How It All Goes Down
Will questions the idea of faith, and wonders why fate has rewritten his life story, transforming it into CSI material, complete with a crime scene and dead parents. Seems like a pretty reasonable response to such a terrible development.
On top of this, Will's been assigned to a school for kids with issues and is forced to live with his grandparents. Impressed by his woodworking skills, Will's woodshop teacher, Mr. Jacks, asks him to make more of the gnome-like sculptures he's been busy making. Despite his teacher's enthusiasm, though, Will is not impressed by anything, especially himself—he thinks he makes people uncomfortable.
Will meets Angela and discovers they speak the same language. They aren't interested in finding friends or in trying to make a good impression on anyone, and she is drawn to his moody demeanor, though she isn't quick to trust him because he offers very few details about himself. Whatever landed him here in this school is still a mystery to her.
Will ruminates on many things: suicide, death, knowledge, fate versus choice, and the way things are supposed to be. He is notably perturbed when two local kids are found dead by apparent suicide and wonders why people can't stop creating more sadness. And then one of his wooden whirligigs is found near where the dead kids are discovered.
Will goes to the beach, his favorite place to be alone, and finds the head of a fish, which has significance for him. Pops discovers him there and the two get into an emotional tug of war about Will's dead father. Will confronts Pops about being stuck in the school for dead-enders and tells him he's not crazy and he wants out.
Mr. Jacks asks Will to make another wooden gnome for his mother, saying that he's been "losing his way" (561) and that the world needs more "gnomes, whirligigs and furniture" (575) from him. Will goes home and doesn't leave the house for three days, until Angela stops by the house, concerned about his well being. Will finally gives Angela the details of his parents' death, then he takes a shower, which brings him back to life, and the two go for a walk. They visit the spot where the teens died and plant two of his wooden sculptures in the sand.
Will hears on the radio news that two more teens have committed suicide, their bodies found drowned in the bay. The police are investigating the connection between the deaths and the wooden sculptures, two of which were found nearby. A reporter calls the house, and Will admits he planted the sculptures but says he doesn't know the kids or how they died. He and the reporter meet at the beach—and Will punches him in the face when he gets nasty and unprofessional.
The next morning, a detective visits the house and questions Will about the incident and the sculptures. Will goes to the hospital for x-rays and comes home with his hand in a splint and—finally—medication for his depression. Will doesn't want to start taking meds, but realizes that he needs help and could use some of that peace-of-mind business he's heard about.
Mr. Jacks confronts Will, who wants to leave the program, and tells him he can't leave until he gets a medical evaluation. At home, Will receives a mysterious call from an anonymous male caller asking, "Who's next?" which is super creepy. Will asks if the caller has been stealing the sculptures and placing them around town and gets only a chorus of snickering voices in response. Eek.
Will has a heated conversation with Angela at a school track meet; she tells him to grow up. Later, Angela finds a sculpture in her yard and asks Will what's up… but Will doesn't know. Both he and Angela are officially creeped out, and trying to figure out why the objects are showing up in various locations. The next morning Will wakes to find thirty of the wooden statues in his front yard, along with a sign that reads "NEXT?" on it. Dun dun dun…
Pops and Will exchange harsh—but honest—words about their familial predicament. Another mystery caller asks if Angela is going to be the next dead one. He and the caller meet at the beach and wrestle one another to the ground. Will scares the guy and he runs away, and in this moment, Will recognizes his own power, courage, and authority. You go, Will.
Will goes for a swim and realizes that he is not responsible for his father's death and that people love him and things are going to get better. He returns home with a better attitude, finally able to admire all of his beautiful wooden whirligigs and no longer frightened by them.