- Victor is pleased to start junior high because it means that he'll get to change classrooms for every subject. He also likes hanging out with Rat at school.
- Rat goes to the Mid-South Fair with a girl named Freda, so Victor doesn't go along. It's weird to see his friend dating now.
- Victor and TV Boy are totally friends now. They spend a lot of time together after school and Victor's even learned some sign language. He's also learned that TV Boy watches TV to learn how to read lips. Ah-ha…
- He's only seen Mrs. Worthington once since school started. She was walking with her husband and they were trying to act happy, but Victor could tell that maybe that wasn't the case.
- Victor starts talking to Mam about real things, like his future plans. He decides that maybe he'll be a sports journalist when he grows up since he loves baseball and words.
- His parents are building a new house in East Memphis that will be really big and fancy. It looks cool and all, but Victor is worried about where Mam will live when they go there.
- Rat's mother also comes over one day to talk to Victor's mother about how schools are becoming integrated—meaning that white kids will go to school with black kids. She's not happy about this, but Victor can't see how it's such a big deal.
- One day, the homeroom teacher asks everyone to stand up and say their names and something interesting about them. Victor stands up and says his name—even though it's his least favorite thing to say—and some interesting stuff about himself, though he knows he'll stutter. He's not afraid of being looked at anymore.
- When he's done, Rat looks over and smiles at him and gives him a wink. Looks like somebody's proud of his pal.
- Back home from school, Victor tells Mam that he's learned that what he says is more important than how he says it, and that his soul doesn't stutter. She tells him that he's totally right.