CHAPTER 20

Summary

As winner of the Mica High oratorical contest Stargirl took part in the district contest. When the winner was announced, some of the students booed. Next, she set her sights on the state finals. Leo was her audience when she practiced. Usually practice took place in the desert. Stargirl did not memorize what she planned to say. She said whatever came into her mind.

Leo and Stargirl did other things, too. They took walks and bicycle rides. Stargirl noticed many details and drew Leo's attention to them. She noticed things like a newly-painted door or insects on the ground near them. At first, Stargirl needed to describe what she was pointing toward. Later, she only needed to point and he would be able to pick out what she was pointing toward. Finally, he was able to point out things for her to look at. When he did that, he felt good.

Stargirl told Leo what she wanted to do when she grew up. She wanted to drive a lunch wagon around to wherever workers needed lunch.

When Leo went with Stargirl to deliver a flower to someone, he reminded her to leave a note telling the recipient who gave it to them. She thought that was unnecessary. Suddenly it occurred to Leo: Stargirl was the person who gave him the porcupine tie. She confessed. She had had her mother hand-paint it for him. When Leo argued that it was nice to get credit, Stargirl voiced uncertainty.

Notes

Stargirl seems to be very intelligent, the kind of intelligence that comes from looking and observing and remembering.

Stargirl's desire to keep the workers in the community well-fed meshes with her desire to make people happy.

CHAPTER 21

Summary

Leo went with Stargirl when she delivered gifts and cards. Finally, after much questioning, he found out how she knew so much about the people she gave things to. She read all the parts of the newspaper that were considered by everyone else to be unimportant, the stuff without headlines, the notices, anywhere that she could root out that she considered to be useful information. And, there were other sources of information on which she depended, like the beauty shop and posted notices.

When they were passing a restaurant, Stargirl wanted to go inside to look at their bulletin board. She made up a set of possible explanations for why a guy had posted a work-wanted notice. And she thought up ways to make him feel better. Then she suggested what she referred to as a card game, but not a typical card game. In the game, two people follow one person for fifteen minutes and then guess what kind of card would be most appropriate for that person. They followed three people. Leo enjoyed the game.

As they walked around following their target people, Stargirl kept dropping money on purpose. She did not drop much in any one place. She liked the idea that people, especially children, would be happy when they found it.

Stargirl invited Leo to dinner with her parents that evening.

Notes

It would be nice if there were more people in the world who enjoy spreading happiness as much as Stargirl. In this chapter we find some good suggestions regarding how to start being someone like that.

In her search for targets, Stargirl exhibited the same aptitudes that she exhibited during the rides and walks that Leo described in Chapter 20.

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