The Perks of Being a Wallflower,
February 15 to April 26
February 15, 1992
Charlie goes to the Sadie Hawkins
dance with Mary Elizabeth, but we're
not sure if he actually dances.
There's some
other dance
drama, though.
Also, Charlie's sister and her secret
boyfriend seem to have some sort of
fight on the dance floor.
February 23, 1992
While waiting for her at the clinic, Charlie
does a lot of thinking about his sister.
Ironically, she was the one who told
Charlie where babies come from.
When his sister comes out,
the first thing she says is
"Charlie, are you smoking?!
She says she's going to
tell Mom and Dad
At home, Mom and Dad ask a lot
of questions about where they've
been, but Charlie's sister covers
their tracks pretty well.
March 7, 1992
According to Charlie,
"Girls are weird"
At least, that's what he
thinks after his second
date with Mary Elizabeth.
On to the date! Charlie and Mary
Elizabeth go to see a foreign language
film and then go to a record store.
Mary Elizabeth asks Charlie if he
thinks she's pretty, and he says
she is "very pretty"
March 28, 1992
Charlie spends the first few pages of this letter
telling his reader how Mary Elizabeth talks a lot.
Once, he put the phone down while she was
talking, went to the bathroom, and came back
and picked up the phone. She was still talking.
After dinner, Charlie spends a lot of time
trying to process his feelings, or lack
thereof, for this girl.
April 18, 1992
Charlie's opener is a doozy:
"I have made a terrible mess
of things"
He gives Mary Elizabeth
a copy of To Kill a
Mockingbird, because it's
very special to him.
It all starts when Mary
Elizabeth gives Charlie
an E.E. Cummings book.
April 26, 1992
None of Charlie's friends are really talking to him
after the mess he made during the truth-or-dare
game.
When Charlie goes to visit his
aunt Helen's grave to clear his
mind, it doesn't help.
Near the end of the letter,
Charlie has a wish
"I just wish that God or my parents
or Sam or my sister or someone
would just tell me what's wrong with
me. Just tell me how to be different
in a way that makes sense. To make
this all go away. And disappear"