Wings Chapter 11 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • David holds Laurel as she starts shaking and crying. He leans in and kisses her, and she feels like he's so warm, she's almost able to suck the warmth from him. He pulls back suddenly.
  • Laurel says she can't do this, not right now with everything going on. He says he can wait. She leaves.
  • In biology, David shows Laurel a book with some information on a Venus flytrap, saying he has some theories about how her body might work. Laurel is not thrilled with the comparison.
  • David says that flytraps eat flies because they need the nutrients in the flies' bodies, not because they're actually carnivorous (and if you try to feed a flytrap red meat, the excess cholesterol and fat will kill the plant).
  • Since Laurel is vegan, mostly consuming water and sugar in the form of sodas and fruits, maybe her system works like that of a flytrap.
  • That weekend, they hang out and David suggests that maybe Laurel is also like a plant in not really needing to breathe, but rather being able to absorb carbon dioxide through the air.
  • They time Laurel holding her breath. Without holding it so long that she becomes really uncomfortable, she manages to hold out for three and a half minutes. Whoa.
  • The reality of her non-humanness starts to sink in for Laurel and she's not happy about it.
  • David asks if she'll go to the school's costumed dance next Saturday, pointing out that if she goes as a faerie, she can try on the role as a way of getting used to her situation. She says she'll think about it.
  • One afternoon, Laurel goes to the public library to use the Internet to look up faerie lore. None of it mentions faeries actually being plants, though.
  • Chelsea pops up and tells Laurel that she loves faeries and went through a faerie phase last year, but everything Chelsea says about faeries sounds just as preposterous as the stuff from the Internet.
  • Then Chelsea asks why Laurel was looking up faeries. Laurel says she's dressing as one for the school dance on Saturday. Looks like someone just made a commitment.