Inventing Elliot

Elliot knows from experience that not being noticed at all is a good way of eventually being singled out by bullies. He must be “noticed in the right way” (33). For two weeks, Elliot has a growing sense of fear. He hasn’t made any friends—starting as a new kid in the middle of freshman year makes it hard to integrate and he hasn’t found a way to fit in. He scans the bulletin board every day for a club or group to join that will be acceptable, all the while replaying the mantra “stand out for the wrong reason, you’re dead” (34) to himself.

Finally, in the third week, tryouts for the swim team are posted. Elliot excels at swimming and knows that this is his chance to shine. He feels sick with nerves, but despite the fear and the nasty comments about his slight build that he overhears on his way to the pool, Elliot achieves the third fastest overall time, securing his place on the Holminster High School swim team. He’s thrilled by the friendly comradery and banter he experiences in the locker room. By the end of the chapter, Elliot almost bursts with happiness because he has achieved his goal.

Elliot relaxes at school, feeling accepted. He enjoys being on the swim team, where he fits in well. This comfortable feeling does not last long; one morning, Oliver approaches Elliot on the playground. Oliver has not spoken to Elliot since their first introduction weeks ago, and Elliot can sense that underneath Oliver’s friendly tone there is a sinister message. Oliver proceeds to tell Elliot about the Guardians. Elliot stops him and asks why he would want to know about them. Oliver explains that the Guardians want him to know and that it’s not safe to ignore them. Elliot, feeling sick, asks Oliver whether the Guardians are the school thugs. Oliver laughs and tells Elliot that the Guardians “control” the thugs and “organize things.”

To Elliot’s horror, Oliver details the way the school is run outside of the classroom: “Out here, what goes is what the Guardians say goes. If a kid is getting punished, the Guardians have decided it. They select who gets punished, they select who punishes” (40). Oliver tells Elliot to look out for squares of yellow paper posted on the bulletin board with the “special selections” and that names of victims are kept on “the List.” Elliot keeps his cool, giving the impression that he’s not bothered by what Oliver is telling him, even though he is screaming inside. The bell rings and everyone goes into the classroom except Oliver, who continues to block Elliot’s way and warns him to keep his name off the Guardians’ list. Elliot realizes that Oliver is not threatening him, but regardless, he still shakes with fear as Oliver walks away.

Nothing happens for several weeks: no yellow squares and no overt bullying. Elliot starts to think that Oliver made up the Guardians as an attempt to look important to the new kid. Whenever Elliot tries to start a conversation with Oliver he is cut off,  with Oliver making a vague excuse before hurrying off. Elliot starts to relax again. He sees bullying going on around him, but to other kids—the kid with a stutter, or the fat kids—and he is immensely relieved not to be the victim. Elliot starts to prefer school, where he is left alone, to being at home. His mother is too tired and sad to talk to him, and the atmosphere in the house is depressing.

On the first day back at school after vacation, Oliver grabs Elliot’s arm and tells him to hurry or they’ll be late for to see the punishment. A crowd of excited boys fills the outdoor bathroom by the football field. Elliot feels sick, with memories of the torture he endured rising in his mind, but he can’t get out of the packed crowd. The group parts to let two large boys from the football team and a small boy in a crisp uniform—held firmly by the footballers—through to the middle toilet stall. Someone pulls down the small boy’s blazer to his elbows and someone else pulls down the boy’s pants to below his knees. Through the pounding in his head Elliot can hear chanting “Get him in there….Drown the little runt….Make him scream…” (47). Elliot relives his own pain as he watches the boys head forced into the toilet bowl and held under as the toilet is repeatedly flushed, hating himself for having let that happen to him back then and hating himself for not intervening now. Elliot clenches his fists and uses all of his will power to conceal the horror and fear he is feeling.

After six flushes, the crowd thins out and Elliot eventually finds himself alone with the “punished” student. He sees a small, black film canister laying by the stall, so he picks it up, but instead of handing it back to the student, Elliot drops it into his own pocket. As he leaves the bathroom, Elliot notices that the teachers’ lounge overlooks the building they were just in and he realizes, with a sinking feeling, that the teachers at this new school are no different to those at his old school. They don’t care about the bullying.

Elliot cannot sleep that evening. Images of the boy being dunked combine with his own memories of being the victim, forcing him to live it all over again. He feels ashamed for watching, and also for being thankful that he wasn’t the victim this time.