Why does Junior feel he wants to get back to school? What happens when he gets there?

After the drunken death of his sister, Arnold couldn't handle the grieving over another person he cared about. He began to try to forget. He felt like he "was in this weird fog" (209). It was like in the story The Stone Boy where the main character, a kid also named Arnold, was so overloaded with the death of his brother to even grieve over him. This situation was the same. Arnold was so overloaded with the emotion that he laughed crazily when his father came to pick him up and he barely remembered anything that happened during the funeral. The funeral itself was something Arnold disliked. Everyone was getting drunk and sad about his sister. No one was "crying and laughing and telling stories about my sister"(212). He couldn't watch everyone get drunk over his sisters death, it was too much for him. So he ran off to school, to a place where it wasn't so sad and didn't have the stench of beer.

At school everyone has already heard that his sister had died. They all felt sad about his loss and "were worried for"Arnold (212). They all wanted to help him but it is hard to relate to what he is feeling. But they did make Arnold feel important and like someone that mattered. To Arnold, it was a new experience for him. Not many people had actually really cared about Arnold. He may not have known what to say to other people during that time but, he definitely felt better at school that day.

Do you think that Arnold should have stayed at the funeral? Do you think his reaction to his sister's death is okay? Have you had a time were you felt like you had lost everything? Why do you think Arnold couldn't stand watching everyone get drunk? Why do you think that Arnold was so surprised that everyone at school cared about him?