W is the W- Chapter 18

(pg. 290-291) So Valentino and Tabitha have a sort of rocky relationship. When they are apart she is suspicious and cruel, then after everything is okay she disappears for days.

[A Heady Tale, by The Fratellis: "We could disappear for days and they wouldn't understand..."]

So Val goes to his young friend Allison Newton for some girl advice. She says that Tabitha "has another flame" and I'd have to agree. "'Standard behavior for that situation-she hides, she overcompensates when she returns, she suspects you of the things she's doing herself.'" (Eggers 291) Valentino does not believe her one bit, and does nothing about the situation. Hey, nobody knows a girl better than other girls, Valentino. We know our behavioral patterns and what they mean, while guys do not.

(pg. 292) Tabitha and Valentino wrote emails to each other which gave Tabitha the strength to write about her real feelings. "Rarely did she say "I love you" to my face, but in her e-mails, written in the dark hours, she felt she could." (Eggers 292) It's easier to say how you feel to a person through writing so you don't have to deal with unexpected (or expected) reactions. That is why in elementary school there were the notes saying, "Do you like me? Circle YES or NO."

[Calvin, by The Wrong Trousers: "...while my friends wait for you to circle do you like me yes or no? Woah woah woah.]

That is why in middle school there was AOL instant messenger. That is why in high school there is Facebook messaging. I know plenty of friends who were (and are) victims to facebook flirting, and in real life the guys never say a word. Is it cowardly or convienient?

[... your answer's okay but you could've circled no once, not a million times.]

(pg. 298) School in Pinyudo has begun, and lucky for the boys four sisters named Agar, Akon, Agum, and Yar Akech have joined with their pretty hair and dresses for them to admire. They sat in the front row in class and that is literally what the boys did the entire time: admire them. When they got home from school they talked about them and thought about how they could know them better. "Nothing academic was learned that day and yet we boys felt, cumulatively, that the focus of our lives and all earthly pursuits had changed." (Eggers 298) It's true. When there is a crush at school, you have an actual reason to get up in the morning and take the effort to look extra nice. The pursuit of a person gives them a purpose to go through the school day.

(pg. 302) Well, look at him now! Achak is getting all the ladies! He captured the attention of the four sisters and they are asking him out to lunch at their house!

"-Achak, my sister has something to ask you, she had said.

Agar, the eldest and tallest, was suddenly next to her.

Her sister stomped on her foot and was punched in return. I didn't know what as happening, but it seemed good so far." (Eggers 302)

What Achak didn't know was girls get nervous around guys too. Agar didn't want to be the one to ask, but since her sister said she would, she had to. Even pretty girls like the four sisters don't want to be put on the spot like that in front of a guy.

"It was me, Achak Deng. Successful with the ladies." (Eggers 306) Haha! This is just like a teenage novel all the way, and he's like 9!

(pg. 308) Oh my goodness! The four sisters' version of hide-and-seek is not the regular version of the game! Hmm, I wonder what could be hidden up her shirt? Oh, I wonder what could be hidden in his pants? Well, lets check and see, la la la... Seriously! He is too young! They girls are all vixens! Vixens! They shouldn't even know about any of this stuff! "I glanced to the other girls for help. They nodded at me. They were all in on this! I felt as able to put my hand under her shirt as I might make fire from earwax." (Eggers 308)

(pg.310) One good thing that came out of this huge monstrosity is the caste system was defeated in Pinyudo. Achak was an unaccompanied minor and the four sisters were considered wealthy. When everyone saw them walking together, them all eating together at the girls' house, (not seeing them play "hide and seek"), and not just one time but many times, it defeated the levels created by wealth and class. "Their invitation and our friendship, was a victory over the petty prejudices between clans, between regions, and a defeat to the caste system of the Pinyudo refugee camp." (Eggers 310) Quite an accomplishment! For something so dirty it did a lot of good!