Now Is Not the Time to Panic

Frankie visits her mother in Coalfield and quickly explains the Mazzy Brower situation, informing her mother that she created the poster in 1996. Frankie’s mother says she has known for quite some time that Frankie created it, having “figured it out” (204) at some point during the panic. She explains her awareness of Frankie’s unusual behavior that summer and admits to noticing the supply of copier paper dwindling as the panic unfolded. Frankie is surprised to learn that her mother had discovered her secret. Her mother assures Frankie that she will not be bothered by the news of the authorship becoming public, dismissing Frankie’s insistence that she is to blame for the deaths of fellow teenagers during the panic. Frankie also tells her of Mr. Avery’s knowledge, and her mother dissuades Frankie from seeking out her backpack, which ended up with Mr. Avery’s sister. She tells her mother that she wants to inform Zeke about Mazzy Brower’s article before it is written.

Frankie searches for information about Zeke, which she hasn’t done since college. He has never had any online presence, and Frankie is uncertain what name he might go by. She spends the night sleeping in her childhood bedroom, and resumes her online search the next day. She searches for five hours and comes up with three locations where Zeke may potentially be living. After talking on the phone with Junie, Frankie calls some of the numbers turned up by her search, none of which lead to Zeke. Finally, Frankie looks up Zeke’s mother’s married name—Cydney Brown—finds a Memphis phone number, and calls it. When a man answers the phone, she knows it is Zeke. Zeke, too, recognizes Frankie’s voice and demands to know why she is calling. He hangs up before Frankie can say much. Frankie spends the rest of the evening thinking about Zeke until she falls asleep. She awakens in the middle of the night, deciding she will drive to Zeke’s home in Memphis to speak with him.

After driving for two hours, Frankie gets a call from her mother, who found the note Frankie left for her. She tries to convince Frankie to allow her to accompany her to Zeke’s home, but Frankie refuses. She stops at a gas station for snacks and hangs up one of the posters.

She arrives at Zeke’s home—the same one his father lived in in 1996. As Frankie pulls in, Zeke himself appears outside of the door. They greet one another, and Zeke says he now goes by Ben. Zeke’s mother appears, followed by his father, who walks with a cane. Frankie is shocked to find them still married after all. She greets his parents awkwardly and learns that his father has experienced a stroke. Zeke agrees to talk to Frankie, and the group goes inside.

His parents hesitate to leave Zeke alone with Frankie but finally agree. Alone, Zeke tells Frankie he has read her books and knows she is married with a child. He says he currently has a girlfriend, and he goes on to explain that, after his summer with Frankie, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He tells her that obtaining an accurate diagnosis was difficult, and then speaks of his parents—who ultimately remained married—and his job as a comic-book artist. He apologizes for hurting Frankie that summer—both physically, because of her broken arm, and emotionally, as he terminated their relationship.

Frankie then tells him about Mazzy Brower and the article. Zeke is scared that the repercussions could be negative, requesting that Frankie not reveal his involvement to Mazzy Brower. Frankie feels she should be truthful about their shared role in the poster’s creation but finally agrees to say she created it alone. Frankie wishes that Zeke would repeat the poster’s phrase but knows she cannot request this of him. Zeke leaves the room to get muffins for each of them, and they talk about his work as a comic artist as they eat. Before leaving, however, Frankie asks if Zeke will teach her to draw the images from the poster, anticipating she will need to prove her complete authorship to Mazzy Brower.

Zeke agrees and, in his bedroom, draws and redraws the images while Frankie copies him. After they are finished, Zeke makes a new sketch of a forest, which he offers to Frankie to keep. They part, Zeke indicating that he may wish to see her again in the future, depending on what results from the article. Then he speaks the lines from the poster before Frankie drives away.

Frankie arrives home and is greeted by Junie and Aaron. She knows she will tell Mazzy Brower “a version of the story that will become the truth” (239). She assures Aaron that everything is okay.

That night, as Frankie puts Junie to bed, Junie asks where she has been. Frankie tells Junie about the poster in a vague way, explaining that she made something when she was a teenager but kept it a secret. She tells Junie that she is about to reveal the secret for the first time and that this is what her trip to Junie’s grandmother’s home entailed. Junie asks Frankie to share the secret with her, and when Frankie recites the words from the poster, Junie joins in. She insists that Frankie spoke them to her when she was a baby, and Frankie recalls reciting them. Junie says that the two are fugitives, and Frankie concurs, telling Junie that it can be good to be a fugitive. Junie falls asleep, and Frankie stays in her room a while longer, thinking of the phrase, certain it will never change.