Chapter summaries Half His Age Jennette McCurdy

Chapter 35 Summary: “That was reckless”

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

School resumes, making it harder for the narrator and Mr. Korgy to find time together. He juggles grading, lesson prep, and family demands, squeezing in brief, frantic visits to her place. Their sex is intense but rushed, always cut short by his alarm. The narrator tries to preserve every minute by replaying the memories and rearranging them into order. They maintain contact through texting, but Korgy’s wife Gwen notices his glued phone. To avoid suspicion, he changes the narrator’s contact name to “Kurt,” an old friend. Even with this precaution, text conversations are limited. The narrator clings to the erotic tension she feels during his class. After school one day, they have sex in a cleaning closet. The encounter is interrupted when Mr. Wembley enters the classroom looking for Korgy. They freeze but are not discovered. Afterwards, Korgy declares the risk too high and says they cannot do that again at school. The narrator agrees, though her eyes sting—perhaps from the cleaning chemicals or emotion.

Key Events

  • School starts, and Korgy’s schedule becomes full, limiting their time together.
  • They meet in short, passionate sessions at the narrator’s place, always ending when his phone alarm goes off.
  • The narrator obsessively replays and reorganizes memories of their time together to extend the feeling.
  • Korgy changes the narrator’s name in his phone to “Kurt” after Gwen comments on his texting.
  • The erotic charge during class continues, with glances and tension hidden from other students.
  • They have sex in the school cleaning closet after hours; Mr. Wembley interrupts by entering the classroom.
  • Korgy calls the act “reckless” and insists they must stop meeting at school.
  • The narrator’s eyes sting, suggesting distress (from Clorox fumes or tears).

Character Development

  • The narrator: Her deep attachment becomes evident as she clings to every memory and replays it repeatedly. She is willing to accept increasing risk, but the near-discovery and Korgy’s reaction leave her hurt (eyes sting).
  • Mr. Korgy: His double life strains him. He takes precautions (changing contact name) but also exhibits recklessness. After the close call, he attempts to set boundaries, showing a conflicted sense of responsibility—more for his own reputation than for her well-being.
  • Gwen: Not directly present, but her comment about his phone use shows she is observant; her presence drives Korgy’s secrecy.
  • Mr. Wembley: A minor character who nearly exposes the affair, highlighting how fragile their secrecy is.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Secrecy and performance: Korgy’s disguise of the narrator as “Kurt,” along with the hidden looks in class, emphasizes the theatrical nature of their relationship. Both are playing roles to avoid detection.
  • Memory as preservation: The narrator’s ritual of replaying and reordering memories symbolizes her attempt to freeze moments that are otherwise slipping away. She turns minutes into hours in her mind.
  • Risk and compulsion: The cleaning-closet encounter—cramped, dirty, with sloshing water—mirrors the sordid, risky quality of the affair. The mop bucket becomes a symbol of things that are messy and hard to clean.
  • Power imbalance: Korgy makes the rules (“we can’t do it again”) while the narrator silently complies, underscoring his control over the relationship’s limits.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks a turning point in how the affair operates. The return to school ratchets up the danger, and the near-discovery forces Korgy to impose a new rule. The narrator’s emotional response—stinging eyes—hints at the cost she pays for these clandestine meetings. The chapter also deepens the theme of memory as the narrator’s coping mechanism, foreshadowing later psychological fallout. The cleaning closet scene is a vivid set piece that crystallizes the relationship’s excitement and its degradation.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does the narrator spend so much time replaying her memories after each meeting?
    Answer: The actual time with Korgy is short and rushed. Replaying and reorganizing memories is her way of stretching the experience, preserving every detail, and feeling as though they had longer together. It reveals her dependency on these fleeting moments.

  2. What does Korgy’s decision to change the narrator’s name to “Kurt” suggest about his priorities?
    Answer: It shows he is primarily concerned with avoiding Gwen’s suspicion. The deception is calculated; he treats the narrator as a risk to be managed. The substitution of a male name also reinforces the secrecy and the hidden nature of their relationship.

  3. How does the cleaning-closet scene advance the plot and themes?
    Answer: It is the first time their affair is nearly discovered at school. The interruption by Mr. Wembley raises the stakes and forces Korgy to impose a boundary against future school encounters. The scene embodies the themes of risk and recklessness, and the sloshing water symbolizes the unsettled, dirty state of their relationship.

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