The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian | Chapter 10 Summary

Junior remembers that when he was twelve, he fell in love with an Indian girl named Dawn.  She was beautiful and the best powwow dancer on the reservation, but she didn't care about him, and was definitely out of his league.  Junior recognizes that he is the type of guy who always falls in love "with the unreachable, ungettable, and uninterested".

One night, when Rowdy is spending the night at his house, Junior tells his friend about his feelings for Dawn.  Rowdy, ever the realist, advises Junior that he is "just being stupid...Dawn doesn't give a shit about (him)".  To Junior's embarrassment, Rowdy's blunt but truthful words make him cry; he has always cried too easily, when he's "happy or sad...(or) angry".  Junior thinks he is weak, "the opposite of warrior", and Rowdy unceremoniously tells his friend to stop crying.

Later, Junior asks Rowdy not to tell anyone that he cried over Dawn.  Rowdy responds that he has never told anyone any of Junior's secrets, and that he won't tell anyone that Junior cried "over a dumb girl".  True to his word, Rowdy never did.