Thirty Jays Hath September

Jay Smouse and Brian McCarthy secretly enter Whit’s End after closing so they can record a Burger Barn jingle before the contest deadline. Jay chooses the walk-in freezer for its echo and chilly fog, even though Whit has told them not to film when he is absent. A hum disrupts their song, so the boys switch off the freezer and forget to turn it on again before the silent alarm brings the police.

The next morning, Whit discovers that all his ice cream has melted, including the treats he had planned to take to thirty children at the hospital. After speaking with the boys’ fathers, he assigns Jay and Brian one kind act every day for thirty days. They must also record part of each task with their video camera. If they miss a day, their fathers have another punishment waiting.

Jay treats the assignments as obstacles to escape with the least possible effort. At the library, he rushes through a picture book for a boy named DeMarcus. While collecting food for a shelter, he visits one house and plans to replace the missing donations with unwanted cans of beets from home. He picks up a single large bottle at the park, writes a stiff letter full of statistics to a child in Uganda, and even trades cans of beets to another boy so the boy will perform one of the assigned chores.

Whit learns that Jay and Brian are doing as little as possible, but he does not end the experiment. He explains to Camilla that habits are formed through repetition and hopes that a month of service will at least give the boys a taste of kindness. While Jay is still determined to protect his selfish reputation, Brian begins to take the work more seriously.

At the home of Ms. Carver, a single mother working two jobs, Jay cuts only one weed before leaving for lunch. Then DeMarcus and his mother stop to thank him for reading at the library. DeMarcus misses reading with his father, who is serving overseas, and even Jay briefly feels the unexpected pleasure of having helped someone. Afterward, Brian quietly returns to Ms. Carver’s house and finishes her entire yard.

When the thirty days end, Jay claims that helping people is not for him, and Brian only admits that he did not mind it. Camilla then reports that Ms. Carver is delighted with their work. Jay accepts the praise until Brian privately confesses that he completed the yard alone. As Brian finds more good work to do and spends less time with Jay, Jay pretends he does not miss his friend.

Whit sees through Jay’s performance. He tells Jay that beneath the attitude is someone who wants to be kind but does not yet know how. Kindness changes both the giver and the receiver, and Whit promises not to give up on him. Then he hands Jay a reply from Abote, the Ugandan boy who received his letter. Abote liked the note and wants to be his friend.

At home, Jay first tells his Elvis doll that the letter should be returned, but he soon admits that he might write back. When Brian calls after several busy days and asks to spend time together, Jay eagerly agrees. He even offers to buy their burgers, though he quickly notes that Brian can pay the next time. His generosity remains small and carefully disguised, but the month of kindness has begun to change him.