We learn some more of Stargirl's quirks: At the beginning of classes, Stargirl covers her desk with a ruffled curtain and places a daisy in a vase on top of it. She does this at the start of every class.
Students have started joining in with her when she sings "Happy Birthday" to people in the cafeteria. She knows everyone's names somehow, and greets each person in the hall. Often, she'll laugh or dance at random, inexplicable moments. She has never heard of football is and says she doesn't have a television in her house. Needless to say, just about everyone is trying to figure this girl out. They ask Leo to put Stargirl on "Hot Seat," but he keeps making excuses about why he can't.
Leo studies Stargirl and feels panicky whenever he sees her come around a corner. He is also getting a warm, shaky feeling when she is around. Ah, that old familiar feeling. One day, he follows her after school in true stalker fashion. She walks all over town. At one point she takes something from her pocket and puts it in a mailbox. After she leaves, he takes the letter from the mailbox. And they foreshadow his future cowardly acts. Even when he overcomes his shyness and finally strikes up a relationship with Stargirl, he continues to be a bit of a coward.
Only this time, he's not afraid of what Stargirl thinks of him. He's afraid of everyone else. Remember that moment, in Chapter 30, when he observes Stargirl and Dori playing their ukuleles out in the courtyard? Leo just stands idly by while the two of them are ostracized. Deep down he really wants to support her, but he can't quite bring himself to do so. Or what about when he is embarrassed by Stargirl's bulletin board declaration of love?
Or when he asks Stargirl to change her appearance and behavior so he won't be humiliated by dating her? Time and again, Leo proves that he is afraid of the masses' opinion, afraid of their viewing him negatively.
What's so sad about this is that in the end, that fear causes him to treat Stargirl poorly, and eventually dump her. His loss. But first, he tries to have his cake and eat it, too. Leo tells Stargirl that in order to stay together, she must change. He tells her, "I think you should try to be more like the rest of us" When Stargirl asks him why, he flat-out tells her "because nobody likes you" Dude, that's just cold. But you can't really say that Leo doesn't mean well.
After all, he is just trying to make things easier on the two of them. Still, "nobody likes you" is not the way to win a girl's heart. Of course when Stargirl does change—into Susan—Leo is over-the-moon happy about it. He's thrilled to help Susan learn to be normal.
And when the plan ultimately fails and Stargirl goes back to her good old-fashioned self, Leo is mad. It seems that old cowardice, that old fear of not fitting in is still there, doing a number on Leo's emotions, causing him to value the opinions of others over his love for his girl. But we can't just write Leo off as a wimp, a conformist, or even a jerk. He's our protagonist after all, and he has plenty of redeeming qualities.
Think about the moment when Stargirl-turned-Susan gives her competition-winning speech in Chapter The speech is Stargirl, through and through. It contains all the quirks of our favorite speechmaker, plus the wisdom Leo has come to associate with her, too.
And at the end of her speech, Leo sobs. We mean, he sobs. He's genuinely proud of his girlfriend. She has won, and she did so by being herself — by giving a speech only Stargirl could give. Deep down, we think he knows this, and maybe, just maybe, he's crying because he's proud of his girlfriend, in all her unique glory.
Or maybe, just maybe, he's crying because he knows he has stifled that very same uniqueness. Then again, it's possible he just had some allergies. In the end, we can't help but sympathize with Leo, despite all his mistakes. Susan becomes convinced that by winning the contest, she will become popular again. McShane, a faculty representative, drives Susan and Leo to the oratorical contest in Phoenix.
Susan feels sure that she will win, but Mr. McShane tells her not to get her hopes up. Susan talks about the crowd that will be waiting for her when they return to the school on Saturday.
After stopping the car to twirl around the cacti in the desert, Susan asks Mr. McShane if he knows of any extinct birds. McShane says he knows of a bird called a moa that went extinct in New Zealand. Leo, Susan, and Mr. McShane arrive at the hotel where they will spend the night and head to the high school where the contestants will give their speeches. Later, she tells Leo she made it up on the spot.
When Susan gives her final speech of the night, the audience becomes spellbound and seems to hold its breath for several seconds after she finishes. After this moment of silence, however, the crowd jumps up and cheers wildly, and Leo cries, overcome with emotion. Susan wins the contest. Susan and Leo celebrate her victory in the oratorical contest. As Mr. McShane drives Susan and Leo back home, Susan says she will carry the silver plate herself while the other students lift her onto their shoulders.
At school on Monday, she is back to being Stargirl, with her long dresses, ukulele, and pet rat. Leo asks Stargirl why she would give up trying to be popular and normal.
The next day, Stargirl posts a flyer for students to sign up to join a new ukulele musical group. Dori is the only one who signs up unironically, and Dori and Stargirl practice duets and perform in the courtyard, where they are shunned by the other students. She arrives at the dance, held at the Mica Country Club, in a bicycle sidecar wearing a bright yellow strapless gown and carrying Cinnamon in a basket. She begins dancing alone until one boy asks her to dance with him.
Afterward, Stargirl leads people in the bunny hop dance. Every couple except for Hillari and Wayne joins in. Stargirl leads the line from the dance floor to the tennis courts and then to the golf course until they are all out of sight. When the crowd returns, Hillari tells Stargirl that she ruins everything and slaps her. Stargirl kisses Hillari on the cheek and disappears. Shortly before Leo leaves for college, Archie shows Leo the room in his house that Stargirl once used as an office. Leo, now living as a set designer on the East Coast, returns to Mica to visit Archie.
Upon arriving, Leo drives Archie to the desert, where they talk about Stargirl. Archie buries his favorite fossil and a scrap of paper in the desert. Over the years after high school, Leo stays in touch with Kevin but never attends his high school reunions. Kevin still lives in Mica, and he tells Leo that the subject of Stargirl often comes up with their former classmates.
No one knows where Stargirl is, but they talk about doing the bunny hop at the ball, and they realize the impact she had on the high school. Leo often reads the fillers in newspapers and buys cards for strangers. Leo feels certain Stargirl watches over him. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Summary Plot Overview Chapter Summaries. Summary Chapter Summaries. Porcupine Necktie Leo Borlock recalls how, as a young child, he loved a necktie that his uncle Pete owned. Chapter 2 Students speculate about whether Stargirl is a real student or some sort of plant or joke by the school administration intended to stir up school spirit.
Chapter 5 Kevin calls Leo from a school football game and tells him to come right away. Chapter 6 Hillari tells Stargirl not to sing to her on her birthday, which is the following day. Chapter 7 Leo and Kevin go to see Archie Brubaker, a retired paleontology professor who opens his home to students of all ages on Saturday mornings to teach them about fossils as well as anything else they want to learn about.
Chapter 8 Around Thanksgiving, Leo realizes that Stargirl has become the most popular girl in school. Chapter 10 Leo finally agrees to have Stargirl as the featured guest on Hot Seat. Chapter 13 Kevin begins asking Stargirl questions on Hot Seat , but then the jury of students takes over.
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