Chapter Two Summary – The School Tour and a Group Project Crisis

⚠️ 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

Chapter 2 opens with Sadie Wen spending an hour giving a tour to a group of Chinese aunties (prospective parents). She lies fluently about Woodvale Academy’s many absurdities: photos of teachers glued to the ceiling, a green donkey statue, a conflicting assembly schedule, and a stalled construction site. Julius Gong joins the end of the tour and effortlessly charms the aunties, who later compliment him in Mandarin, deepening Sadie’s resentment.

In history class, Sadie’s friend Abigail Ong arrives late, and they discuss Abigail’s sister’s boyfriend. Sadie’s group project partners, Georgina Wilkins and Ray Suzuki, admit they have done none of the required summaries. With only seventeen minutes until the deadline, Sadie writes both summaries herself and submits the project, narrowly saving her grade. Ms. Rachel praises the work and asks Sadie to watch the class while she steps out.

During this time, Sadie receives a smug email from Julius gloating about their history group project grades. Seething, Sadie opens her email drafts—her secret outlet for rage—and writes a furious, unsent draft addressed to Julius. She then rushes into the hallway to catch Mr. Kaye, her math teacher, and learns that a textbook bonus question was wrong; her own calculations were correct. This victory lifts her mood. When she returns to the classroom, she notices her laptop screen has been moved to a different position, hinting that someone may have read her draft.

Key Events

Sadie delivers a creatively dishonest tour of Woodvale, covering up the school’s flaws.
Julius outperforms Sadie in winning the parents’ approval, stoking her anger.
Georgina and Ray fail to complete their group project summaries, forcing Sadie to do all the work under time pressure.
Ms. Rachel leaves Sadie in charge of the class; Sadie receives Julius’s taunting email.
Sadie drafts a venomous unsent email to Julius, her fifty-seventh such draft.
Mr. Kaye confirms that the textbook answer was wrong; Sadie’s math answer was correct.
Sadie returns to find her laptop screen repositioned, suggesting possible snooping.

Character Development

Sadie Wen: Reveals her deep need for external validation and her habit of suppressing anger by writing furious drafts she never sends. Her people-pleasing behavior (agreeing to scan notes for Rosie, doing group mates’ work) stems from a fear of conflict and a desire to be liked. She also shows obsessive perfectionism and a burning rivalry with Julius.
Julius Gong: Appears polished and charismatic, deliberately provoking Sadie. His email demonstrates his enjoyment of their competition.
Abigail Ong: Provides comic relief and blunt observations. She is fiercely loyal to Sadie and unbothered by social judgment.
Rosie Wilson-Wang: Represents the users who take advantage of Sadie’s generosity without gratitude.
Georgina and Ray: Illustrate the burden Sadie carries from unreliable peers.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Performative kindness vs. inner rage: Sadie’s public saintliness contrasts with the venom in her email drafts. The drafts symbolize her unexpressed anger.
Pressure and conditional success: Sadie’s Berkeley offer is conditional, driving her extreme work ethic and anxiety.
Appearance vs. reality: The school tour, the deceptive statue, and Sadie’s own masks all echo the gap between what is shown and what is true.
Unconditional love as a contrast: Abigail’s family, with positive sticky notes and cut‑heart carrots, highlights what Sadie lacks at home.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the central conflict between Sadie and Julius while exposing Sadie’s emotional vulnerabilities. It establishes email drafts as her private coping mechanism—a key plot device for later misunderstandings. The group project crisis shows how others exploit Sadie’s reliability, and the final hint that someone moved her laptop foreshadows a major turning point.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Sadie agree to scan her notes for Rosie and her friends even though it costs her extra time?
Sadie craves validation and fears being disliked. She admits that compliments “go down like syrup” and that she would give an arm if asked nicely. Her people‑pleasing is a defense against rejection.

2. What does Sadie’s collection of 57 unsent email drafts reveal about her character?
The drafts are her “sanctuary” and “antidote to anger.” They show that Sadie represses her true feelings in public and releases them only in private, unfiltered writing. She lacks the nerve to send them, indicating a deep fear of confrontation.

3. Find evidence that someone may have read Sadie’s draft email. Why is this significant?
When Sadie returns from speaking to Mr. Kaye, she notices her laptop screen is in a different position than she left it. This implies someone, likely Julius, could have seen the draft. This sets up potential fallout and raises the stakes of her secret anger.