Tuesday, December 23, 2008

"Hide-N-Shriek!"

Patrick went to speak with Joan McCabe, Ed McCabe's sister. He was the only teacher who was killed during the shooting and Patrick wanted to find out more about Ed. Peter had had Mr. McCabe for math in tenth grade and nobody remembers Peter having a bad relationship with the teacher. When Joan and Patrick were talking, Joan mentions that maybe Philip remembers something. It turns out that Philip was Ed's partner and that no one knew at school that Ed was gay. Then Patrick thinks back to one of the first people shot, Natalie Zlenko, and remembered her being lesbian and in the GLAAD club at school thinking that Peter could possibly be a homophobic.

The principle and staff members of Sterling High School knew that the kids would have to finish out their high school year somewhere so now the kids who have chosen to come back are at an old elementary school that wasn't being used before.

Later at Jordan's house (Peter's defense attorney), he is trying to figure out a way to make Peter seem not guilty. When his wife and him are talking, she brings up something about Battered woman syndrome, which flicks a light bulb on in Jordan's head. He considers an argument that Peter could of had post-traumatic stress disorder, which could be named, bullied victim syndrome. Jordan reasons that Peter just wanted all the bullying to stop and that Peter is pretty much a kid so he didn't know what he was doing. He may not of fully processed the consequences of his actions.

At Patrick's house one night, he sits at home and begins playing a computer game called "Hide-N-Shriek" that Peter created. Patrick is playing as a nerdy boy and the point of the game is to try and kill the jocks, bullies, and popular kids and when you hit them you receive a certain amount of points. As Patrick weaves his way through the hallways of the school he recognizes the floor plan, it was Sterling High School. It seems that Peter created his idea for the school shooting from this.

1 comment:

Leah said...

This sounds like a really interesting book. I would like to read it now. I have heard a lot about Jodi Picoult and would like to read one of her books.