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| - Penny, having patched things up with Aggie, drives her home, where they begin gathering friends in an alliance against Karen's clique. Meanwhile, at a popsicle party, Helen nervously confesses to Karen that she told Aggie about her mole status. Karen assures her it doesn't matter because, she thinks, Aggie's no longer a concern, and says, "We don't need help any more." Helen, having thus been told the last thing she wanted to hear, wanders drunkenly and despondently through the house. She overhears Bob and Elmer describing to Jack their earlier oral/anal sexual encounter with her in vulgar, unflattering terms, referring to her as a "dumpster." Jack, also drunk, at first reacts with amusement, but then he imagines Katy-Ann disapproving and goes to find Helen. Meanwhile, Cyndi tells Karen sh
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| abstract
| - Penny, having patched things up with Aggie, drives her home, where they begin gathering friends in an alliance against Karen's clique. Meanwhile, at a popsicle party, Helen nervously confesses to Karen that she told Aggie about her mole status. Karen assures her it doesn't matter because, she thinks, Aggie's no longer a concern, and says, "We don't need help any more." Helen, having thus been told the last thing she wanted to hear, wanders drunkenly and despondently through the house. She overhears Bob and Elmer describing to Jack their earlier oral/anal sexual encounter with her in vulgar, unflattering terms, referring to her as a "dumpster." Jack, also drunk, at first reacts with amusement, but then he imagines Katy-Ann disapproving and goes to find Helen. Meanwhile, Cyndi tells Karen she discovered Duane in the act of Islamic prayer. Helen, trailed by Jack, wanders into the garage, where Brandi and Stan are making love in a car, while admitting their attraction to each other may be more than sexual. They discover Helen bleeding from having crushed her glasses in her hand, and weeping, saying "Why don't I ever...want...what I want?" Stan approaches Cyndi and Karen to see whether they or someone else can take her home. Cyndi, dismissing Helen as a nuisance, suggests Tharqa, but Karen reminds her of her parties' "no fat chicks" rule and suggests Helen just be left to sleep it off. Stan, having realized his allies' true colours, walks off angrily. Brandi, with Stan and Jack, sees Helen home and to bed. Reminded of Michelle's despondent state, Stan is overcome once more with remorse and struggles to explain this to a concerned Brandi. At the same time, Aggie and Lisa talk a reluctant Katy-Ann, fearful of being caught in another confusing moral dilemma, into watching Charlotte's slanderous video. Aggie, over her protests, says they need someone with high ethical standards to help them create a new social framework that doesn't rely on exclusive, warring cliques. Penny and Sara go to see Michelle, who to their shock has become almost skeletally thin. Although, as seen earlier in the chapter, Michelle's been able to conceal her eating disorder from her parents, Penny isn't so easily fooled and confronts her. Michelle goes on the defensive, claiming Penny never really cared about her. Penny angrily insists the opposite and grabs her to keep her from running off, pointing out how dangerously thin she is and that her life is in danger. As Michelle's resistance crumbles and her father, overhearing the commotion, rushes outside to them, Penny too breaks down crying and has Michelle "swear to Jesus" that she'll get help. Michelle does so and embraces her, Sara and her father. At this point Stan, who's just arrived with Brandi and Jack, fist-bumps Penny and gives her a grateful smile.
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