Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt True and False

A Day in the Life of a New Resident in Marysville

The protagonist's father leaves with Ernie Eco to sign forms at the Ballard Paper Mill, but it turns out to be closed on a Saturday
The protagonist and his brother carry furniture and boxes into their new home
The mother is unable to finish cleaning the kitchen before the father returns
The father is frustrated about the kitchen not being ready and the lack of groceries, questioning the low salary offered by Mr. Ballard
The father sends the mother and brother to find a diner, leaving the protagonist alone in the new house
The protagonist explores the basement and hangs a jacket, then goes out to explore the town of Marysville
The protagonist describes the mundane and uninteresting aspects of Marysville, expressing his dislike for the town
The protagonist encounters a girl locking her bike and engages in a confrontational conversation with her
The girl challenges the protagonist and implies his unfamiliarity with a library
The girl taunts the protagonist and enters the library
The protagonist feels a sense of shame and reflects on his behavior, realizing he was starting to sound like someone named Lucas
The encounter leaves the protagonist feeling belittled and ashamed of his behavior

Encounter with Lil Spicer

The protagonist encounters Lil Spicer three times.
The first encounter involves the protagonist jumping under a sprinkler to cool off and Lil Spicer mocking him.
The second encounter is near a deli, where the protagonist's brother is with a group of criminals.
The protagonist hides in the shadows to avoid being detected by the group.
A crow drops bird poop on the protagonist's head, and Lil Spicer notices and teases him about it.
Lil Spicer offers to help clean the bird droppings, but the protagonist declines.
The encounters with Lil Spicer highlight the protagonist's struggles and his feelings of being mocked and belittled.
The protagonist's interactions with Lil Spicer reveal his internal turmoil and sense of being an outsider.
The encounters with Lil Spicer contribute to the protagonist's growing frustration and resentment towards his circumstances.
The protagonist's encounters with Lil Spicer serve as a recurring theme of feeling inadequate and misunderstood.
The protagonist's responses to Lil Spicer's teasing demonstrate his internal conflict and desire to maintain his pride.
The encounters with Lil Spicer illustrate the protagonist's longing for acceptance and understanding amidst his challenging circumstances.

Trouble at the Museum and a Deli Robbery

The protagonist hands a paper to Mr. Powell at a museum and realizes the Arctic Tern exhibit is replaced by Large-Billed Puffins
Mr. Powell points out the differences between the puffins and the tern, and instructs the protagonist on drawing the bird's feathers
The protagonist draws the tern's feathers, and Mr. Powell praises the result and asks to keep the drawing
The protagonist's brother is suspected of robbing Spicer's Deli, and the police question the family
The protagonist and his mother provide alibis for the brother, but the police remain suspicious
The family denies the brother's involvement in the robbery, and the police leave to search for him
The protagonist claims to have been awake all night, drawing the tern's feathers, and asserts his brother's innocence
The protagonist's father arrives home late after being informed of the police questioning his son
The text suggests the protagonist's brother might be falsely accused of the deli robbery
The protagonist's dedication to drawing the tern's feathers is emphasized
The protagonist's family faces suspicion and pressure due to the robbery accusation
The protagonist's commitment to his art and his loyalty to his brother are highlighted

Unexpected Opportunities and Discoveries

Miss Cowper asks the narrator to help her develop a County Literacy Unit by playing the role of a student who is learning to read.
The narrator learns about letters, their sounds, and how they work together to form words.
The narrator practices picking out new words and sounding them out in "Jane Eyre" during Saturday morning deliveries.
Mrs. Mason and Mr. Loeffler both share their experiences with "Jane Eyre" from their school days.
The narrator is offered a babysitting job by Mrs. Daugherty, who needs a babysitter that encourages reading for her five children.
The narrator is living on the tips from the babysitting job, as his father takes the $5 he earns every Saturday morning.
Mrs. Windermere surprises the narrator with a first edition of "Jane Eyre," emphasizing its importance and rarity.
The narrator is given the first edition of "Jane Eyre" by Mrs. Windermere, who highlights the value of collecting such a rare edition.
The narrator is taken aback by the significance of owning a first edition and Mrs. Windermere's passion for collecting rare books.
The unexpected opportunities, including the literacy unit, the babysitting job, and the discovery of the first edition of "Jane Eyre," bring new experiences and challenges to the narrator's life.
The narrator's interactions with various characters and their unique perspectives on literature and life contribute to his personal growth and learning.
The text captures the narrator's journey of unexpected opportunities, from learning to read to discovering rare books, and how these experiences shape his understanding of the world around him.

Adolescent experiences in school and with friends

The narrator impresses his teacher, Mrs. Verne, with his understanding of the z-axis in class
The narrator defies the gym teacher to go running with friends during the wrestling unit in PE class
The narrator shares a moment with Lil, teaching her how to throw horseshoes, and they share a kiss
The narrator describes the dreariness of November in Marysville, New York, and the challenges of running in the rain
The narrator's determination to run leads to his friends, James Russell and Otis Bottom, panting and wondering why they have to go so fast
The narrator changes clothes in the bathroom stall to avoid embarrassment in front of his classmates
The So-Called Gym Teacher introduces volleyball as the new unit in PE, leading to a chaotic and unsatisfying class
The narrator is called to the Principal's Office after a note is delivered to his English class, creating a sense of anticipation and curiosity among his classmates

Winter Activities and Library Drama

The narrator describes the different warm drinks he receives from various people, such as hot milk, hot tea, cream of wheat, and hot coffee, during the cold winter.
The narrator's winter routine involves delivering items, enduring the cold, and then warming up with chicken noodle soup at Mr. Spicer's deli.
The town of Marysville faces financial difficulties due to excessive snow, leading to the removal of the Snowy Heron from the library's book, "Birds of America," to sell for plowing and salting.
Out of the 100 plates in the "Birds of America" book, six are missing, with only one returned and five to be returned.
The narrator learns about gesture and drawing movement from Mr. Powell, a library worker, who emphasizes drawing the bird's flight line.
The narrator reflects on the events at Washington Irving Junior High School, including his experiences in geography, world history, English, and math classes.
The narrator finds poetry uninteresting and questions the significance of understanding it.
The narrator and Lil are selected for a group focusing on Advanced Algebra in Mrs. Verne's math class.
In Mr. Ferris's physical science class, the students are distilling aspirins, with Mr. Ferris expressing a need for one by the end of the class.
The text provides insight into the narrator's routine, the challenges faced by the town, and the educational experiences at the junior high school.
The narrative weaves together the narrator's interactions with different community members, the library drama, and his experiences at school.
The story captures the mundane yet significant details of the narrator's daily life during a challenging winter in Marysville.

Flight Jacket Adventures

The protagonist receives compliments on his flight jacket, and Mason wonders if someone who wears a snazzy jacket would like a chocolate doughnut, to which the protagonist responds positively.
Mr. Loeffler, inspired by the protagonist's jacket, retrieves his own flight jacket from the attic, and the protagonist salutes him playfully, but Mr. Loeffler responds seriously, surprising the protagonist.
Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie all want to try on the flight jacket, and Mrs. Windermere compares the protagonist's appearance to actor Errol Flynn.
The protagonist helps Mrs. Windermere with groceries, and she expresses dissatisfaction with the pistachio ice cream she received.
At the library, the protagonist and Lil work on a project about New Zealand, and Mr. Powell compliments the protagonist's appearance in the flight jacket.
Mr. Powell explains the concept of stable and unstable compositions in art, using the example of a painting of Lil sitting at a table, and the protagonist relates it to the stability of a brown pelican.
The protagonist draws Forked-Tailed Petrels in a storm, and Mr. Powell discusses the tension and uncertainty in the painting.
Lil leaves the protagonist to work on the New Zealand project alone due to a stomachache but leaves the books with bookmarks for him.
The protagonist and Lil walk to the Ballard Paper Mill, and the protagonist introduces Lil to Mr. Ballard, who receives a note about an orchid from the protagonist's mother.
The protagonist and Lil plan to throw horseshoes, and the protagonist feels the comfort of the flight jacket on the cold, rainy day.
The protagonist delivers the note to Mr. Ballard and engages in a conversation with him and Mrs. Stenson, and Mr. Ballard expresses appreciation for the note and hopes the protagonist's mother likes the orchid.

A Night at the Theater

The narrator performs as Helen Burns in a play and is praised for her performance
She lets out a convincing Bertha Mason shriek, impressing the audience
Despite the play, her mind is preoccupied with a certain book and missing pages
The narrator finishes a report on the Transcontinental Railroad while at the theater
Joe Pepitone, a famous baseball player, compliments the narrator's performance
The narrator's heart stops when Joe Pepitone recognizes her as Helen Burns
Joe Pepitone asks the narrator to sign his program and praises her talent
The narrator is promised the role of understudy until the original actress returns
The narrator's mother and Mrs. Windermere are in high spirits on the way back
They sing and share laughter on the drive back home
Upon returning home, the narrator learns about Lil's condition from a phone call
The Yellow Shank finally walks into the full dark, possibly indicating a somber turn of events

Seventh-grade English Class and Visit to Principal's Office

Seventh-grade students learn to diagram sentences in English class
Students take turns at the blackboard to diagram sentences given by Mrs. Baker
Mai Thi, a recent Vietnamese immigrant, struggles with the English language
Doug Swieteck's short sentence is a lie, and the protagonist receives a complex sentence difficult to diagram
The protagonist is unable to diagram the complex sentence and is called to the principal's office
The principal, Mr. Guareschi, has aspirations of being a dictator and questions the protagonist's math proficiency
Mrs. Baker suggests the protagonist retake sixth-grade math
The protagonist dreams of escaping to a tropical island or California to leave school behind
Mr. Guareschi questions the protagonist's math record, causing tension
The protagonist hopes for a moment of unintentional leniency from Mr. Guareschi
The text describes the protagonist's perspective on the school environment and authority figures
The protagonist's apprehension about the situation with Mrs. Baker and Mr. Guareschi is evident in the text

Explore the adolescent experiences and encounters of the protagonist in Marysville, including interactions with Lil Spicer, trouble at the museum, unexpected opportunities, winter activities, flight jacket adventures, a night at the theater, and seventh-grade English class visits to the principal's office.

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