Wild Bird

After Wren apologizes, things go back to normal with the group. Everything is packed, and Wren is asked to help the other Coyotes to carry a tarp stretcher that is loaded with camp supplies. A tired and exhausted Wren cynically reflects that this must be why the other girls were excited for her to join the Coyotes—so they have someone else to help with the work. She feels angry again, just like she did when she discovered that Meadow was only pretending to be her friend.

The narrative flashes back to Wren’s earlier life. Wren is unable to afford enough marijuana when she has to start paying for it from her allowance, and she can no longer steal money from her parents. Meadow helps Wren out. First, she offers to sell some of Wren’s things on Craigslist. She then suggests trying a “Steal-and-Return” scam in which one of the girls shoplifts an item and the other “returns” it at the store for cash. Meadow gives Wren instructions on what things to steal, how to avoid security cameras, and what to do if she ever gets caught. She then takes Wren to a drugstore near the school, where Wren experiences a thrilling high after successfully stealing a tube of lipstick.

The narrative continues to relate key moments from Wren’s past. By the eighth grade, Wren becomes an expert at shoplifting. One day, Annabella seemingly apologizes for accusing Wren of stealing the expensive hoodie; she shows Wren a picture of Meadow wearing it. Wren is silently furious, remembering that Meadow claimed that she sold the hoodie on Craigslist for $20. She only gave Wren three joints in exchange for it. Wren thinks through her equation with Meadow and realizes that her so-called friend has been scamming her as well. Whenever they shoplift, Wren is always the one to steal the items while Meadow returns them for cash. Furthermore, Meadow even tells her exactly what to steal, down to the brand name. Wren also realizes that Annabella is not actually apologetic; she is only trying to expose Meadow, and this makes Wren equally angry.

Wren turns up at Meadow’s house unannounced on the first day of spring break. Littered around Meadow’s room, she finds all the things that she owned or stole and that Meadow supposedly sold or returned. Wren also realizes that Meadow’s parents never moved their stash of marijuana; she is still stealing from their supply. Meadow finally admits that she has been lying because she feels like Wren has been leeching off her for years. Wren storms out, resolving that she is done with Meadow. She spends the next few weeks trying to make new friends and stay clean.

The narrative returns to the present moment. Wren feels like she has been hauling the tarp stretcher with the Coyotes for hours when they suddenly come to a halt at the sight of a field of yellow flowers. Michelle points out that just a little rain can go a long way in the desert, because the land is so parched otherwise. Some of the girls begin whistling “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” from The Wizard of Oz. Shalayne, who is hot, tired, and angry, stops and has an outburst.

Wren is stunned that someone else is miserable and angry too, and Michelle tries to defuse the tension by stating that they are almost at their resupply point. Before they can keep moving, however, Jude, the other staff member, collapses, and the adults rush to tend to him. Hannah tears up, and Wren tries to reassure her that Jude will be all right. However, Hannah confesses that the reference to the poppy fields reminds her of using heroin; she thinks about it every day and these thoughts make her feel like she is failing. As she breaks down crying, Wren wraps her up in a hug.

Jude revives but is still weak, and as the group moves on, the Coyotes overhear Michelle’s conversation on the walkie-talkie as she discusses Jude’s plans to return home. At first, Mia wishes that she had thought of this herself, but then she corrects herself, asserting that being at camp feels normal to her now. When she first arrived, she only felt angry, but now, she feels strong. Wren reflects on her own feelings and thinks about how her own anger is translating into a new strength. At the resupply point, John and the handsome young man who first dropped Wren off are waiting to greet the group. The young man’s name is Silver Hawk, and he is Mokov’s grandson; Wren can’t resist smiling when he talks to her as he passes out food and water.

The girls stock up on supplies of food and water and eat lunch. After lunch, Dvorka announces that Jude is leaving the team. The girls talk, reminiscing about their first days at camp, and the group playfully teases Shalayne and Wren for their crying and yelling. Silver Hawk drives off in the truck to the girls’ disappointment, and finally, the Grizzlies are on the move again.

The Grizzlies arrive at camp in the evening and begin setting up. Wren scopes out and claims the one relatively shady spot for the Coyotes, breaking the unspoken rule that the Falcons and the Elks, as upperclassmen, always get the first choice of where to camp. As a result, Wren gets stuck with the community chore of digging the latrine, and Hannah generously offers to help her. The two girls set up their tents and spend an hour digging the latrine. Later, Wren and the others line up for the weekly “wash up" before eating, where Michelle doles out just enough water for the girls to wet washcloths and wipe themselves down. Wren remembers Michelle’s words about a little water going a long way in the desert, and she tears up as she realizes the extent of her thirst.

After a delicious meal of “peacekeeper pie,” the mood shifts from contented to tense as the girls anticipate receiving their weekly letters. Wren remembers the angry letter full of complaints that she sent home on her second day and realizes that she doesn’t want to go home anymore. Dvorka hands out letters, stating that Tara will be visiting the next day if anyone needs to process what they read. Wren receives two letters: a short one from Mo that updates her on his life, and another typed letter from her mother stating that Wren must complete the program. Wren’s mother reveals that the entire family, except Mo, is also attending weekly therapy situations to remedy their family dynamics. The fact that the letter is typed rather than handwritten irks Wren.

As she heads back to her tent, she hears Hannah crying next door. Wren heads in to console her, and Hannah reveals that her mother doesn’t want her around; she’s sending her to live with her father instead. Hannah thanks Wren for her help earlier, stating that she is glad that Wren is her friend. Wren replies in kind but is unsure of what it means to be a friend, since her last “friend” was Meadow.

The narrative flashes back to Wren’s past. After the big fight with Meadow, Wren tries her hardest to make new friends at school, but she is unable to break into any group. Things are also hindered by the fact that the lack of marijuana is making her irritable and antsy. Almost seven weeks later, she finds Meadow waiting for her after school. Meadow apologizes and claims to miss Wren. They go back to hanging out and smoking marijuana together, even though Wren knows that Meadow is not really her friend; Meadow cannot be trusted with personal things because she always uses them to hurt Wren later. However, Wren goes back to Meadow because she has no one else.

The narrative returns to the present moment. Wren falls asleep contemplating her failure at making friends in school, and marvels at the fact that she made one in the desert without even trying. She wakes up tired and achy from the previous day’s exertions and listens to the sound of a singing bird. Hannah identities the bird as a warbler and suggests they use the community supplies to surprise the group with pancakes. Wren demurs at first, telling Hannah the story of a disastrous Mother’s Day breakfast when she was eight. On that day, Annabella bossed her around and refused to let her flip the pancakes, and when Wren did so anyway, she accidentally scrambled them. Annabella blamed Wren for ruining the pancakes, and although their mother didn’t mind, Wren never wanted to cook anything again.

Now, however, Hannah is patient and encouraging as she teaches Wren how to make pancakes and peach syrup. By the time the others are up, Wren and Hannah have breakfast going, and all the campers and counsellors are grateful and happy. As they eat, they hear warblers again, and the sound of the birds “makes [Wren] happier than [she] can explain” (193).

Tara arrives shortly after breakfast and begins with group therapy, in which all the girls share how they feel about eventually returning home. Everyone misses home but dreads slipping into old habits again once they return. Tara encourages them to consider a transitional program. John and Tara both stress that the real challenge is learning to survive back home, and Tara assigns them the task of writing to at least one person back home. They must work on conveying their feelings without resorting to name-calling. Even as everyone heads to their tents to begin writing, Wren decides not to write a letter at all.

The narrative flashes back to the first time Wren is put in therapy. When her mother notices the change in her demeanor after her falling-out with Meadow, she believes Wren to be depressed. Wren agrees to keep her mother from prying but resents the idea that her mother and Annabella are spending time together while she is stuck in therapy sessions. After Wren and Meadow make up, Wren manages to get out of therapy by lying about her therapist. However, after she begins high school and her grades begin to drop, she is put back in therapy and goes through a series of therapists, all of whom she hates. Her parents begin fighting loudly about her, and Annabella and Wren get into their fair share of screaming matches as well while Mo hides in his closet. Back in the present moment, Wren remembers this and resolves not to talk about her feelings.

Hannah invites Wren to go for a walk with their notebooks. While Hannah scribbles a letter to her mother, Wren writes nothing. Hannah asserts that even if nothing changes, it still feels good to get things off her chest. She also points out that Wren needs to write something, because Tara reads their letters to help them discuss and process their feelings. On Hannah’s suggestion, Wren decides to write to Mo and pens a dramatized and illustrated account of her time in the desert so far. She completes 17 pages by the time the other girls finish their letters and meet with Tara.

When it is Wren’s turn, she feels resistant, remembering that Hannah was in tears after her session, but Tara reassures Wren that Hannah is “letting go of pain” (206). Tara reads Wren’s letter, and although she is initially amused, she reminds Wren that the point of sending letters home is to work through real issues. Tara tries to talk about the letter that Wren’s mother’s sent, stating that it felt detached to her, but Wren stonewalls her, knowing that Tara has to head home and will likely cut their session short. Eventually, Tara gives up and hands Wren an envelope for her letter, but she warns Wren that she will not be able to repeat this behavior in the next letter-writing session. Wren is just glad that she is off the hook for now.