Looking for Alaska

The Colonel will tell Miles little about the pre-prank except that it is titled Barn Night. While waiting for the prank to get started, Miles spends his time studying and finally finishes his religion paper. He has concluded that most Christians and Muslims believe in an afterlife, though there is disagreement within both religions as to how people end up in heaven or hell. Buddhism is more complicated because it does not hinge on the concept of an eternal soul but rather on energy that is reincarnated again and again until reaching enlightenment.

Miles has never liked writing concluding paragraphs and so, instead, he talks about why the question (“what happens after we die?”) is important. He feels that it is because people are seeking security and cannot bear the thought of non-existence. In short, people believe in an afterlife because they cannot bear the alternative.

On Friday, the Colonel tells the Eagle that Takumi and Miles will be spending the weekend at home with him. A phone call to his mother corroborates this story, as Dolores trusts her son and has no reservations about covering for him. Alaska joins them at the barn, having told the Colonel that she is spending the weekend with Jake, and Lara arrives shortly afterwards. She had told the Eagle that she was going to Atlanta to see an old friend and her parents confirmed that they were fine with this arrangement.

The Colonel goes on to outline the pre-prank, which involves distracting the Eagle while Lara embarks on a solo mission and the Colonel hacks into the school’s computer network, sending letters to the parents of Kevin and his cohorts stating that they are failing some of their classes. Miles is worried, but the Colonel assures him that there are no expellable offenses involved.

The Colonel has printed out individual itineraries for each team member, and Miles has “never felt cooler. The Great Perhaps was upon us, and we were invincible” (103). After five minutes, Miles and Takumi head to their destination, with their role being to distract the Eagle. Miles is still nervous but Takumi is much more gung-ho, donning a plush fox hat to symbolize his agility. Miles’s heart is pounding, but, when Takumi’s countdown reaches zero, he lights a firecracker and they run away as fast as they can. They hear a voice cry out “STOP RIGHT NOW!” (105), but Takumi whispers, “No one can catch the fox” (105).

They continue running and lighting firecrackers but make a slight navigational error and end up near the lake, where the swan bites Miles on the backside. Despite the pain, he and Takumi run for several more minutes until they teach the bank of the creek. They subsequently find their way back to the barn where they meet up with Lara, and the Colonel and Alaska then join them. Lara says that she has successfully put blue hair dye in the gel and conditioner used by Kevin and his friends. The Colonel already knows that Takumi and Miles were successful, as he was able to complete his own task without being intercepted. However, he is annoyed at Alaska for printing out false reports for another 20 Weekday Warriors—not just the three they agreed upon. As the Colonel points out, this means that there are 23 students that the Eagle can eliminate as suspects. Alaska assures him that she will take the fall if necessary, but the Colonel is skeptical, given that she ratted out Marya.

Takumi says that they will not get caught but, if they do, he will take the fall along with Alaska. They all know that the Colonel has the most to lose, as he will have no chance of getting a scholarship to another good school if he is expelled, so Takumi reassures him that this will not happen.

As they discuss the pre-prank, Alaska starts ranting about Kevin. Miles does not see Kevin as worth hating, but sees the prank as a chance to “wreak a little havoc” (111) as the Colonel would say. Alaska seems to be driven to do something else—something more—but he can see that she is finished talking.

The group starts passing round wine later that night, and, though Miles is not that much of a drinker, he feels a sense of warmth and contentment. He recognizes that drinking is also fun because it carries the risk of expulsion, and this brings with it an illicit thrill. Actual expulsion would be another matter. 

After waking up in the barn the next morning, Takumi leads the group in a freestyle rapping session. Alaska then decides to start drinking again and the others follow her lead, but she suggests that they slow down the pace with a game called Best Day/Worst Day: everybody tells the story of the best and worst days of their life, and the best storyteller does not have to drink. They then move on the second best/worst day, and so on, until someone quits. Alaska believes that she will win this game, as she is the best drinker and storyteller.

Alaska tells Miles to start, and he says that this is the best day of his life on account of the weather, companionship, and general sense of contentment. Alaska finds this story better than she imagined it to be, but she believes that her own is better. Her best day was when her mother accompanied her on a class trip to the zoo when she was eight years old. The Colonel is unimpressed by this short, simple story, but Miles believes that Alaska is being intentionally vague. Even so, he wonders why she would pick this as the best day of her life.

Lara says that the best day of her life was when she arrived in America, as her family relied upon her (due to her ability to speak English) and treated her as an adult for the first time; additionally, her family now enjoys a more financially comfortable life.

Takumi says that the best day of his life was when he lost his virginity, but he jokes that his friends will have to get him drunker if they want the details.

When it comes to his turn, the Colonel says that the best day of his life has not happened yet but he can see it clearly: he will buy his mother a big house and finally be able to pay her back for all that she has done for him over the years.

Alaska concludes that the Colonel won that round, and discussion now turns to worst days. The Colonel cites his father’s departure as the worst day of his life. His father had cheated on his mother and had been abusive, subsequently leaving without saying goodbye. The Colonel has not seen him since.

Miles says that his worst day was in 7th grade, when a fellow student had urinated over his gym clothes and the teacher said that he would have to wear his uniform or fail the class. He tried to explain what had happened but was embarrassed, and the teacher yelled at him until he put on the soiled garments. He remembers this as the day that he stopped caring about being a loser or not having any friends. In this sense, he feels that it was good for him in the long term, but the moment itself was awful.

Lara determines that her worst day was probably the same as her best day: after arriving in America, she had to grow up quickly and deal with practical matters (such as tax forms) that other 12 year olds would not have to concern themselves with. Her family relied upon her, and this was a hefty burden. This story makes Miles realize that he and Lara have something in common. Lara has been so used to speaking for her family that she has never learnt for herself, and Miles is not a particularly skilled speaker either. At this moment, Miles feels an impulse to kiss her, as kissing does not require verbal communication. The awkwardness between them that resulted from their disastrous first date melts away.

It is now Takumi’s turn, and he says that his worst day was when he was due to visit his grandmother only to learn that she had died in a car crash. He saw her for the first time at her funeral, and, as this was a Buddhist ceremony, she was erected on a pyre before being cremated. Seeing his grandmother under such circumstances therefore had a lasting effect.

Alaska now reveals her worst day: the day after her mother had taken her to the zoo; she was in her bedroom when she heard a scream from downstairs. Finding her mother lying on her floor with her head jerking, she panicked. Rather than dialing for an ambulance, she started screaming and crying until it appeared as though her mother had fallen asleep. She then sat beside her mother until her father arrived. He asked why she had not called 911 and proceeded to conduct CPR. By then, though, her mother was already dead as the result of an aneurysm. Takumi asks her whether her father blamed her and she feels that, to some degree, he does. Alaska also blames herself, saying that even children can dial 911.

Miles is silent as he tries to reconcile this story with Alaska’s previous comments and behavior such as her references to her mother’s jokes, and the time when she told Miles that her mother no longer smokes. The Colonel asks her why she never told him, but she says that it never came up. The group carries on drinking in silence; no one knows what to say.

Miles thinks about the last words of William McKinley, who was the 3rd American president to be assassinated. As he was dying, his wife cried out that she wanted to go with him, to which he replied, “We are all going.” Miles now feels that he understands what Alaska meant when she said that she always ruins everything, and he recognizes that her mother’s death is the central event in her life. She must have felt powerless at that time, and her inaction spurred her on to become impulsive and perpetually active. When the Eagle had pressurized her to rat, she was probably scared of being paralyzed by fear again and blurted out the first name that came to mind. Miles concludes that McKinley was right: we are all in a labyrinth of suffering and we all have to find our way out. There also comes a time when we realize that our parents cannot save us, and that “everyone who wades through time eventually gets dragged out to sea” (120).

Later that night, Miles lies next to Lara and traces his fingers from her elbow to her wrist. Lara then kisses him and he imagines that he is a great kisser, only for Lara to say that he has slobbered over her. He admits that he is inexperienced but she tells him that it was “nice slobbering” (121). After more kissing, Miles asks Lara if she wants to be his girlfriend, and she says that she does. He judges this to be a fine end to the best day of his life.

Alaska is extremely hungover the next morning, but, when Miles says that maybe she should not drink so much, she tells him that she is “a deeply unhappy person” (124).

They arrive back on campus, and the Eagle does not seem to suspect anything. Miles feels like he should be doing extraordinary things, but, instead, he spends the day sleeping off his hangover.