Chapters 1-5
1-It was on a Thursday at Rocky River high school when it all started. We were introduced to one of our main character’s Matt Donaghy. He was taken from his classroom by two gentlemen. Matt was so confused on what was going on, he was asking many questions and contemplating all the things that could’ve happened. He was thinking that maybe something had happened to his mom or dad or brother that is until he got into the principal’s office. They began to interrogate Matt. They told him that nothing is wrong with his family. But that he was being accused of something but we still were left without knowledge of what Matt had been accused of.
2-In chapter 2 we were introduced to Ursula Riggs aka Ugly Girl, a star athlete at Rocky River high school. Ursula was very hard on herself during games and she was much depended on by teammates, coaches, and fans of the team. If she didn't do well in a game the team and fans would all feel as if they'd let her down, maybe mostly because she does all the scoring, take the Tarrytown basketball game for example. She also benefits in some sports due to her height. Ursula was only 13 years old and taller than her mom and most of her teachers. Ugly girl liked being tall because it made her intimidating to guys. We also learn that Ursula is an excellent student who really takes interest in biology and art. The author describes ugly girl as a "warrior-woman".
3-Many started to blame Ugly girl for the lost against Tarrytown. It really upset her because she was putting in the most work and scoring most of the points. Ugly girl was to the point where she was considering quitting the team or even moving to a different school. After the game the team went into the locker room, Ursula took a shower, she could hear the girls talking about "her" in tones of disgust but never did she hear them say her name but she was almost sure they were referring to her. After all the girls left the locker room Ursula came out to get dressed. As she was leaving the locker room she ran into Bonnie LeMoyne who wanted to talk to Ursula about a possible bomb threat at their own school!! Their-other rumors going around about a student who threatened to bring a gun into the school and massacre as many people as he could. Rumor had it that the student was Matt Donaghy. Ugly Girl couldn't believe it. For as long as she’d known of Matt she just thought he was too much of a good person to even have said something like that.
4- Chapter 4 brings the Matt Donaghy situation into the clear. It starts with the interrogation of Matt Donaghy. Matt still couldn't figure out what he could have possibly done wrong.
5- The detectives we're investigating the allegations against Matt. They were giving him the chance to come clean about what he had said. It had been reported that Matt had been heard saying that he was going to how up the school and massacre as many people as he can. He was tryingto explain to the detectives that it was a misunderstanding. He even tried using sarcasm and humor to get them to believe him but all that did was make the situation worst they thought he wasn't taking the situation seriously. But Matt couldn't understand why they didn't believe him. They we're taking the allegations very seriously because they were concerned about the safety of other students and faculty.
Chapters 6-10
6 -Ursula is watching the news when she hears them mention something about a bomb threat at her school, the same thing Bonnie had been telling her. No names had yet been released. She was relieved that Matt's name hadn't been released but she now has confirmation that the rumors were true. Later that night Ursula emailed Ms. Schultz to inform her that she was quitting the team. We were also given more information about Ursula's family things like her sister Lisa being vegetarian and a ballerina. And how Ursula mom never attends any of her sporting events. Later that night the news was broadcasting an updated story about the bomb threat at Ursula school, Ursula's mom called her downstairs, she questioned her on what she knew about the situation. Ursula knew her mom had been drinking and everything was too complicated to explain to her so she just went back up to her room. Her mom followed her but it was no use of trying to talk to Ursula, she wanted to be left alone. Ursula tried to call Matt but all she got was the answering machine so she emailed him, telling him to call her.
7- matt thought that the email was one of his friends pretending to be Ursula, trying to mess with him. The next day Matt's mother and Mr. Leacock protested, saying how matt didn't deserve this. But Mr. Parrish made his decision. He suspended matt for a minimal of 3 days. The next day matt went to the police station for an interrogation, he felt so helpless because he knew he'd done nothing wrong, he wanted to cry. later that day he tried emailing his friends again, they still hadn't replied. He took another look at Ursula’s email, he still couldn't seem to wrap his head around why out of all his closest friends Ursula Riggs was the only one to contact him, a girl he never talked to. He couldn't help to think that it was skeet trying to mess with him. Later on that same day he looked at the email again and finally decided to give it a try n call the number, he was shocked to see that it was actually Ursula they talked about the trouble matt was in. Ursula told himself she heard what he said that day n that her herself even knows that it wasn't said and meant in a serious way. She told him she would go talk to Mr. Parrish the next day to try n help matt prove innocence.
8- Ursula's mom didn't want Ursula getting caught in the middle of Matt's situation, but Ursula didn't care she wanted to help matt because she knows he's been wrongly accused. When she went to school that day she went to Mr. Parrish to tell him exactly what she had heard and that she had another witness who could also testify, Eveann McDowell.Mr. Parrish understood and believed everything Ursula had told him but there was still not much he could do. After talking to Mr. Parrish she went to talk to Eveann who told her she would like to help matt prove his innocence however her mom didn't want to get involved in the situation. So Ursula went to the office and called Eveann's mom and persuaded her to allow Eveann to tell her side of the story.
9- Matt had a long weekend to think. He still wondered why nun of his friends contacted him. He also wondered if Ursula had talked to principal Parrish. Later on that day he received an email from Ursula, she was informing him that she had spoken with principal Parrish, matt felt a relief. The next day the papers were updated, more information had been released, information about his suspension, and the investigation. Matt was glad his name hadn't been released. Later that day Matt took a hike with pumpkin when he got home he checked his computer, he seen that his friends had texted him letting him know why they hadn't contacted. The next day Matt received a phone call from Mr. Leacock informing him that his suspension was over and also giving him I'm an apology for the misunderstanding. Immediately after he got off the phone with me. Parrish he emailed Ursula letting her know the good news and thanking her for her efforts.
10-Matt and Ursula finally talked to each other . They ran into each other on the stairs. While talking Ursula caught a hot flash she felt like she was going to fall like she did in the Tarrytown game. It was because Matt was watching her she felt this way.11- Matt emails Ursula to see if she had received his previous messages. He thought maybe they weren't sending because Ursula hadn't gotten back to him. He thought maybe she was mad at him or her parents weren't allowing her to communicate with him. But throughout Matt's email he was telling her thank you and letting her know how he was doing. However, Matt hesitated to hit send. He decided to delete the message instead of sending it off to Ursula
Chapters 11-15
11- Matt Ursula a very long email but he deletes it instead of sending it. He tells her some stuff about his life and feelings. He also asks her about things that have been going on in life at the moment and also about things that are happening at school. He doesn't really talk about anything too important.
12- Ursula was told to stop by principal Parrish's office. He wanted to inform her that the matt situation is going to be put behind them. After she left Mr. Parrish's office she ran into Bonnie of the steps. Bonnie asked Ursula if she was mad her. Ursula was confused on why she would ask her that. They had a conversation about why Bonnie thought she was mad at her , basketball, and about why ugly girl looked so uncomfortable.
13-Matt made his decision to resign as junior vice president.
14- Chapter 14 started off with a conversation between Matt and Mr. Steiner. Mr. Steiner was being very humorous which Matt had no patience for that day. Matt started to notice all of his friends avoiding him. Even Ursula who testified on his behalf avoided him. Later that day Matt emailed Mr. Steiner, to inform him that he would be resigning from the Rocky River run staff. The next day the story covering Matt Donaghys resignation was already published in the school newspaper. Everybody was just given another reason to stare at matt he was starting to hate everything.
15-Matt emails Ursula asking her why she didn't acknowledge him when they saw each other at school the previous day. He also tells her that is the last time he will write her because he doesn't want to keep bothering her. But before ending the email there, he goes on to ask her if she knew who the witnesses were. He tells her why he thinks she's a cool person, how the situation has affected his life and his family's lives, and his feelings. He then reread the email and again instead of hitting send he hit delete.
Chapters 16-20
16- Ursula’s mom started to feel like she was seeing lesser and lesser of Ursula. She decided it would be a good idea to take Ursula and Lisa to the matinee. Ursula wasn't very excited about going but she figures why not. Later that day Mr. Parrish sent the Riggs a letter apologizing for any inconveniences the school caused to the family. Ursula thought of the letter as phony. A few days later Lisa, Ursula, and their mom went to the matinee as planned. Five minutes into the show Ursula wanted fresh air, so she got up and left. She had lots of time with nothing to do, so she went to an art exhibit, looking at the work she started to feel inspired and she couldn't wait to get home to her sketch pad. She seen a quote that had words that really struck her, they meant something to her. As she was going back to the Lincoln center she thought she saw Matt Donaghy, but with a second look she realized that the person she seen was not Matt. When she returned to the Lincoln center her mom was pissed at her.
17- The Donaghys get a letter which reads: "YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE NOT SAFE WE ARE NOT GOING TO FORGET. Their neighbors see them as terrorists. They dont feel safe in their own home anymore. The whole situation even effects Matt's mother, she becomes very sad. Matt sees his mother crying for the first time.
18-Ursula noticed that Matt was becoming antisocial. He didn't smile, he sat by his self, he didn't talk to anybody, he didn't even say hi to Ursula anymore. She started to think of ways she could get into contact with Matt. She thought of just going up to him and speaking to him but she scorned small talk especially with guys, so instead she figured she would email him. Ursula also had other things on her mind, she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the incident with the Brewer twins that happened on the stairs. Then it finally hit her, she realized that it was Muriel and Miriam who had reported Matt Donaghy to principal Parrish. She then searched for the twins, she found them and then proceeded to confront them about what they had done. She called them liars and they started going back and forth with each other.
19- The word had gotten around about the dispute between Ugly girl and the Brewer twins. Many weren't surprised to hear that it was Muriel and Miriam who had reported Matt. They wondered why anyone would believe them, they have reputation of being mean liars. Within hours the rumor had developed that the twins may have had a serious crush on Matt and that Matt had turned them down and that that was their way of getting revenge. The rumors just kept getting more complicated. Ursula was even said to be involved, then word got out that the twins were suing the school and the district for millions of dollars. Hours after that the Donaghys were claiming that they'd received death threats. This had the Rocky River talking. The Donaghys were even suing the school!
20- Ursula started to miss Matt at school. Matt's situation was printed in the papers. Ursula's dad was taking a look at them his self, speaking his opinions about the situation aloud. What he thought made Ursula angry inside she believed that the Donaghys could do what they wanted and that it was their business.
Chapters 21-25
21-Matt was confronted by a group of boys from Rocky River high as he was walking through an alley. They addressed him as fag and when he didn't acknowledge them they approached him face to face. He thought about making a run for it but he knew he wouldn't get far. They began taunting him, making sucking noises with their mouths, and saying "Sue me '! C'mon sue me '! Fag." Again Matt thought about running but Duane Stanton was blocking his way. So instead he decided to throw a punch, he swung blindly. He hit Trevor Cassity on the side of the head. Trevor threw a punch back and one of the other boys hit Matt in the jaw. They began throwing more punches at Matt. His nose started to bleed. Matt tried to fight back but it was no use. They began calling him names, Matt couldn't understand why they hated him so much. One of the boys ripped his backpack off of his back which caused him to lose balance and fall down the steps. The boys ran away laughing.
22- Ursula was feeling kind of emotional about not being on the team anymore. She felt as if she was spinning out of control. Even her own mom was giving her the silent treatment because she was waiting for her to apologize about her behavior at the Lincoln center. Ursula wasn't going to apologize for anything. She began to notice her sister’s behavior had changed also, she noticed that Lisa was behaving more aggressively. She suspected it could have been her dancing classes that was making her act so differently. Later that night at dinner, Ursula noticed that Lisa was picking around on her plate. She then said "Lisa, what the hell? Are you dieting?" Without hesitation Lisa responded, "No, I am not. You should. “And from there an altercation between Ursula, Lisa, and their mom was started. Ursula the decided to take her dinner upstairs to her room to eat alone.
23-Matt was shutting everything out, like the thoughts about his mom crying in the bathroom and his dad raising his voice at him on the phone and the fact that his former friends avoided him the entire time and the day Trevor cassity and his friends beat him up. He wanted to erase all of those memories just with one hike to the preserve. Matt didn't even take pumpkin on hikes with him anymore. That day matt hiked up to preserve and them up to the ravine, he started to realize that his missed pumpkin and he started thinking of all the thing she would be doing if he had brought her along.
24- Ursula was hiking up the preserve, a favorite place of hers. She came to a sudden stop when she spotted Matt at the top of the ravine. At first she wasn't so sure it was him but then she recognized his green windbreaker and green knit came and she knew for sure that it was Matt Donaghy. She wondered what he was doing up there, but what she didn't know was that the preserve was marts favorite place also. She noticed matt was standing on the highest point of the ravine where there were slippery rocks, she thought maybe he was about to jump or that he might slip. She called to him to get him to come down from there, it took a good amount of begging for him to even budge. They even had a conversation about each other's views about the preserve before Matt finally came down from the ravine.
25- Matt emails Ursula a thank you message. Thanking her for the previous day.
Chapters 26-30
26- Matt emails Ursula again talking to her about a saying. Which Ursula responds back to in an agreeable manner. Matt emails back to her bringing up the other day but he never sends it he deletes it instead.
27- Matt has a conversation with pumpkin.
28- Chapter 28 talks about a boy (mostly matt) gripping a girl's hand (maybe Ursula) really tight like he'd never done before unless it was his mom or dad's.
29-Matt and Ursula start messaging each other through e-mails. That's when Ursula starts opening up to Matt.
Before saying their good nights Matt asks Ursula if they could meet at the preserve on Saturday. Ursula says yes and they plan to meet at the ridge road gate at 2:00 pm. Later that night around 4 am, Matt writes Ursula a long email, he tells her about his feelings and thoughts he really trusts Ursula.
30- Chapter 30 is told in the perspective of Ursula's mind. Matt and Ursula were starting to become good friends friends they ate lunch together, met each other everywhere and we're always talking on the phone with each other. They were discovering that they had a lot in common.
Chapters 31-35
31-Ursula's mom finds out that she is friends with the boy who was accused of threatening to blow up school, Matt donaghy. Mrs. Riggs didn't want Ursula having any type of relationship with Matt, but Ursula didn't care about what her moms opinion.
32- Rumors are going around about Matt and Ursula. All of Rocky River high was talking about why they where hanging together so much, many wondered since when were they even friends. The school was split into sides ones based on whether they thought Matt and Ursula were just friends or more than friends. The side that thought they were just friends supported their arguments by saying Matt wouldn't go for someone like Ursula because Ursula is bigger than most girls and no boys are attracted to her and Ursula wouldn't go for a guy like Matt because Matt is a "creep". The other side who thinks that Matt and Ursula are more than friends just thinks that because they are being seen together hanging out. Stacey Flynn refers to going out with Ursula as like a symptom of Matt's nervous breakdown.
33-Matt asks Ursula about her thoughts on what she thinks about his parents are suing the school. She tells him that she thinks that's a mistake. Matt doesn't really understand why she would think of it like that and it actually makes him mad. It's Matt's and Ursula's first argument and there Friendship seems to weaken because of it.
34- Ursula is waiting for an e-mail or a phone call all night and morning from Matt but he never contacts her. She seemed really hurt about it but she tried being strong about it saying to herself "I didn't cry. I would not cry. I would not give in, either."
35- Matt starts to miss Ursula a lot but he is just like Ursula, he decides not to give in. Ursula was Matt's only real friend but he felt as if he had lost her now. He felt as if she had criticized his parents and in Matt's eyes that was the worst thing you could do. He felt as if she had not right to criticize them, and because she did Matt hated her
Chapters 36-40
36-Matt has to go to a psychologist because his parents thinks that he is depressed and they read in a book that young depressants would show suicidal attitudes, something even as simple as anxiety. They agreed that seeing the psychologist was part of a legal strategy that could help the Donaghy's, by saying that the whole family, especially Matt, has psychical problems since the day this all started. Matt didn't want to go to the psychologist, he really just wants to forget about whole lawsuit.
37- chapter 37 starts off with a conversation between Ursula and her mom, they talk about everything that's been going on. Later on that day Ursula goes on her computer and types an email for Matt but she decides it pathetic and then she deletes it. Ursula still refuses to give in even though she's very sad.
38- Matt makes a clue hunt game for Ursula to play. He writes down clues on one card which leads to another. There was one card which he wrote down his feelings to her, telling her that he misses her and that he was sorry. After reading that card Ursula goes off to find Matt, she thanked him n he was glad to see that she liked his little game. They made up and went back to being as close as they were before as if nothing had ever happened.
39- Matt called Ursula saying that something happened but he didn't say what had happened. That same night Ursula also cried out of rage and pity
40- Somebody had kidnapped Matt's dog Pumpkin. Alex tells him that it was someone in an SUV but he doesn't know who it was because he wasn't paying attention. Matt really loves pumpkin so off course he nearly loses his mind over the fact that she's gone. Matt's mom calls the police to report her stolen and then Matt and Alex go outside looking for pumpkin, calling for her but they don't find her. All Matt could think about that day was his dog and who could've taken her, he even cried. Matt gets a mysterious call he could hear Pumpkin in the background.
Chapters 41-45
41-Ursula wanted to help the Donaghys search for Pumpkin. She goes over to Matt's house, it is her first time going to the Donaghy's house. She gets know Matt's mother, and they actually really like each other. Matt has published an advert about Pumpkin, nobody calls him to tell him they know anything about pumpkins whereabouts. They had drove around looking for pumpkin but they didn't find her. Alex blames himself for letting pumpkin get taken, but Matt tells him it's not his fault.
42-While driving outside Matt gets an idea. He think maybe Trevor Cassity and his friends took Pumpkin just to do something bad to him. So Ursula and Matt drive to the house that Trevor lives in. Trevor acts as if he didn't know of Pumpkin, but Matt has a feeling that he knows exactly what hes talking about and he tells Trevor that he wants Pumpkin back by six o´clock that night or hell tell his dad.
43- By four forty p.m. Pumpkin was back safe and home. Everybody was so happy he was so happy she was back. Matt fed her her favorite dog foods and cherished the moment. Before going to bed that night Matt e-mailed Ursula thanking her for her help.
44- Ms. Schultz persuaded to rejoin the basketball team, it's didn't take much to get her to agree. Ursula is officially back on the basketball team. not much had changed since Ursula had let the team, Ms. Schultz was still hard on her and her teammates still relied on her heavily. Rocky river against Ossining. Matt, Ursula's mom and sister all attended the game. Ursula was very happy about that. After the game is over Ursula introduces Matt to her mother and her sister and they like each other.
45- The fire alarm goes off at Rocky River High, at first everybody thought was just a routinely drill. That's when they noticed emergency vehicles pulling up and then they realized it was routinely it was serious. Everybody thinks that Matt is the reason for it, students were shouting "a bomb", "bomb threat", not bombs went off. Matt gets driven home by the police because they want to protect him. They find out that an anonymous caller called the school and caused this chaos. They later find out that it was Reverend Brewer who had called the Rocky River High, he was arrested and taken into custody.
Chapters 46-49
46- The story about what Reverend Brewer had done was all over tv. The Donaghys announced through their attorney that they were dropping the lawsuit against the school because Matt's parents no longer believed that it was the best way to pursue Justice.
47-It was now the month of April. Ursula had gotten a new haircut that everyone seemed to like, it made her feel better about herself. It was like she was a whole new Ursula. Matt revises his play "William Wilson: A Case of Mistaken Identity" and submits it for the Spring Arts Festival. Its new version was clever and funny. Ursula was very proud of Matt.
48- Matt felt as if he'd been "taken off the blacklist. People were talking about to talk to him again and they were treating him like they used to. His friends who had completely befriended him were even emailing him. Some of Matt's old friends and some other people invited him to a couple of parties, but they didn't want him to bring Ursula along because they felt she just doesn't fit in. Matt didn't want to go without her. He much rather prefers either just being alone with Ursula or going somewhere else with her. They decided to go to New York together instead.
49- Ursula and Matt went to the preserve together. Matt told her the good news, the New York time we're going to publish is column thanks to her. They we're both so excited. He hugged her very tightly, then they kissed each other for the very first time.
By: Ta'mia Daniels
Chapter Summaries 1 - 49
