Part 2, Chapter 9 Summary

Jeff is on high honor roll again his sophomore year, and spends the last free period of each day sitting outside the school, playing his guitar and working on songs. One day, while he is playing, a girl comes over to listen, seemingly drawn against her will by the music. There is something in her manner that makes Jeff think of solitude and space, and his island in South Carolina. She leaves abruptly, but comes to him again in a week, and this time sings along with his guitar. Jeff learns that her name is Dicey, and she is the granddaughter of Abigail Tillerman. Jeff finds her determination appealing, and also likes the way he can hold her helpless with music. Jeff learns that she has also cut the English teacher Chapelle down to size, and is friends with Wilhemina Smiths...