Park
- Park is blown away by Eleanor's poetry reading. "She recited it like it was a living thing," he thinks. "Like something she was letting out" (9.2). Mr. Stessman even hugged her when she was done. Park thinks about what he might say to Eleanor about the poem, and saves his new comics so she can read them too.
Eleanor
- Eleanor's figured out that Park knows about the comics. She's decided that he's not "one of them, the bus demons" (9.8), but he's popular enough with them that they leave her alone when she's sitting with him. Which makes her "wish she could sit next to him all day long" (9.8).
- It seems like Park is waiting for her the next day, with a new comic called Watchmen, which doesn't look like Eleanor's style. She starts reading it anyway, and when they get back on the bus in the afternoon, she realizes Park hasn't finished reading it—he's kept their place. This time, when she gets up to leave the bus, he hands her the comic. (They still haven't spoken a word to each other, remember?)
- Eleanor tries to give it back, but Park has already turned away. She keeps it carefully and reads it three more times that night.
Park
- Park's totally confused. He doesn't know what to do if she doesn't give back the comic, which is brand new and a big deal for comic book fans. He figures he won't let her sit down anymore if she doesn't give it back. But if she does give it back, he has to figure out what to say to her.
Eleanor
- Park's looking out the window when she sits down. "She handed him the comic, and he took it" (9.23)… Are these two ever going to talk to each other?