Scrawl

Tod is caught bullying another student for money but not punished because it didn't escalate. Tod writes about how art class doesn't make sense to him. He received a D on a drawing of his ideal house because the teacher didn't appreciate his work. The teacher displayed "real" art belonging to Luz, whom he selected as "artist of the month" (39). Tod notices that her paintings are Egyptian-themed. By the main entrance of the school, there is a statue made by Luz on display. It is a giant sphinx on a pedestal with a desert mural behind it; the sphinx is made up of half a car. Tod admits he thinks Luz is talented.

Tod writes that yesterday his friends were arguing after detention. They are jealous that Tod gets to write in a journal while they do yardwork. Rob accused Tod of snitching on them to get the lighter punishment. Tod intimidated Rob by pretending that he was going to hit him until Rob backed down. Tod also cleaned up a part of Luz's mural which Rob unwittingly muddied. Tod was worried about Bernie's absence because Bernie's mother is ill. The janitor then kicked the boys out into the cold to wait for the bus home. Mrs. Woodrow writes that Tod can trust her with his afterschool activities and asks why his friends call him "Pops." Tod simply replies, "[s]orry" (45).

Tod writes about the school spelling bee a month ago. He was at the library with Bernie when the librarian, Mrs. Lent, sent him to the reading room. Tod likes Mrs. Lent because she doesn't treat him as inferior. Inside the reading room, he discovered parents, students, and teachers all there for the school spelling bee. Mrs. Cornell, the head of the English department, explained that the winner would be featured on TV and move on to the city and state spelling bees. Tod quickly realized that the teachers purposely didn't invite him, so he decided to join the competition out of spite. Mr. Harmon looked ashamed of being part of the teachers' agenda. Although the teachers initially rejected Tod's request to participate, after persuasion from parents, Tod was allowed to join. He ends the entry there.

Mrs. Woodrow is intrigued by Tod's story, so Tod continues. He writes that he was confused about being excluded by Mr. Harmon. Tod wonders if Mr. Harmon is embarrassed of him or was just following orders from Mrs. Cornell. Tod advanced through the competition easily, despite receiving challenging words from Mrs. Cornell. In the final round, Tod's competitor, Greg, misspelled "jewelry" as "jewellery" (56). Mrs. Cornell quickly claimed that the British spelling of the word is valid, so Greg was not disqualified. When it was Tod's turn, he misspelled "license" on purpose despite being angry at the rigged competition. The teachers were satisfied, and Tod won the second-place mug. On his way out of the library, he gave the mug to Mrs. Lent.

Tod is frustrated in this entry as he claims that his life is boring and miserable. He says that he's tired of being judged by his friends for the lighter punishment and wishes that he was outside with them. He wonders about Mrs. Woodrow's goal in having him keep a journal. Tod doesn't see the point because he believes that he's a "loser," so he says "goodbye" (58).

Mrs. Woodrow has had Tod escorted to her room after school by a security guard today. She tells him firmly in the journal that if he refuses to cooperate, she will go to the Disciplinary Committee. She reminds him that she intervened for Tod and his friends to keep them from juvenile hall. Tod agrees to cooperate again and explains that he was hungry and cranky on Friday because he had to sell his lunch card for the week. He tells her his philosophy about getting through each day and protecting his pride. He then tells Mrs. Woodrow about last weekend. He and Rex had stolen snacks from the grocery store and were heading to Rob's when they encountered people handing out religious pamphlets. Tod claims that religious people are always trying and failing to "save" him. Rex taunted one of the religious people and made a deal with them: If he could prove that God doesn't love everyone, they would leave the neighborhood forever. The man agreed, and Rex began citing scripture about God's wrath verbatim, surprising Tod. Rex yelled until the religious people left in fear. As Rex smoked a cigarette, Tod asked him what all that was. Rex didn't reply and asked Tod not to tell Rob about it.

Mrs. Woodrow compliments Tod on his storytelling and asks him to write about writing. He tells her about another quote on Mr. Harmon's door and reveals that writing about the spelling bee caused his anger about it to surface again. Today he confronted Mr. Harmon about not telling him about the spelling bee. Mr. Harmon claimed that the information was online, but Tod doesn't have a computer at home. Tod insisted that he was excluded on purpose and implied that Mr. Harmon only supported Greg because Greg is in Mr. Harmon's AV club. Mr. Harmon ignored this accusation. After class, Tod saw Mrs. Woodrow posting honor roll grades in the hall. Tod doesn't believe in posting grades publicly because he claims that grades aren't an indication of intelligence; good grades simply make life easier. He thanks Mrs. Woodrow for giving him a sandwich earlier.