No More Dead Dogs

On Friday, students involved with the play keep congratulating Mr. Fogelman. He can’t figure out why, and by midday, it’s disrupting his ability to function. On his way to the office to have Wallace paged, he runs into a couple of high school kids. They’re members of the band Dead Mangoes, a former favorite at the middle school, and Wallace got them to play rock music as the play’s soundtrack. Reeling, Mr. Fogelman doesn’t know how to respond, only that he needs to “do something drastic. And fast” (97).

Over the weekend, Wallace fields questions from the cast about scenes in the play, and he’s amazed to realize how much he cares about Old Shep, My Pal. The following Monday at rehearsal, Mr. Fogelman announces that Wallace has fulfilled his class requirement and is released from detention. The drama club gives Wallace an enthusiastic and bittersweet goodbye, and he heads to the pep rally that’s going on in the cafeteria. Right as he’s leaving, someone rolls a bunch of marbles onto the stage where the cast has started the rollerblading scene. The kids go down, and Wallace charges into the hall to catch the culprit.