Stargirl: Chapter 28 Summary & Analysis

Susan, Leo, and Mr. McShane meet Susan’s parents at the hotel in Phoenix, and Susan is bused to the semifinal round at a local high school. To no one’s surprise, she makes the cut. Leo is surprised that her speech is new, different from the one he’s heard her practice. But it’s wonderful, full of images from her life—Archie’s fossils, Cinnamon, the old man on a bench, enchanted places—and even a reference to that morning’s mockingbird conversation. She titles it “I Might Have Heard a Moa.”

Later, Leo asks Susan where the speech came from. He suddenly realizes that the speech was extemporized—“all I did was open my mouth and let it out,” Susan explains. She has no idea what she’s going to say tonight.

That night, the contest finals are packed with both students’ supporters and the general public. Among the ten contestants onstage, Susan is the only one who looks animated. She chatters away to the stiff, nervous-looking boy beside her. Susan is one of the last to give her speech. When it’s her turn, she dashes to the microphone, curtsies, and waves, saying “Hi.” The audience doesn’t know how to respond. In fact, the crowd murmurs as Susan begins to chatter, thinking the real speech hasn’t yet begun. Then they realize they’re missing it, and the entire crowd becomes absolutely silent. Her speech ends with a whisper—“Can you hear it?”—and there’s no reaction for several seconds. Then the crowd explodes with applause and cheers, as if it were a championship basketball game.