Chapter 13

Summary

• The narrator begins by reading the essays she had assigned. Theo's essay, which argues that teachers should be subject to the same scrutiny as students, surprises her.
• The other student essays propose intensive security measures in schools with suggestions like monitoring bathrooms and allowing cell phones to stay on. The teacher is disappointed that the essays seem to lack originality and genuine engagement with the topic.
• The teacher is grappling with the disappearance of her close friend Emmy, along with the mystery of a patient named Bethany Jarvitz who she believes might be connected to Emmy's disappearance. She suspects a student, Theo, might be involved somehow.
• The teacher remembers Emmy's outgoing, sociable personality and their time together. Emmy relied on her companionship, and the teacher feels guilty, thinking she left Emmy alone before her disappearance.
• The police officer, Kyle Donovan, calls the teacher and asks to go through some phone calls with her later regarding the disappearance of Emmy. The teacher agrees.
• The teacher finds a sketch of the location where Bethany was found hurt, sketched by Theo, which adds to her suspicion of him. She copies down his personal information from the class list.
• The teacher visits Bethany in the hospital. Seeing her condition, the teacher feels sure that the assault on Bethany will go unnoticed unless she wakes up and speaks up. The teacher also recognizes an older woman, Martha, at the hospital, who had found Bethany injured. Martha had also seen Bethany before at a bus stop near some apartment units. The description Martha provides of the area matches the sketch left by Theo.
• Martha implies that Bethany used to walk around the area where she was found. They discuss the demographics of the town, mentioning many people who move there are hoping to start fresh. The teacher leaves Martha her number to inform her if anything changes with Bethany.