What Loretta Said
- After Freak's death, Max hides in the basement, missing the funeral. His grandparents try to help him through it, but he just wants to mope by himself.
- Then it's time for school to start again, and Max really doesn't want to go. But Grim won't have any of it; he says he is going, even if he has to drag him there.
- Max hates every minute of school because everyone just looks so sorry for him. Even Tony D tries to be sympathetic.
- But not to worry. Max yells back at him, and they go back to being enemies.
- One day, Max runs into Loretta. She tells him that Gwen is out in California and has a new boyfriend.
- She asks Max what he's doing these days, and he tells her exactly what you'd expect: nothing. She tells him, "Nothing is a drag, kid. Think about it" (25.16).
- And the funny thing is, he does. Nothing his grandparents said could get through to him, but somehow Loretta Lee does.
- So Max goes home and pulls out the empty book Freak gave him. He starts writing down the truth of his adventures with Freak.
- And that's where we are: at the end of his writing.
- And now that Max has written a book, he figures he might read a few, too.