Doug continued working on his drawing of the puffins, trying to get their feet right, for all of September. It wasn’t easy, but he enjoyed the way it made Lil seem to look at him in a new light. At school, he and Lil turned in an A plus report for their first lab. In his other classes, Doug wasn’t doing the work, but he also wasn’t getting in trouble.

One evening, after a quiet dinner with his mother, Doug decided to unearth his Joe Pepitone jacket from where he hid it in the basement and wear it while working on his drawing, in hopes it would provide some needed inspiration. While he was working, Christopher burst in and made fun of his drawing, telling him the puffins’ feet looked like they were underwater before tearing the drawing into pieces. After Christopher exited, Doug felt elated; he managed to save his jacket from destruction and, based on Christopher’s comment, had finally drawn the puffins’ feet correctly, since he was trying to make the feet appear as if submerged.

One Saturday, Doug arrived at the library, only to find that Mr. Powell was in a meeting and that the puffins were no longer on display.