38 pages • 1 hour read
Flying Solo
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Chapters 9-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary: “9:00am—KIDS RULE!!!”
Karen returns to the classroom, and the class does the spelling test scheduled for that morning. Jessica gives the spelling words because she always aces the test. The class completes the test by 9:30am, and a substitute still hasn’t arrived. Karen then reveals that she did not tell anyone about the missing substitute and says that they should run the class themselves. Kids react by “giggling nervously,” and Bastian chants “KIDS RULE!” Jessica (who wants to be a Supreme Court judge one day) worriedly argues that it is illegal for them to lead their own class. Rachel writes out a note for Missy to read to the class, stating that she thinks Mr. Fabiano would want them to talk about it and decide together whether to tell the school authorities that no teacher is present. The class votes, and only Jessica votes in favor.
The class then start their daily flashdrafts (a spontaneous writing exercise). When Rachel thinks about what to write, she remembers how Tommy Feathers used to write a story for her every day. He gave her dozens of stories, and “every day she threw them away” (41). She tries to write without thinking of Tommy again.
Chapter 10 Summary: “9:50am—Flashdrafts”
Chapter 10 is a compilation of stories that the students write in their flashdrafts. Rachel writes a letter to Mr. Fabiano explaining how she hasn’t lost her voice because “I can find it whenever I want as soon as I pick up my pen” (42). She thanks Mr. Fabiano because he, unlike many others, never pressured her to get past her mutism.
Sean writes about how he doesn’t want to go home after school because of his father and his father’s girlfriend, Darlene. When he feels annoyed with them, Sean walks into the peaceful woods. He wants to show Rachel his favorite clearing in the woods: “I don’t care how quiet she’d be. Who cares if she never says one word?” (44).
A girl named Jasmine writes about how she wants to be a mother when she grows up because it’s important to raise children right.
Bastian also writes a letter to Mr. Fabiano about how it is his last day at school before moving to Hawaii. He writes about how his dog must be quarantined but that Bastian will still be able to visit him. At the end, he admits that he “wasn’t exactly an angel in class” but that Mr. Fabiano “never made [him] feel like an ‘Air Force Brat’ like some other teachers did” (45).
Missy writes how the class is like an orphan today because they’re alone without a teacher.
Chapter 11 Summary: “10:30am—Music”
The students quietly go to their music class, trying to make sure that nobody notices that there’s no teacher with them. They assemble on the choir risers, and “Rachel got a mental image of Tommy Feathers, face bright and eager, singing in last year’s winter concert” (49). She stands and listens, but her mutism prevents her from singing. As the class sings, Rachel “could feel the beginnings of a sound rising from some deep buried place at the bottom of her chest, itching to join in, and it was everything she could do to keep that sound down” (49).
Chapters 9-11 Analysis
Chapters 9-11 show the beginning of the class’ independence and taking responsibility for their own learning. Even without a substitute, the students follow the schedule that Mr. Fabiano laid out for the substitute. This independence causes some conflict, however, because each student has a different opinion on what the class should do. The first four chapters, in their diverse perspectives, suggested that each student would have a different opinion, and now those different personalities activate as the class faces important decisions. Jessica, who wants to be a Supreme Court judge, obviously does not want this self-government because she is interested in legality, while Bastian is more rebellious, and Sean is apathetic.
Chapter 10’s structure differs from previous chapters because it contains multiple perspectives. The students’ various flashdraft writings give more insight as to what each student is thinking about from their own point of view. For example, Bastian admits that he “wasn’t exactly an angel in class” (45), which shows a level of self-awareness. The reader also learns more about Sean’s lonely home life and how he sees Rachel and her mutism as comforting.
These chapters also offer more detail about Tommy Feathers, but the reader receives this information from Rachel’s perspective because she thinks about Tommy often even though she tries not to. She thinks about how Tommy “wanted people to like him” (41) and how she rejected all his kindness. Rachel’s thoughts about Tommy show a sense of shame over how she treated him. At the end of Chapter 11, She has the urge to sing with the rest of the class but shoves that urge out of the way. This shows that Rachel is choosing her mutism, perhaps partly to silence herself out of guilt.
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