Tom struggles with inner conflict in “Firefly” by Tony Abbott. Tom is an ordinary middle school student in a Catholic school when Jessica joins the class. Jessica sustained burns in a fire leaving her deformed and heavily scarred. Most of the students in the class shy away from her, while Tom’s friend Jeff is rude and demeaning toward her. Tom is introspective about how he should act and feel about Jessica. She is living temporarily in a house in his neighborhood. Tom visits Jessica’s home to deliver her schoolwork and has a chance to see her as a person in spite of her injuries. This makes Tom see how fate can intervene in life, and how petty Jeff and their other classmates can be. He is kind to Jessica, which influences how other students view him and Jessica. He does not completely resolve his inner conflict but makes strides in developing an inner filter for his feelings.

There is a minor conflict between Tom and Jeff. Although they are best friends, they do not agree how to treat Jessica. Jeff shuns her but Tom cannot find it in his heart to do that. Tom chooses not to end his friendship with his funny friend but uses metacognition to deal with their differences.