Sam Timeline and Summary

Sam hangs out in the empty tearoom, tidying up and waiting for Hally to come home from school.
He spends some time instructing Willie on how to handle dancing and women.
He tells Hally that his mother phoned from the hospital and offers him some lunch.
He and Hally get into a long discussion about which men in history have made the biggest impact, and Sam reminisces about all the time he spent learning from Hally as Hally progressed through school.
Sam encourages Hally to talk about his memories of his youth, when he and Sam and Willie spent a lot of time together as a respite for Hally from his family troubles.
Sam ignores a lot of offensive offhand remarks from Hally.
When Hally's mother calls from the hospital, Sam calms him down and distracts him by discussing the upcoming ballroom dance contest that offers Sam a chance to escape his dreary life and dream of better times.
He continues to ignore Hally's increasingly nasty remarks.
When Hally finds out that his father is definitely coming home, Sam bears the brunt of Hally's anger.
He doesn't respond until Hally becomes demeaning and deliberately insulting, and he finally loses his cool when Hally spits on him.
Rather than retaliate, though, Sam gives Hally some serious life lessons about taking responsibility and being a decent human being.
After Hally leaves, Sam dances with Willie, probably wondering what will become of Hally.