Freak the Mighty: Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

Max says that he used to think all the fuss about Friday the 13th was silly, but in October, he starts to reconsider. School is going well, and Mrs. Donelli is getting used to them. She knows by now that Freak is smarter and more well-read than she is, so she often tries to get Max to give answers instead. Max just shrugs and smiles. He doesn’t think it matters if he knows the answers or not, since if he doesn’t, Freak will explain it to him later in a way he can understand. Max often does know the answers, but this is because Freak has been showing him how to read and now it all makes sense. Max’s reading tutor insists that this is proof that Max has never been learning disabled.

The tutor even makes Mrs. Donelli stop asking Max questions in class and quiz him during study hall instead. Max tells the reader that there’s a big difference between speaking up in class and speaking to one person. Mrs. Donelli seems to understand this, but she doesn’t understand how Max can seemingly read but not write. Max explains that no matter what Freak says, writing isn’t just like talking. He doesn’t believe he’ll ever be able to write—he’s good at listening, which is like reading, but he doesn’t talk or write.

On Friday the 13th, Max gets a note asking him to go to the principal’s office. Freak is upset that he can’t go too, but he offers to send Max with his dictionary so he can use big words on Mrs. Addison. Max refuses; he’s afraid that he’ll forget how to look up a word and thereby prove that he’s a “butthead goon” who should be in the learning disabled class. If they put him back in the learning disabled class, Max has already decided that he’ll run away. Mrs. Addison shows Max into her office and he can tell that this is serious. She assures him that they’re not putting him back in the learning disabled class.

Mrs. Addison says that this is personal—it’s about Kenny. Max wishes that he was in trouble as Mrs. Addison explains that she got a request from Kenny via the parole board. Before she can finish, Max covers his ears and he says he doesn’t want to hear it. Mrs. Addison calls in the school nurse and both women try to hug Max. They try to tell Max that they’ll make it clear to Kenny’s parole officer and his lawyer that Max isn’t going to do anything. Finally, Max removes his hands from his ears and he realizes that he’s curled into a ball in the corner. He doesn’t know how he got there. The nurse is crying, so Max assumes he hurt her and apologizes. She insists that Max didn’t hurt her, but Max thinks that he must’ve but that he doesn’t remember it. This is terrifying.

Later in the cafeteria, something even worse happens: when Max gets up to get Freak another helping of American chop suey, he returns to find Freak red in the face and choking. Max fetches the nurse, who calls an ambulance. The nurse inserts a tube into Freak’s mouth, and after a minute, Freak’s purple face starts to look pink again. By the time the ambulance arrives, Freak doesn’t want to go. They won’t let Max join Freak, so Mrs. Addison pulls Max away and she observes that Max has had quite the day. Max insists that Kevin is the one who had quite the day—and all Kevin did was try to eat lunch. At this, Mrs. Addison assures Max that he’s going to be okay.