George

At school the next day, Ms. Udell reaffirms that she cannot cast George as Charlotte because there are too many girls who wish to play the spider. However, given George’s “passion and dedication” she can offer her the male protagonist’s part of Wilbur (85). George declines this and every other part. Kelly has been offered the part of Charlotte. George will be in the crew.

Two bullies, Rick and Jeff, overhear Kelly ask George why she isn’t in the play. They joke that George did not get a part because she was so bad and probably read the spider’s part, being the “freaking girl” that she is (89). Kelly calls the boys jerks and says that of course, George is not a girl. George surprises Kelly by saying, “What if I am?” (90). Kelly is confused, because George is anatomically male, and George begs her not to tell anyone that she is a girl. The two rush off towards home on their respective buses.

At home, Mom is waiting for George. While cleaning, she found George’s magazine collection. She asks if George stole the magazines, and George replies that she found them in different places. Mom tells George that she does not want to find her son wearing her women’s clothing. George says that she has not been wearing Mom’s clothes. Mom goes into her room, taking away the denim bag of magazines. George feels bereaved now that “her friends were gone” (94).

George spends the next days in “a haze of unhappiness,” isolated from both Kelly and her mom (95). She plays video games with Scott and contemplates the differences between the two of them. Whereas she likes the experience and sensory effects of playing, Scott enjoys the adrenaline-charged violence of the game. She gives up when Scott chooses a more violent, shooting video game and leaves him to “kill everything in sight (102).

At school on Monday, Kelly finds George and tells her that “if you think you’re a girl […] then I think you’re a girl too” (104). She has been looking up transgender people and wonders whether George’s mother would allow her to transition before she becomes a man. George is pessimistic; she tells Kelly about Mom’s banishment of her magazines.

Up until the play, afternoons will be devoted to preparing for it. George is part of the crew and decides that “if she couldn’t be Charlotte, she could at least deliver the large cards with the painted spiderweb words on them to Kelly” and “be Charlotte’s Charlotte, deeply hidden in the shadows” (111).

Jeff is in the crew and cross about having to participate at all. He decides to make fun of Charlotte’s character, saying he would crush her if he could. George is furious, thinking she won’t stand for such talk (114). She manages to emblazon the back of Jeff’s shirt with the words “Some Jerk,” a reference to the “Some Pig” message in Charlotte’s Web (115). When Jeff finds out, he tells Rick that “it looks like someone’s finally starting to grow some balls,” an expression George finds deeply embarrassing, because she dreads boys talking “about what was in her underpants” (117). Jeff calls George a “freak” repeatedly and beats her up until she vomits (118).

Principal Maldonado calls George’s mother. While in the principal’s office, George notices a sign that says “Support Safe Spaces for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth” (126). She wishes that she could find such a space and meet other girls like her there. Meanwhile, Principal Maldonado says that George should not make a habit of getting into fights, because she will not be so lenient next time. Mom takes George home.