Chapter 13

So the accusations did have a lasting effect on the life of "Matt the Mouth". In the chapter before, I got the impression that the pupils and the media had calmed down accepting the bomb- threat as a misunderstanding... Ugly Girl seemed to have saved his reputation and Matt could go back to school as a normal, joyful person.
As I see it, the coincidence has made the whole school more cautious; Matt is not only accepted, he is pretty much ignored. His thought “No one’s said anything to me, much. That’s just it” (p.96, l.1) shows his unfamiliar feelings of isolation. Not only his friends had betrayed him, while he was in custody, but also his reputation has changed to a person, you should watch out for.
Although he was so “ridiculously, pathetically proud” (p.95, l.13) of his presidency of the junior class, he then decides to resign, being very selfless and mature in my opinion. Maybe he thinks, a more responsible and reliable student should have the honour, to own his office?
Since the “Nothing-Days” have begun to appear in his life, smelling of dirty socks, his school marks are getting worse and worse and I think, he seems to have got in to a melancholic state. After he had been let back to school, he was happy, as if he had won the lottery (p.82, l. 8). But then, in reality, nobody shared his joy; instead, he felt rejection and isolation.
I really hope that Ursula brings herself to talk to him and cheer him up again, so he can be the funny careless boy he used to be.