Twisted (pgs 37-72)

Summary
After that day that Tyler went to visit Bethany, it seems that Bethany has grown a fondness of Tyler. A few times when she saw him at school she would smile at him. Tyler likes the attention she's giving him, but he is distracted by it with other things troubling him. He's trying to deal with his school schedule. He is in three AP classes and Calculus, which is one of his toughest subjects, and he had loads of homework just on the first day of school. He went to his dad and asked if he could be taken out of one of the AP classes because it is too much for him, but his father was a jerk about the situation and said he's going to stay in those classes. He said its not about things being easy for him, and he also told Tyler he had to quit the job he has that he enjoys because it's not about him having fun either. He needs to focus on his schoolwork. Meanwhile, Tyler's trying to deal with his sister, Hannah, and talk some sense into her. She got her belly button pierced and is trying to show it off at school and dress showing too much skin. When Tyler and his sister were eating lunch one time in the cafeteria, Bethany showed up and sat with them. Tyler was suprised to see her because she usually eats off campus with her friends. Bethany talks to Hannah for a little while and then rests her knee on Tyler's leg, which he enjoys but tries not to show it. Later that day, Tyler is looking for a kid named Yoda, who likes Hannah and is also Tyler's ride home. When he finds Yoda, he is in the boys locker room with his wrists taped together and four guys torturing and hitting him. Tyler interupts and tells them to leave him alone, and then Chip arrives. Tyler says anything he can to tempt Chip in hitting him because he knows that Chip won't do it because he knows he would lose in front of his friends. After all, Tyler is the one who was winning in the arm wrestling match, so Chip knows that Tyler is stronger.

Quote:
"..all those folks standing on a quivering tree branch, with me at the end in a dog collar, skating on a thin layer of frozen pond" (Anderson 46).

Reaction:
Tyler was talking about the talk Tyler had with his principal and his parents a couple weeks before school started.His principal told Tyler that he should consider it a privilege that he can go back to school because his parents, probation officer, and some teachers were busting their necks to make it possible. He also needed to remember that he was on thin ice and a short leash because this privilege of going to school could be taken away from him very easily. The quote above is what Tyler pictured in his mind when his principal told him this. This quote really illustrated to me that Tyler has to be very careful so that he doesn't lose the privileges and blessings he's received, because he should be in more trouble than what he actually is. The way it is described in this quote is very accurate and is an interesting way of saying that Tyler is in trouble and needs to be very careful with his actions.