With that out of the way,
Violet’s mom asks
Finch where he’s going to college. Finch asks if she’s read
For Whom the Bell Tolls and says that, like the protagonist, he’s trying to live as if he only has two days left.
Violet’s dad launches into an explanation of Hindu theology, and as he quotes an ancient Vedic hymn, Finch finishes it. The last line is about
water, and Finch says he “ha[s] this thing about water.” For the rest of breakfast, Finch and
Violet tell her parents about their project. By the end of breakfast, Finch is on a first-name basis with Violet’s parents. Afterward, Violet asks how Finch could lie to her parents. He says it’s not a lie if it’s how he actually feels. Violet is incensed—what else is he lying about?