she can take it apart. Though he doesn’t understand why she is so interested in disassembling things and discovering how they work, he still asks her to explain it to him. As she is about to fall asleep, Bird engages in imaginary dialogue with Judith Resnik, asking the astronaut if Bird is pretty. Judith answers that pretty doesn’t truly exist, that it is in the mind of the beholder, and that the definitions of its parameters are dictated by society and trends and changes in values. According to Bird’s conception of Judith “pretty is what you make it” (150).

On Monday morning, Fitch sleeps in and is late getting into the car. Tammy scolds him, but she is undermined by Mike who insists that they “don’t have time for this” (155). This offends Tammy and spurs a larger argument about their abilities as parents.

Fitch is already annoyed with Vern when they take their seats in Ms. Salonga’s class, and Vern begins engaging Amanda in conversation with them, joining her in calling Fitch Henry. As Amanda prattles on about her weekend, she continues repeating his given name, and as the final bell rings, Fitch loses his temper and shouts “My name is Fitch, you FAT, STUPID COW! Fitch! IF we’re calling each other by our real names, I guess I should call you Chewbacca!” (162). He picks up his notebook and throws it across the room. Amanda runs from the room, tripping and falling before running out.

During his period of Ms. Salonga’s class, Cash is paired with Penny to create a comparative list of the superlatives of humans and machines when contrasted with one another. Cash asks Penny how long she has been seeing Charlie. When she tells Cash that they have been dating for two months, he follows his father’s doctrine that all is fair in love and war. Hoping to lower her impression of Charlie, Cash asks Penny “He’s kind of a dork, don’t you think?” Penny is offended, replying “I don’t care if someone like you thinks he’s a dork or not” (169). He attempts to brush off her comment, claiming he doesn’t care who she dates, but he immediately flees the room on the excuse that he needs to go to the bathroom. Instead, he wanders the hallways of the school, wishing he could simply walk away and escape. When he gets back, Ms. Salonga expresses concern that Cash has not been turning in his assignments, and that his grade in her class is slipping. She asks if there is anything that she can do to be of help to him, but he politely brushes her off and heads to his next class.

When Bird takes her seat in Ms. Salonga’s class, Jessica Brantley asks if Bird had heard about her brother, relating a sensationalized version of the story of what happened between Fitch and Amanda. Bird’s classmates speculate about what occurred. After class, Bird approaches Ms. Salonga to ask what happened with Fitch. Ms. Salonga explains that Fitch had an outburst and had been sent to the office. Ms. Salonga asks Bird how she is doing. When Bird explains that she is worried about her brothers, Ms. Salonga reiterates that she was asking about Bird.

Fitch’s mother chastises him for treating another person so terribly and says, “You know we don’t condone that kind of talk” (189). Fitch finds this absurd given the way that she and his father speak to and yell at one another in similar tones and with the same level of malice. He is suspended for three days and not allowed to go to his sanctuary, the arcade.

At Dani Logan’s house, Bird joins her new friend and her parents for dinner. When Bird offers a suggestion to Mr. Logan, he welcomes it with enthusiasm, and Bird cannot recall the last time that an adult has told her that she had a good idea. Dani’s mother tells Bird that Dani has shared with her parents just how smart and talented Bird is, and Dani interjects to state that Bird wants to be shuttle commander. The family toasts to Bird’s future success as the first female shuttle commander, and Bird is elated.

After school, Cash’s friend Brant mentions to Cash and Kenny that there are only 100 days left in middle school and can’t help but clarify that only he and Kenny will be advancing to high school. Brant teases Cash, asking what Cash will do if he fails seventh grade again. Though he claims he is just joking, Cash takes exception to Brant’s questioning, and decides to go home early. Before he leaves, his friends bring up the incident with Fitch in Ms. Salonga’s class.

Fitch has spent the day stewing at home, and when Bird comes into his room to deliver his clean laundry, she shares with him how nice her dinner at Dani Logan’s house had been. When she tells him that they toasted her as the next Judith Resnik, Fitch lashes out, telling Bird that she needs to face reality and accept that she is never going to be a shuttle commander, that she is just a girl from Delaware, and that she will end up just like their mother. When Cash comes into Bird’s room to ask her how many days are left in the school year, he senses something is wrong, even though she denies it. Before bed, Bird consults her conception of Judith Resnik, telling the astronaut that she feels invisible, alone, and insignificant.

His newfound knowledge of the limited number of days left in the school year has made an impression on Cash. He has decided that his biggest problem is that he does not have anything that he is particularly good at. He is not academically gifted or talented at basketball, despite his best efforts. He decides that it will become his mission to discover a skill specific and unique to him, ideally by the end of the day.

Ms. Salonga explains that 100 students will be chosen by essay contest to watch the Challenger launch via live feed. Jessica Diaz whispers to Bird that she thinks Devonte, a fellow member of their mock shuttle crew, has a crush on Bird. Jessica asks if Bird reciprocates his feelings, and Bird admits that it wasn’t something she had ever considered. Jessica suggests that if Bird doesn’t like Devonte she should tell him.

At home by himself, Fitch cooks himself bacon and eggs, and panics when he accidentally sets off the smoke alarm. Without considering why, he goes into his parents’ room tucks himself away in his parents’ closet, closing the door behind him. Breathing in the familiar smells, Fitch is reminded of the hide-and-seek games he would play with Cash and Bird, when he would always choose this closet as his hiding place.

At dinnertime, Bird begins moving all the clutter off the kitchen table, hoping her family can sit down and eat there together. Cash, honoring his commitment to discovering his possible talents, has offered to cook dinner, frying burgers on the stovetop. The conversation turns to the incident with Amanda Piper which lead to Fitch’s suspension. Their mother assures Cash and Bird that Fitch deserved his suspension. When Cash decides he wants bacon on his burger, they can’t find the bacon Tammy bought and an argument ensues between Tammy and Mike. Tammy has no encouraging words for Cash, telling him the burgers are burned because he didn’t follow instructions, and that he’s “not exactly the world’s best chef” (232).

Fitch dreads his first day back at school after his suspension, and he can sense the attention of all his classmates directed toward him when he enters Ms. Salonga’s class. Fitch believes they disapprove, but Vern tells Fitch, “You’re a legend (236).” Fitch realizes that everyone is looking at him with intrigue and awe. Vern tells Fitch that when Ms. Salonga gave Amanda the option to choose whether she or Fitch would switch classes Amanda decided that she would switch. Fitch protests aloud, mostly to himself, that he is the one who should have been made to switch.

Cash takes the hall pass during one his classes, just to have a break from the lesson, which has him feeling overwhelmed. While he is staring at the trophy case thinking about his short-lived time as a basketball player, the school’s athletic coach passes him in the hallway. Although Cash believes that the coach says so only to be kind, Coach tells Cash that they miss him on the basketball team. Coach reflects on how quickly the year is passing, and that before they know it, it will soon be track season.

At the arcade, Fitch finds himself distracted, looking around and see if Amanda will appear, concerned about what he might say, if anything, if she does. He can sense the eyes of his classmates on him as he spends his quarters on his favorite game. By the popcorn machine, he is approached by Jessica Brantley and Jessica Diaz, who express their opinion that his suspension was unfair, because, they believe, Amanda “started the whole thing” (245). The two girls tell Fitch that they are wondering whether he likes anyone. When Fitch says he doesn’t, Jessica Brantley tells him that Rachel Hill likes him. Given Rachel’s popularity, the Jessicas are stunned when Fitch tells them that he isn’t looking for a girlfriend.

Back in his room, Cash is frustrated, trying to practice his basketball jump shot against a chalk mark on his wall. When Bird stops in, Cash expresses his frustration that he has nothing that he is particularly adept at—not school, cooking, or basketball. All he can do well, he admits, is run. Bird says, “Maybe you’re just playing the wrong game” (251).