9 Summary

In Mr. Swenson's science class, Camelia tries to get Rena Maruso to be her lab partner. Rena helped Camelia in biology the year before. But Rena doesn't want to, so Camelia ends up being alone. Then Ben walks in, and sits down beside her.

9 Analysis

The intertwining of the characters of Camelia and Ben -an inescapable entwining of their lives- occurs with their forced lab partnership. Here the reader begins to wonder if fate prevails in the novel over free will.