Mrs. Fletcher

This chapter is in third-person close perspective and follows Eve’s viewpoint. Eve is preparing to drive Brendan to Berkshire State University. While Eve would have liked their last morning together to be pleasant, Brendan wakes up hungover and then has sex with his ex-girlfriend Becca. Eve overhears Brendan giving the degrading command: “Suck it, bitch” (7). Eve is disappointed and wants to give Brendan a lecture on having respect for women, but she does not get the chance because Brendan pretends to be asleep. Eve is anxious that her son “wasn’t as nice a person as he used to be” (12) since his father, Ted Fletcher, left them, and she feels wracked with guilt about the divorce’s negative impact on Brendan. When they arrive on campus, Brendan ignores his mother, while he bonds with his roommate Zack, who is another “big, friendly, fun-loving bro” (12) like Brendan. Eve realizes that she is now alone and must begin a new life without Brendan. 

This chapter is in first person and adopts Brendan’s perspective. Brendan feels apprehensive about starting college; after the long build-up, he is anxious about starting over in a place where no one knows him.