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Authors: Jan Elizabeth Watson
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to scribble each item on the board as she mentioned it. She felt she could not get her words out fast enough, could not write fast enough; what she really wanted was to hear what the girls had to say and to see the machinations of their minds.
“I thought one of the themes was about what happens when he doesn’t do well in school,” Kelsey Smith said. “How he goes down a
slippery slope
.”
“How
who
doesn’t do well in school? Make sure your pronoun references are clear.”
“Holden.”
“Thank you. I wouldn’t say that’s a theme exactly, but it’s an important plot point. What else? Any other ideas?”
Harmony Phelps raised her hand. “Guys are assholes. That could be a theme.”
“Is that a universal truth, though?” Vera asked. Some of the girls laughed, as though to say yes. “Don’t answer that just yet. I definitely do want to come back to the question of whether you think Holden is, well, an asshole, especially when we get to some of the later chapters. It may come down to a matter of opinion.”
“Some people might say that Holden is . . . what Harmony said he is . . .” Jamie Friedman said, “but others might think that it’s okay. Because he’s smart, so that makes up for it.”
“There’s different kinds of smart,” Martha True said timidly, from the back row.
It was all Vera could do not to look at Jensen Willard. She had a feeling the girl had no shortage of opinions on this subject. Vera’s eyes skimmed over her, resting at last on Martha in the back. “Do you think he’s smart, Martha?”
“I’d say he’s clever.”
Loo Garippa raised her hand. “I have a question. It might be kinda off topic.”
“Okay.”
“What is it with Holden and serial killers? I was looking on the Internet, and I guess serial killers really get into this book. I thought maybe you’d know the answer, with the book you’re writing and all.”
Vera could have sworn Jensen Willard was smiling demurely, eyes locked on the table. She was wearing another moth-eaten dress that had most likely been a rich black at one time but had dulled to the same charcoal color Vera had seen her wearing before. Over that, she wore an army coat that, by the looks of it, had once belonged to a fellow three times the girl’s size.
“That’s a bit of a misconception,” Vera said, “thanks to Mark David Chapman, the man who shot John Lennon, and John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Reagan in the 1980s. Neither of whom was a serial killer, by the way—I suppose you’d call them assassins, or would-be assassins—but both of whom happened to like the book a lot.”
“But why?” Loo asked.
“It’s probably because Holden talks about wearing a people-shooting hat,” Chelsea Cutler said. “That’s kind of weird, isn’t it? He has this funny hat, and he’s running around his room telling his roommate or whoever that he shoots people in that hat.”
“He doesn’t mean it,” Jamie said, in the sort of indulgent tone a mother might use to excuse a toddler with a biting problem.
Autumn Fullerton was stroking her hair as though bored. “He
might
mean it. You never know. Maybe later on, after the book ends, he
could
go on to kill someone.” Vera recalled that Autumn had read the entire book. This told her all she needed to know of what the girl thought of Holden.
“I know this might be controversial of me to say, but I’d submit that anyone could kill someone,” Vera said. “Anyone is
capable
. The only reason why most people don’t do it is because they’d feel guilt or shame if they did, and rightly so. The people who kill are those who have no guilt or shame. Personally, I think Holden has both. That’s why it’s unlikely he’d be capable of any serious violence. As you read more, you just might decide that he’s a kind person who’s capable of love.”
“Really? I don’t think he loves anyone but
himself
,” Harmony Phelps sniffed.
A flurry of responses
“I thought one of the themes was about what happens when he doesn’t do well in school,” Kelsey Smith said. “How he goes down a
slippery slope
.”
“How
who
doesn’t do well in school? Make sure your pronoun references are clear.”
“Holden.”
“Thank you. I wouldn’t say that’s a theme exactly, but it’s an important plot point. What else? Any other ideas?”
Harmony Phelps raised her hand. “Guys are assholes. That could be a theme.”
“Is that a universal truth, though?” Vera asked. Some of the girls laughed, as though to say yes. “Don’t answer that just yet. I definitely do want to come back to the question of whether you think Holden is, well, an asshole, especially when we get to some of the later chapters. It may come down to a matter of opinion.”
“Some people might say that Holden is . . . what Harmony said he is . . .” Jamie Friedman said, “but others might think that it’s okay. Because he’s smart, so that makes up for it.”
“There’s different kinds of smart,” Martha True said timidly, from the back row.
It was all Vera could do not to look at Jensen Willard. She had a feeling the girl had no shortage of opinions on this subject. Vera’s eyes skimmed over her, resting at last on Martha in the back. “Do you think he’s smart, Martha?”
“I’d say he’s clever.”
Loo Garippa raised her hand. “I have a question. It might be kinda off topic.”
“Okay.”
“What is it with Holden and serial killers? I was looking on the Internet, and I guess serial killers really get into this book. I thought maybe you’d know the answer, with the book you’re writing and all.”
Vera could have sworn Jensen Willard was smiling demurely, eyes locked on the table. She was wearing another moth-eaten dress that had most likely been a rich black at one time but had dulled to the same charcoal color Vera had seen her wearing before. Over that, she wore an army coat that, by the looks of it, had once belonged to a fellow three times the girl’s size.
“That’s a bit of a misconception,” Vera said, “thanks to Mark David Chapman, the man who shot John Lennon, and John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Reagan in the 1980s. Neither of whom was a serial killer, by the way—I suppose you’d call them assassins, or would-be assassins—but both of whom happened to like the book a lot.”
“But why?” Loo asked.
“It’s probably because Holden talks about wearing a people-shooting hat,” Chelsea Cutler said. “That’s kind of weird, isn’t it? He has this funny hat, and he’s running around his room telling his roommate or whoever that he shoots people in that hat.”
“He doesn’t mean it,” Jamie said, in the sort of indulgent tone a mother might use to excuse a toddler with a biting problem.
Autumn Fullerton was stroking her hair as though bored. “He
might
mean it. You never know. Maybe later on, after the book ends, he
could
go on to kill someone.” Vera recalled that Autumn had read the entire book. This told her all she needed to know of what the girl thought of Holden.
“I know this might be controversial of me to say, but I’d submit that anyone could kill someone,” Vera said. “Anyone is
capable
. The only reason why most people don’t do it is because they’d feel guilt or shame if they did, and rightly so. The people who kill are those who have no guilt or shame. Personally, I think Holden has both. That’s why it’s unlikely he’d be capable of any serious violence. As you read more, you just might decide that he’s a kind person who’s capable of love.”
“Really? I don’t think he loves anyone but
himself
,” Harmony Phelps sniffed.
A flurry of responses
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