All the Bright Places

Finch is out of school for a week. People talk about him (Principal Wertz shut down the Bartlett Dirt), and on Wednesday, someone asks Violet if she should be on “suicide watch” for her boyfriend. The next day, Violet seeks out Charlie and asks about Finch. Charlie says that this is just what Finch does. Brenda compliments Violet’s glasses, and Violet says that they were Eleanor’s. Finch is at school on Friday morning, but now he’s wearing a ratty knit cap and fingerless gloves. He looks like “Slacker Finch,” and he ignores Violet.

The fire alarm goes off at the beginning of third period. As Violet follows everyone outside, Finch comes up behind her, tells her to meet him in the student parking lot, and walks away. Violet races after him and feels free. No one is chasing them or yelling at them. When they get to the trees near the river, Finch tells Violet to be quiet—the first one to make a noise has to streak back to school. He leads her down the embankment and points to a huge bird, explaining that it’s a hooded crane. It’s native to Asia, but Finch says it isn’t lost—it’s wandering.

Finch steps on a twig and curses. Violet laughs and reminds him that he has to streak back to school now. Sighing, Finch strips totally naked. Violet is shocked; she’s never seen a boy naked, and she didn’t think he’d actually do it. He says that this would be more fun if Violet was naked too, and then he dives into the river. Violet sits on the bank and watches him, and then she pulls out their notebook to write. Finch swims back toward her. When she asks why he was gone, he says he was remodeling. He also says that unfortunately, Finch’s dad is back in town.

The fire alarm isn’t going off anymore, but Violet isn’t worried about being counted absent. Finch gets out of the river, dresses, and starts to tell Violet what they should do next. But then, Roamer, Ryan, and another boy come down the embankment. Ryan says that they came to check on Violet, but Roamer implies that Violet and Finch have been having sex. Roamer and Finch exchange insults, and then Roamer jumps Finch. They roll into the water. At first, Finch doesn’t fight back—but then he grabs Roamer and holds his head underwater. Violet tells Finch to let Roamer go as Ryan pulls on Finch’s collar. Finally, Finch drops Roamer and stalks up the hill.

Figuring she’s already in trouble for skipping class, Violet heads across town to Finch’s house. Kate answers the door and says she’s sure Finch is around somewhere. She lets Violet go upstairs to Finch’s room. Violet knocks, but no one answers. The door is locked. She considers picking it but decides Finch would let her in if he wanted to see her. Back downstairs, Kate seems unconcerned that Finch is gone. She thinks he might be running, which he does “about fifteen times a day.” She says it’s impossible to tell what Finch is going to do.