Paper Things

Ari feels uplifted and determined to get into her chosen middle school, so she picks up an application from the school office after school. She runs into her computer lab teacher there, who invites Ari to tell her more about her experience at Head Start sometime. Ari leaves for Head Start and joins the craft table for another catalog-cutting session. She thinks about ways to get the students interested in her campaign as she cuts out a snowflake from a piece of paper. It then occurs to Ari that she and Daniel could set up the snowflakes around the school, drawing attention and interest from other students who might then join in for other campaigns. Ari tells the staff at the preschool her idea, and they encourage her to go forward with it. When one of the staff, a woman named Fran, says she can’t afford a new bike she needs, Ari offers to take a bike catalog ad to Reggie and see if he can make another paper plane. She hopes that wishing on it will work the same way it did for her.

The preschool center is closing for the day, and Gage still hasn’t come to pick up Ari. After convincing the staff that she is fine to leave on her own, Ari makes her way to Chloe’s in the hope of finding Gage. She worries that something happened to him at his job and is also angry with him for leaving her at Head Start. Knowing that Gage has no phone right now, she can’t call him to find out where he is. Ari gets on the bus and makes her way to Chloe’s apartment, but nobody is there. She heads to Briggs’s next. When she gets to the bus stop, she finds Gage asleep on a bench. Ari wakes him up, and Gage is frantic, telling Ari they have 10 minutes to make it to an appointment for an apartment. Ari is thrilled by the news and almost forgets about all the stress of the moments before.

When Ari and Gage get to the apartment viewing, Ari realizes it’s the same complex that she admired when she was little. Unfortunately, the building is darker and less welcoming than Ari expected, and the apartment is in the basement. Despite these flaws, the place seems practical and affordable, and Ari starts to imagine how she would set up her bedroom. When Gage hears from the landlord that he needs a voucher to prove his low income and that it could take weeks, he feels like giving up. He and Ari leave, and Ari realizes they are back where they started. She suddenly understands the expression “two steps forward, one step back” and wonders if she and Gage will ever get out of their situation (186). Gage decides to dip into their savings to buy a phone, adding to their financial stress. He apologizes to Ari for leaving her at Head Start, and Ari wishes she were a little girl again, when life was simpler and easier.

After skipping supper, Gage and Ari head to the Lighthouse shelter. They hope that West can sneak them in, as Ari is too young to be there. They arrive, and West doesn’t answer his phone, but they luckily run into Reggie walking by. Reggie notices how cold Ari is and offers his storage unit to her and Gage for the night, insisting that it would help him if they could watch his dog while he visits the men’s shelter. Gage resists at first, but Ari is desperate for a warm place to sleep, and he finally agrees. Reggie’s shelter turns out to be arranged like a very small apartment, with boxes surrounding a small cot, a fridge, and a tiny camping stove. Reggie gives Ari and Gage some blankets and cooks them a simple meal of Tuna Helper while expressing his gratitude for having made new friends. Ari asks Reggie to make a paper airplane for Fran, and Reggie is surprised to find out that someone is willing to pay for such a thing. When Gage asks why he lost his home, Reggie explains that he was in the army and a resulting disability led to the loss of most of the things he treasured in his life. Ari reveals that her and Gage’s father was in the army as well and was killed in Afghanistan.

Ari drifts off to sleep on a mattress on the floor of Reggie’s storage unit. Reggie has gone to the shelter, and Ari enjoys sleeping next to Reggie’s dog. Ari feels like dogs are trustworthy and understanding, as well as great at keeping secrets. Gage offers to let her borrow his only clean shirt for school tomorrow, and Ari is relieved that she won’t have to wear something dirty. The next morning, Daniel calls Gage’s phone at six o’clock to tell Ari that it’s snowing outside and time to put up the snowflakes at school. Ari and Daniel have prepared dozens of snowflakes. Ari convinces Gage to let her head to school on her own and meets Daniel there, where they persuade the janitor to let them inside early. Ari and Daniel hang snowflakes throughout the hallways and Mr. O’s classroom and then wait for the students and teachers to arrive. With each snowflake she hangs, Ari feels more excited about their reactions. When Sasha gets to school along with another friend, she doesn’t know what to say to Ari about her large shirt or about the snowflakes.

Ari listens to the reactions of the students and is disappointed to hear that many of them are more annoyed than impressed. She and Daniel are called to the principal’s office—a first-time experience for Ari but a regular occurrence for Daniel. The principal lectures Daniel and Ari about the amount of work they have caused the custodial staff and demands that they take all the snowflakes down and then mop up the glitter that litters the hallways. Daniel looks at Ari, urging her to speak up about her desire to bring back traditions that keep a family atmosphere at the school, but all Ari can do is apologize for the glitter. All the while, Ari feels sick after not eating breakfast and from all the stress. Moments later, she throws up all over the hallway, including on the principal’s leg, and hears him tell the secretary to call Janna.