52 pages • 1 hour read
Tell Me Three Things
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Chapters 27-30
Chapter 27 Summary
During her flight to Chicago, Jessie is eager to “be home again” (246), expecting her relationship with Scar to be just as it was two months ago. Once Scar picks her up at the airport, however, Jessie senses a change in their dynamic. When Jessie compliments her new hairstyle, Scar explains that she “needed a change” (248).
At their favorite pizza place, Jessie explains everything that she has experienced in LA, looking for advice. Scar does not have much to say and reminds Jessie that this time has also been difficult for her. Jessie realizes: “Until now, it has never once occurred to me that my leaving happened to anyone but me” (250), but the two drop the subject, and Jessie suddenly regrets coming to Chicago.
They spend the evening with Scar's new friends in the Schwartz's basement, where the group interrogates Jessie about her new life in LA. She worries that all her complaints to Scar might have sounded like “humblebragging,” even though “the stuff that makes Wood Valley sound interesting and cool is exactly what makes it so lonely” (253). Drunk and lonely while Scar and her love interest, Adam, sneak off, Jessie texts SN and brings up her failed date with Caleb. SN insists he has no idea what she means, so Jessie angrily turns her phone off before vomiting.
Chapter 28 Summary
Jessie is severely hungover when Scar wakes her up, and Jessie tells her she is considering leaving Chicago early. Scar assures Jessie she does not hate her but has felt hurt and neglected that Jessie never bothered to ask how her move affected her, too. Scar starts to cry, convinced Adam is going to break up with her because she is unsure about having sex. She is completely smitten with him, which overwhelms her, but Jessie can empathize because she feels similarly about Ethan and SN.
Over lunch, Scar notices Jessie is avoiding her phone. She is expecting bad news, but Scar forces Jessie to read her messages. Agnes's messages inform her that she saw Caleb shopping with his sister, confirming he could not be SN. Jessie also has several concerned messages from SN, who shares that he has only lied to her once. He assures Jessie that their relationship is real and important, and he wants to finally meet in person. Jessie agrees, hoping it is not Liam.
Chapter 29 Summary
Jessie and Scar drive around aimlessly, wondering aloud who SN might be. Jessie recognizes the familiarities of her old neighborhood and admits that this is “home but not home” (269). Even though Jessie does not want SN to be Liam, Scar tells her, “I’m just saying you might not see what’s right in front of you” (270). They move on to talk about sex, and Scar shares her anxieties, uncharacteristically unsure of herself. This time it is Jessie who offers advice, reassuring Scar that whatever choice she makes is the right one.
Back in Scar’s basement, where Jessie “couldn’t be happier” while eating popcorn and watching a movie, Dri texts her to ask if Liam has asked her out yet. Jessie assures her she is not interested because she values their friendship too much. Even though she is jealous, Dri assures her that their friendship is not in jeopardy if they date. Jessie texts SN, admitting that it is easy for her to talk to him because he is anonymous. She tells him she no longer knows “where home is,” and he suggests that home “doesn’t have to be a place” (275).
Chapter 30 Summary
Heading back to LA, Jessie is unsure which city she would prefer to be in. Scar gifted her a new sticker for her laptop, the ninja—a symbol of how she sees Jessie: “as a fighter...completely and utterly [her] mother's daughter” (278). Jessie takes the image to be an “omen,” a reminder to “stop being afraid of everything” (278) and face all the difficult confrontations that await her in LA.
Chapters 27-30 Analysis
Jessie has such high expectations of her trip to Chicago, assuming things will be just as she had left them and her time with Scarlett will “erase” her last two months in California. Jessie quickly realizes, however, that just as time has moved forward for her in LA, it has moved forward for Scar. Totally consumed by her grief and the massive changes in her life, Jessie never once thought that Scar would also be affected by her move (250). Just as Jessie had to start over at Wood Valley, Scar had to start over at FDR, but Jessie hardly offered any support while Scarlett adjusted. Jessie is thankful that this unprecedented tension with Scar does not mean the end of their friendship, but it does provide Jessie with the opportunity to have some intense introspection and harsh but necessary realizations. The parts of Jessie’s Chicago life have been moving forward, and it is time for Jessie to do the same.
When they make up, and Scarlett finally unloads all her fear about her relationship with Adam, Jessie is shocked at how “unrecognizable” Scar has become in all her self-doubt. Their discussion about sex illustrates just how conflicting feelings can be when it comes to intimacy, especially for young adults exploring it for the first time. Jessie realizes that Scarlett is at a point in her life where she needs a strong friend to help her navigate her intense feelings for Adam, and Jessie must summon the courage to be the kind of friend Scar has always been for her. This role reversal proves that Jessie can genuinely empathize, reassure, and give advice to Scar, which helps Jessie recognize her own inner strength. The gift of the ninja sticker only further reaffirms that those closest to Jessie see how strong she is and marks a turning point in her journey: until now, she has treated Wood Valley as her “pretend life” (274), but she is finally ready to accept its reality and is finally capable of facing a future without her mother, no matter how intimidating it might be.
The messages that SN sends Jessie in the wake of her drunk frustration highlight just how important their relationship is to him. He tells her that “THIS is more important than anything else. this is real,” and realizing he might lose her, he summons up the courage to reveal his identity. Like Jessie, it is time for SN to muster up the strength it takes for a difficult confrontation for the sake of saving an important relationship. Jessie still has not considered the possibility of SN being Ethan, even though SN is someone who “really sees [her]” and “gets what [she’s] been through” (270). Scar foreshadows SN’s identity when she tells Jessie: “I’m just saying you might not see what’s right in front of you” (270).
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