The Pushover

Cody Carper wants so badly to be accepted at his new school that he allows Stewart and Doug to control him. In the lunchroom, they pile salami, vegetables, peanut butter, a rotten banana, liverwurst, and pickled pig’s feet into one disgusting sandwich. Although Cody knows he does not want it, they pressure him until he takes a bite and becomes sick.

At Whit’s End, Jared DeWhite has the opposite problem. He constantly corrects other children and insists that they follow his directions. After Sarah Prachett becomes angry with him in the Bible Room, Whit explains that people need room to experiment and learn from mistakes without Jared forcing his help upon them.

Cody’s father, Richard, tells Whit that the sandwich is only the latest incident. Cody had recently thrown spitballs because another child told him to, and his eagerness to fit in has made him easy to manipulate. Richard fears that no one will respect Cody for who he is as long as he lets other people take advantage of him.

Stewart and Doug offer Cody membership in a supposed club, but first demand something valuable. Cody gives them a remote-controlled car and a Louisville Slugger baseball bat. They reward him with the address of a meeting and tell him to walk straight inside without knocking.

The address actually belongs to a low-impact aerobics group. The adults happily pull the confused Cody into their exercise session, leaving him with aching muscles and the humiliating realization that Stewart and Doug have tricked him again. When he tells Whit what happened, Whit asks whether the boys completely deceived him or whether Cody had been willing to believe anything that promised friendship.

Cody recognizes that he has become a pushover. Whit explains that giving away possessions and surrendering good judgment will not buy the kind of friendship Cody wants. Jared, who has overheard part of the conversation, cannot understand why Cody does not simply tell his tormentors to leave him alone. His reaction gives Whit an idea for helping both boys.

Whit sends Jared and Cody along a trail to deliver a small box to Tom Riley’s farm. Cody receives a map because he is good at reading one, but Jared quickly takes charge and insists that he knows the route better. At a fork, the map points right toward Tom’s farm, while Jared confidently leads them left and eventually through a barbed-wire fence.

As darkness falls, the boys realize they are wandering across the wrong farm. A shape in the darkness terrifies them until it proves to be a sheep, but Jared falls and hurts his ankle. Cody finally refuses to follow him any farther. Using the map, he retraces their steps while supporting Jared and safely leads them back to the trail, where Whit is searching for them.

Whit points out that Cody has successfully led when he knew what he was doing, while Jared has had to accept help after his own refusal to follow directions caused the trouble. Cody learns that standing firm does not mean bossing everyone around, and Jared learns that confidence does not make his judgment infallible.

With his father waiting nearby for support, Cody visits Stewart and Doug and asks for his car and bat. They are surprised by his courage but return both possessions. The confrontation leaves Cody so nervous that he nearly becomes sick again, yet Richard is proud of him. Cody has taken an uncomfortable but important first step toward standing up for himself.