In the Wild Light

After nearly 24 hours, the bus finally arrives in New Canaan. An affable driver from the school meets Cash and Delaney and gives them a quick tour of the campus. When Cash makes a self-deprecating comment that he does not really belong at the school, Delaney tells him to stop, saying, “Your little act makes us both look stupid” (101).

A school administrator outlines the history of the academy for Cash and Delaney and explains that the student body represents the best and the brightest from more than 20 countries. Classes are kept small, and interactions with the teachers are encouraged. Cash’s roommate will be Patrick “Tripp” McGrath from Arizona, and Delaney will room with Viviani Xavier from Brazil.

Cash heads to his dorm room and meets Tripp, who barely looks up from his laptop. Born into a wealthy and prominent family, Tripp makes Cash feel unimportant and vaguely embarrassed to be from a small town in rural Tennessee. Feeling homesick, Cash has a video call with Papaw and cries when they sign off, prompting Tripp’s mockery of Appalachia’s distinctive country twang and the cruel assertion that Papaw “sounds like shit” (117) and should go to a doctor “before he croaks” (118).