Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone

After describing the Incident, Mal tells Kath and Ingrid that she didn’t know what she was thinking, but Ingrid retorts that she was fully aware of what was happening and was always concerned about being popular. Ingrid and Kath believe that Mal hurt someone for fun and didn’t care about the consequences. Mal denies this is true but admits to herself that she wanted to take power away from Jennifer. Ingrid blames Mal for Jennifer running away and is angry that Mal asked for their help and lied to them. Mal claims that she didn’t lie; she just didn’t tell the whole truth. Mal asks if she’s the “bad guy now” (225), and Ingrid storms out, with Kath following her.

At dinner with her parents, Mal bursts into tears and tells them everything. She asks if she is a bad person, and her father says no, but she did something wrong. He understands that she is trying to learn from her mistakes and make amends. He tells her that Catholics go to confession to learn about themselves, not because they need to tell God they are bad. Mal’s mother tells her she doesn’t need to believe in God and that facing one’s faults and learning from them is important.