box and began drawing his own version of the strip,The Real Family Circus, based on his own life. When he was introduced to Aaron Douglas in his art class, however, he was impressed and inspired beyond anything he had felt before. Ever since then, Rashad has sought to emulate Douglas’s art while continuing to frame his sketches in circles like The Family Circus.

On Monday morning, Rashad turns on the television, puts it on mute, and begins sketching the scene of his beating with the pad and pencils his mother has brought him. Clarissa, who is young and white, brings him breakfast and asks to see his drawing. Rashad tells her that it isn’t finished but hands it to her anyway, and Clarissa awkwardly awkwardly compliments the drawing and tells Rashad she thinks what happened to him is “bullshit.” Rashad shows her some of his other drawings, and she comments on how beautiful they are. When she asks why the people he draws don’t have faces, Rashad tells her he thinks of them as “ghosts” or “invisible people.” Clarissa reminds him that he needs to stand up and move in order to heal, so after she leaves, Rashad leaves his room and walks painfully down the hall, where he takes the elevator to the first-floor gift shop. The older Black woman reading the newspaper at the gift shop counter, Shirley Fitzgerald, asks Rashad if he needs anything and how he ended up in the hospital. Rashad lies, telling her he was in a car accident, and asks how long she’s worked at the gift shop. Mrs. Fitzgerald replies that it’s been four years and jokes that she volunteers as a firefighter on her days off. The two of them laugh together over the newspaper’s comics section until Rashad’s pain becomes unbearable, forcing him to return to his room. Mrs. Fitzgerald tells him to visit again.

That afternoon, Dwyer, English, and Carlos visit. Carlos claims to have “almost got some” with Tiffany, Rashad’s crush, but then he admits that he is only joking. He mentions that Tiffany and others from school have been considering visiting Rashad, but Rashad doesn’t want them to see him in the hospital. When Rashad asks what’s been happening at school, his friends tell him that people are talking about him, and Carlos jokes that Rashad is “finally popular”—so popular he may even be able to convince Tiffany to go on a date with him. He and Carlos continue bantering, but without any real heart or playfulness. Shannon asks when Rashad will be out of the hospital, and Rashad says he should be able to leave in a couple of days, as his internal bleeding hasn’t worsened. English tells Rashad that Paul is Guzzo’s brother and that Coach Carney has threatened to bench anyone who brings up what happened to Rashad. Then his friends ask to hear his side of the story. When Rashad relays what happened, English becomes uncharacteristically upset, and Carlos, the only one who isn’t on the basketball team, vows to help Rashad.

After his friends leave, Rashad worries about Carlos’s plans and thinks about how much it hurts to see his friends and family hurting for him. Glancing up, he sees his photo on the television alongside Paul’s and is overwhelmed with anger by the way the news seems to be portraying him and Paul as “the same,” even though Rashad did nothing wrong. He tries to turn the television off, but the remote doesn’t work, so he runs across the room despite the physical pain it causes and pulls the plug out of the wall.

Analysis

Quinn, as the only student to have witnessed the beating, feels increasingly alone when he returns to school in “Monday.” It is also clear, especially in economics class, that the school is becoming divided on the issue of Rashad versus Paul, and part of Quinn’s isolation is a result of his reluctance to choose a side. On one hand, the fact that he is so upset about what he witnessed shows that he believes Paul was in the wrong. On the other hand, Quinn looks up to Paul as an older brother or surrogate father figure. That so many others seem to have already chosen a side frustrates Quinn. Jill, however, is in a similar situation, although she seems to disagree more with Paul’s actions than Quinn consciously does. In this way, Jill serves as a kind of moral guide for Quinn. She has already decided where she stands, and throughout the rest of the novel, she will help guide Quinn in his decisions.

During “Monday,” Rashad has two interactions with people who act as allies. The first is his nurse, Clarissa, who tells him that what happened to him is “bullshit.” The second is the woman in her sixties, Shirley Fitzgerald, who works at the hospital gift shop. A stark contrast to the suspicious clerk at Jerry’s convenience store, Mrs. Fitzgerald jokes about how the items in the shop aren’t even worth stealing and encourages Rashad never to apologize for things that are not his fault. Rashad is able to discover new sources of support and perspective outside his immediate family and friend group through these interactions, expanding his sense of community and connection. Conversations with Clarissa and Mrs. Fitzgerald will prove important over the course of the week as Rashad decides how to respond to his situation and considers his role in the larger battle for social justice. Through these two characters, the authors also provide examples of white people (Clarissa) and salespeople (Mrs. Fitzgerald) who refuse to endorse racist actions such as police brutality or racial profiling. Rashad’s painless interactions with them further cements the idea that Paul’s actions were unwarranted and unjust.