CHAPTER 22

Summary

When Leo met Stargirl's parents, he found that they were like other parents, not unusual like he had expected they would be. When they arrived at Stargirl's home, Stargirl's mother was sewing a costume. Her father was working outside on a stepladder.

With only a few exceptions, Stargirl's room was unremarkable. This was in part because she had a separate room in which to work. She had a work room because she felt that she needed one. When Leo wanted to know where the work room was, she told him that its location was a secret. Leo guessed that Archie would know. She said that she thought of Archie as a grandfather.

There were a few unusual things in Stargirl's room. One was a bowl of hair. It was to be used by birds when they built nests. The other was a small wagon and some pebbles. Stargirl put pebbles in the wagon when she was happy and took them out when she was unhappy. At the moment she had more pebbles in the wagon than ever.

Dinner was meat loaf and, for Stargirl, tofu loaf. Stargirl was a vegetarian.

After dinner Stargirl took pictures of a five year old boy who lived across the street from her. Stargirl was making a pictorial biography of him. She planned to give it to his mother in a few years to keep for him.

Leo made a comment about her running for saint. It hurt Stargirl. Leo backtracked a bit and said that she was different. Stargirl decided that he wanted some of the attention that she was giving to other people. Then right there on the street she kissed him, not like a saint.

Notes

Later we will discover where Stargirl's work room was.

CHAPTER 23

Summary

Away from school Leo enjoyed the time that he spent with Stargirl immensely. But, at school, life was not so enjoyable. Now the other students were also definitely shunning him. Until then Leo had been unaware how important the acceptance of his fellow students was to him. Stargirl however did not seem affected by the shunning. Another painful aspect of the situation was the gossip about Stargirl that, while not spoken directly to him, was meant to be overheard by him. Much of the overheard gossip was about the affect that her cheering for the competition had had on the basketball team. Señor Saguaro's question that Archie had translated returned to his mind again and again. Whose affection was of the most value to him? He did not want to have to choose. After more time, perhaps the problem would resolve itself. But, he found that he could not go on pretending that a resolution was near.

Notes

It is likely that Stargirl was affected by the shunning, too, even though she did not show it. Other people were important to her.

CHAPTER 24

Summary

One day Stargirl put up a big sign that said Stargirl loves Leo in red letters. When Leo saw it, he understood how Hillari had felt when she had accosted Stargirl in the lunchroom and told her not to sing to her. Up until then, Stargirl had not targeted him. To make it even worse, in the lunch room she blew him a kiss. He exited the lunchroom immediately.

After school Stargirl seemed surprised at what seemed to be his lack of a reaction to the sign. The reason he did not react was because to show how he felt would be insulting. He had no good reaction to the sign. Stargirl put Cinnamon on his shoulder hopping to get more out of him. What came out was unpleasant. He swept the rat to the ground and walked away.

Thanks to the sign, the next day the shunning was worse. Except for a few friends, he became invisible.

Notes

Stargirl seemed to be very observant, to know what others were feeling. But, some how she did not know how the public notice would affect Leo. Surely she knew that he was shy. Did she not know that the sign would make the shunning worse for him?