Chapter 56: Memories — Summary and Analysis
⚠️ 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
The chapter opens on January 11th, when Georgia returns to her college room to find it in disarray: Rooney's possessions are scattered across the floor, her wardrobe is open, her bedsheets are displaced, the plant Roderick looks damaged, and the aqua rug is crammed into the sink. Rooney, wearing pajamas, claims she spilled tea on the rug. Georgia quietly tidies up, squeezes water from the rug, trims the dead parts off Roderick, and reattaches the photo of Mermaid-hair Beth to the wall without comment. When Georgia asks about Christmas, Rooney only says she hated spending time in her hometown, then goes to bed at seven o'clock.
Georgia recognizes that Rooney is in a bad place — the play isn't happening, her unspoken connection with Pip isn't happening, and Rooney has attended only two of six lectures that week, staring blankly without taking notes. At the end of the first week back, Georgia persuades Rooney to go to a pub for chips. They find a small table in a packed Friday-night pub, order chips and a strawberry daiquiri, and sit in silence for over ten minutes.
Georgia gently pries, and Rooney admits that Christmas was hell because her ex-boyfriend was always present at gatherings with school friends. She blames him for ruining things and says she could have been a better person if she'd never met him. Then, in a quiet voice, Rooney confesses she really likes Pip. Georgia reveals that Pip likes her back, but Rooney dismisses this, stammering that Georgia is wrong.
Georgia asks if Rooney likes girls. Rooney admits she's been questioning her sexuality, recalling a childhood crush on a female friend at thirteen, which she assumed was common. Georgia corrects her — not all girls do that. Rooney then realizes, almost nonchalantly, that she likes girls, and asks whether that makes her bi or pan. She also reveals that she kissed Georgia as a