The Sky is Everywhere Chapter 4 Summary

  • Joe Fontaine plays a trumpet solo in band class and everyone swoons.
  • Then, as if being cute and talented isn't charming enough, Joe catches Lennie's eye and raises his eyebrows.
  • Rachel, playing the mean girl role perfectly, catches that subtle flirtation and tells Lennie flat-out that Joe is hers, and that he's out of Lennie's league, since Lennie's never even had a boyfriend. Ouch.
  • Mr. James asks the band who is auditioning for All-State next year, and instead of raising her hand, Lennie drops her pencil and spends a lot of time picking it up.
  • Sarah catches that and texts her, asking why she didn't raise her hand. She says Joe's trumpet solo reminds her of "that day."
  • Flashback to "that day": in honors band, the beginning of Lennie's freshman year. Mr. James, hippie-like, took the band class into the forest, and started conducting the river and the trees. Lennie was the first to actually play, and eventually, other's joined in. When they got back into the classroom, Mr. James gave Lennie Marguerite St. Dennis's card.
  • We know from Chapter 3 that Marguerite is not a shrink, but a music teacher. So Lennie's really talented, which explains why everyone's giving her a hard time for not playing.
  • Which leaves us with one big question: If Lennie is so talented, why is Rachel first chair?