57 pages • 1 hour read
Randy RibayAfter the Shot Drops
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 25-36Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 25 Summary: “Bunny”
At basketball practice, Bunny ruminates on his decision to attend St. Sebastian’s and reflects on his rift with Nasir. He questions whether his motives for leaving Whitman were purely about helping his family or if Nasir was right to accuse him of being selfish. He also reflects on his alienation at St. Sebastian’s since the students are almost all wealthy and white and Bunny is Black and has a working-class background. However, he believes that even if he transferred back to Whitman, his peers would still resent him. He notes that after their last fight, Nasir sent him an apology text and asked him to meet at Word Up.
Bunny gets an idea about how to solve his problems and asks to speak to the coach.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Nasir”
Nasir meets Bunny at Word Up. They proceed to the roof, where Nasir apologizes to Bunny, although internally, he admits that he doesn’t mean it. Bunny confesses that Nasir was right in some of his accusations and tells him that he asked his coach if the school could arrange for Nasir to transfer to St. Sebastian’s on a scholarship. Nasir is stunned by the offer, and Bunny tells him to take a few days to think it over. He also invites Nasir to come to St. Sebastian’s to check it out.
Chapter 27 Summary: “Bunny”
Bunny rejoins his father in the store after Nasir leaves. His father tells him that Word Up has been losing money for several years and that he and his co-owner, Zaire, have decided to sell it. Bunny mourns the impending loss of his childhood experiences and the community associated with his father’s bookstore.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Nasir”
Nasir and Wallace watch St. Sebastian’s win another basketball game. Since Wallace always bets against St. Sebastian’s, this means that he owes even more money to his creditors. After the game, Wallace asks Nasir if he has managed to find out anything about Bunny that could get him disqualified from playing the next two games. Nasir admits that he hasn’t. Wallace pressures him to try harder but then thanks him for helping him out.
Nasir meets up with Bunny after the game, and Bunny gives him a tour of St. Sebastian’s. Nasir notes how fancy and modern it is. Bunny apologizes to Nasir for dating Keyona, and they continue touring the school. Bunny informs Nasir that tuition at St. Sebastian’s is $30,000 a year and also tells him about Nike giving the players free shoes. Nasir wonders if that is a potential ethical violation and considers how unfair it is that some people get handouts while those who really need help, like Wallace, are always left to fend for themselves.
Nasir and Bunny discuss what life is like at St. Sebastian’s. Bunny tells him that it has been difficult to fit in because he is Black and lower-middle class. He doesn’t have any real friends because he doesn’t connect to anyone and is only there to help them win basketball games. When Nasir says he knows how he feels, Bunny says he doesn’t because he is not Black. However, Bunny wants Nasir to come to St. Sebastian’s so they can experience being outsiders there together.
Nasir is conflicted because he still wants to help Wallace by digging up dirt on Bunny, but he wants to help Bunny as well. He tells Bunny that he needs more time to think about transferring to St. Sebastian’s.
Chapter 29 Summary: “Bunny”
Bunny has a phone conversation with Keyona. He tells her about his offer to get St. Sebastian’s to take Nasir, and Keyona becomes angry with him because she says that kind of favor is an ethical violation that could get him in trouble with the state or the NCAA. Bunny tells her not to worry because nothing untoward is in writing and the only person who knows about the arrangement is Nasir, whom he trusts. Keyona tells him that he shouldn’t trust anyone because the more successful he gets, the more people are going to want to sabotage him. She is also angry at Bunny for doing this for Nasir and not her.
Chapter 30 Summary: “Nasir”
Nasir is at Wallace’s apartment watching Sesame Street. Wallace is still taking care of the kitten he found on the streets. He asks Nasir if he has found anything he can use on Bunny yet, and Nasir says no. Nasir has not hacked into Bunny’s computer or social media accounts, but he offers to get Bunny’s phone for Wallace. Wallace wants him to obtain the phone for him that night, so Nasir leaves to accomplish that.
Chapter 31 Summary: “Bunny”
Bunny gets out of the shower and learns that Nasir was there. His sister Jess tells Bunny that Nasir stopped by and went to his room while he was showering but must have left without her noticing. Bunny wonders if he came to give him his decision about St. Sebastian’s. He looks for his phone to call him but cannot find it anywhere, so he assumes he left it in his school locker. He messages Nasir on his computer to ask what he needed when he stopped by, but Nasir doesn’t respond.
Chapter 32 Summary: “Nasir”
After delivering Bunny’s phone to Wallace, Nasir tries to concentrate on his geometry homework. He is having a hard time focusing because he is worried about what Wallace will do to Bunny, but he rationalizes his actions by telling himself that the worst that can happen is Bunny won’t be able to compete for the remainder of the season. Nasir’s dad comes into the room to talk to him, and Nasir asks why he returned to Whitman after getting out of the Air Force. His dad says that he had history in Whitman and he loved the people and community. He explains that Nasir’s mother left the Philippines to find more opportunities. Nasir connects his mother’s and father’s stories to the dilemma he faces about whether to leave Whitman.
Chapter 33 Summary: “Bunny”
At school, Bunny is unexpectedly told to report to the headmaster’s office. After some polite small talk, the headmaster, Dr. Dietrich, asks Bunny why he is trying to sabotage his success. Bunny doesn’t know what he is talking about, so Dr. Dietrich informs him that Bunny sent an email to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association the night before, claiming that St. Sebastian’s promised to pay him money for transferring. Bunny insists that is a lie and goes to grab his phone to prove it before realizing that he doesn’t have his phone. Bunny tells Dr. Dietrich that he didn’t write the email and that someone must have stolen his phone and done it to mess with him. Dr. Dietrich believes him but says Bunny still has to sit out the next game or two while the state investigates and reaches a final judgment.
Bunny asks how long the investigation will take, and Dr. Dietrich explains that even though they will rush the investigation, it is likely there won’t be a decision until Monday. That means Bunny will miss the championship game on Sunday night if St. Sebastian’s wins tonight’s game.
Dr. Dietrich asks Bunny whom he thinks could be behind this. At first, Bunny suggests Clay, a teammate who is jealous of Bunny for taking his starting spot. Then it occurs to Bunny that Nasir had the opportunity to steal his phone when he was in the shower the night before. He does not say anything to implicate Nasir.
Dr. Dietrich tells him that having to sit out a few games is the least of his concerns. He explains that if the investigation turns up anything else, St. Sebastian’s might have to forfeit all the games Bunny played for them this season. In the worst case scenario, St. Sebastian’s could be suspended from competition next year, and Bunny could lose his amateur status, disqualifying him from playing for the NCAA. When Bunny says the investigation won’t find anything, Dr. Dietrich mentions the arrangement Bunny tried to make to allow Nasir to transfer. He tells Bunny to hold off on making any further promises to Nasir until the investigation is concluded and Bunny and St. Sebastian’s are cleared of any wrongdoing.
Chapter 34 Summary: “Nasir”
While playing a video game, Nasir receives a text from Keyona. She claims that she knows what he did to Bunny and tells him to fix the mistake. She tries calling and continues to text him, but Nasir refuses to answer her. He feels guilty but assumes that Bunny will be fine. He also assumes that without Bunny playing, Wallace will win his bet against St. Sebastian’s and win enough money to stay in his apartment with his grandmother.
Chapter 35 Summary: “Bunny”
Riding on the bus to the evening’s game, Bunny reflects on his problems: the fight he had with Keyona, Nasir’s betrayal, and the impending sale of his father’s bookstore. A cheerleader named Brooke approaches him and asks him to go to a party after the game. Bunny declines at first but then agrees to go if they win.
Chapter 36 Summary: “Nasir”
Nasir is not at the game. He stays home to play video games but keeps looking at the texts from Keyona, especially the one telling him to “[m]ake it right” (205).
Chapters 25-36 Analysis
Chapters 25-36 focus on Bunny and Nasir’s attempts to relieve the cognitive dissonance they face as a result of their internal conflicts. Bunny tries to resolve the question of his loyalty to others by asking St. Sebastian’s to allow Nasir to transfer there on a scholarship. In his mind, this will resolve the guilt he feels about leaving Whitman and reestablish his friendship with Nasir by proving that he doesn’t only care about himself. At the same time, should Nasir transfer, Bunny expects he will feel like less of an outsider at school; he will have an ally, someone who shares his background and general outlook. Even though requesting this kind of favor is an ethical violation that could hinder his future prospects, Bunny is willing to take that risk, emphasizing how his views on Personal Versus Social Accountability are changing.
Nasir, on the other hand, tries to resolve his conflict over whether to follow through with Wallace’s plan. However, when Bunny informs him of his request for St. Sebastian’s to allow Nasir to transfer there as well, a new conflict arises. After talking to Bunny during a tour of St. Sebastian’s, Nasir muses, “I mean, I still want to help Wallace, but now I kind of want to help Bunny, too. The thing is, I don’t know how to help one without hurting the other” (169). Nasir comes to question why life—like basketball—is a zero-sum game, meaning that for somebody to win, someone else has to lose. Despite this, Nasir is still convinced that helping Wallace by hurting Bunny is, overall, the more moral course of action. After stealing Bunny’s phone and delivering it to Wallace, he reflects that “Bunny will still get two more years to win a state championship. It’s not nearly as bad as Wallace’s potential homelessness” (182). While Wallace’s scheme is immoral, Nasir acknowledges how The Trap of Poverty affects his choice and outcomes. Facing eviction and physical violence, this is one of the few options Wallace has to avoid falling deeper into the poverty cycle.
However, once the plan is a success and Bunny is benched for a game, Nasir is haunted by the question of whether he chose the correct course of action. As the game is underway, Nasir continues to return to a text sent by Keyona with the missive “Make it right” (205). This text and Nasir’s compulsion to reread it symbolize his guilty conscience. Although he still believes he is saving Wallace’s life by sabotaging Bunny, he is increasingly ambivalent about whether the ends justify the means.
At the same time, Nasir struggles with the question of whether to leave Whitman High and join Bunny at St. Sebastian’s. His mother and his father represent different possibilities when it comes to finding a home and a community and, ultimately, establishing a feeling of belonging. Nasir’s father returned to Whitman after serving in the Air Force because he discovered “A place is only as good as the people you’ve got around you” (183). On the other hand, Nasir’s mother left the Philippines to “find something better […] make some new history” (183). Having these two representative examples of opposite courses of action confuses Nasir as he grapples with the decision to stay at Whitman or join St. Sebastian’s with Bunny. The question of what constitutes a home or community and to whom one owes loyalty are dilemmas for the protagonists. They are also important concepts in the novel related to the theme of Personal Versus Social Accountability.
The tour of St. Sebastian’s highlights The Intersection of Class and Race. Nasir notes the pronounced disparity in resources between St. Sebastian’s, which boasts an awesome library, pools, and other state-of-the-art facilities, and Whitman High. However, in the library, there are no writers of color in the “classics” section, and Black writers are segregated in the African American section. Meanwhile, at Whitman, they are woven into the regular curriculum. As one of the only students of color at the school, Bunny informs Nasir that he’s not a “real person” to his peers, saying, “Most days, I don’t feel like anything more than their mascot” (164). He compares life at St. Sebastian’s to “a new pair of shoes, but they’re the wrong size” (165). St. Sebastian’s is uncomfortable for him because he cannot relate to the other students, whose material lives and lived experiences are so different from his own.
However, Bunny’s racial and economic background are not defined by deprivation; they are also enriching and affirming. One of his stated reasons for wanting Nasir at St. Sebastian’s is that he understands this background—not only the struggles but also the rewards. Whereas the students of St. Sebastian’s think of Whitman only as a bad neighborhood where people get shot, Nasir has a holistic view of what it has to offer—“the sledding hill, the community gardens, the block parties and cookouts, Whitman High’s purple and gold, Bunny’s dad’s bookstore, the roof, our friends, families” (168). Whitman, because of its racial and ethnic diversity, is a vibrant community, albeit one dealing with the economic pressures typical of urban America.
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