October Sky
Chapter 16: A Natural Arrogance
The beginning of the chapter starts out with Homer visiting a conference about the ventilation in his mine, it was an honor for him to go because he was not an engineer. When he returns he finds that Sonny has been rejected from the class and is using his book. Sonny and Homer still don't come to an agreement when Sonny tries to explain himself again to his father about not being a mine engineer. The main part is the decision to join the science fair. Sonny sees the opportunity as a good one; if he wins he can prove his father wrong and if he loses he really doesn't lose anthing. Quentin then addresses that the other boys have more to lose. The science fair may be the only way they can pay for college, but for that to work they have to win or the boys have a great chance of not going to college. The pressure of that is something Sonny isn't to fond of having to face.
Chapter 18: The Bump
When Homer discovered there was something wrong at the mine he went in, Sonny snuck out after his father even after his mom told him not to go out. Lightening had struck one of the vents making it fall. Homer lead the rescue crew into the mine to help. Sonny watched until he saw someone brought out on a stretcher, it was Ike Bykovski. About the same time Elsie finds Sonny and gets angry at him and slaps him. Seeing how his mother felt about him only made him feel more pain for seeing someone he cared about hurt. Everyone else comes out of the mine alive, but Homer is hurt and will most likely lose his eye. When the black phone to the mine rings Elsie rips it off the wall and throws it out onto the lawn.
Chapter 17: Valentine
The boys decide that they need to take a break from building rockets. They head towards the dugout, a small dancing hall where the kids go. Sonny then discovers while there that Jim has taken the girl Sonny has been in lvoe with for years with on a date. He sees a girl that he has been friends with but nothing more having an argument with one of the football players who brought her. When Sonny is leaving he sees the boy and sees that he is upset, but Sonny knows its not just over the girl. The boy had been kept out of football for the year which means he will most likely not be able to attend college. Causing the boy to not be able to achieve the things he would have been capable of. When Sonny got home he realized there was something wrong, everyone had thier lights on. His mother told him that no matter what he was not to enter the mine that night.
