Looking for Alaska

Seven days after Alaska’s death, the Colonel is still angry but Miles sees this anger as pointless; all it does is provide distraction from the sadness and guilt. It does not fix anything.

The Colonel returns from the cafeteria later that day and says that the Eagle asked him if he set off the firecrackers but he had not ratted. He and Miles then clean out Alaska’s room, which Miles finds unbearable. He catches Alaska’s scent and glances at all the books that she will never read. Locating The General in His Labyrinth, he looks at the page where Bolivar asks how he will get out of the labyrinth, and he sees that Alaska has written a note in the margin: “Straight & Fast.”

The Colonel assumes that this is her answer to Bolivar’s question, and Miles asks how exactly Alaska died. The Colonel replies that she ran straight into a police car, and Miles can imagine her aiming for the car and not caring about anyone else. However, he also remembers her saying, “To be continued.” The Colonel also wonders why she would drive six miles from campus to kill herself, but he finds “Straight & Fast” an odd premonition nonetheless.