Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Tell Me Three Things, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Blended Families
Intimacy and Growing Up
Wealth, Fitting In, and Bullying
Home
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
Scarlett wakes Jessie up. Scarlett is in pajamas but looks put-together; Jessie is in Scarlett’s bed and feels horrendous. Jessie accepts a glass of water and admits she’s thinking of going back to California early. She says she doesn’t know why Scarlett hates her so much. Scarlett snuggles in next to Jessie and reminds her that Jessie left and has barely asked about Scarlett’s life since then. Jessie starts to cry as Scarlett says she didn’t really want to be friends with Deena, but she had no one after Jessie left. She feels bad about being mad at Jessie, but she still needs her best friend. Scarlett bursts into tears and once she calms down, she gulps that Adam is going to break up with her because of “the sex thing.” She admits that they’re not having sex yet; she’s too afraid.
Especially once Scarlett bursts into tears, it becomes clear that she’s not really angry with Jessie. She feels alone, afraid, and in need of her best friend—which is exactly the situation Jessie has been in since she left. Realizing that Scarlett is in the same boat helps Jessie understand how poorly she’s behaved since leaving, which in turn motivates her to do better. For instance, she can ask what the “sex thing” is and show genuine interest in what Scarlett has to say.
Themes
Jessie pulls the blanket away when Scarlett pulls it over her head and tells Scarlett to tell her what’s going on. Scarlett says she can barely function because of how much she likes Adam, a sentiment Jessie understands: she feels like that about Ethan and, to a degree, SN (but not his in-person self as Caleb). Jessie tells Scarlett that this is great, but Scarlett says she feels like an idiot. Jessie assures Scarlett that Adam is super into her and feels elated that Scarlett has found a good boyfriend. Jessie realizes that Scarlett is right about how she’s behaved badly, so she asks Scarlett to tell her everything.
By flipping their usual roles and being the one to now give Scarlett advice, Jessie is able to fuel their friendship and begin to repair the damage she’s done. While talking about SN and Jessie’s romantic endeavors have helped the girls maintain their friendship for the last few months, if they’re going to stay friends for much longer, Jessie will have to spend more time on the advice-giving side of things to make Scarlett feel supported and valued.
Themes
Later, as they power through spicy soup that’s supposed to cure hangovers, Scarlett says that Adam wants her to make him stickers for his computer. Jessie is thrilled and ignores her phone beeping. Scarlett, however, says that she wants to hear about Wood Valley stuff and insists that Jessie check her phone. When Jessie doesn’t move, Scarlett fetches the phone and squeals happily: Dri and Agnes saw Caleb with his living, breathing sister. Jessie is confused. She wonders if Caleb made up a dead sister and remembers joking with SN once about “taking back” coffee, which she thought referred to Caleb canceling their coffee date. Jessie feels ready to vomit as Scarlett says that Caleb is a jerk and can’t be SN.
Scarlett’s insistence that she wants to hear about Wood Valley drama and debate who SN is shows that the girls don’t have to simply decide that one of them gets to talk all the time and the other has to give advice. Rather, their friendship will only flourish if they both show interest and each take turns talking and listening. As an outsider, Scarlett may also have different insights into what’s going on with SN—like the observation that Caleb has been a jerk in a way that contrasts greatly with how SN treats Jessie.
Themes
Jessie asks who SN is then, and Scarlett hands Jessie’s phone back to her. SN messaged her multiple times throughout the night. Early in the morning, he texted her three things. First, he only told one lie; second, talking to Jessie feels realer than anything else; and third, he thinks he knows who Jessie thinks he is and she’s wrong. He adds a fourth: he wants to meet. Jessie insists that SN is Caleb, since he just admitted to lying. Scarlett says that Jessie is wrong, and Jessie believes her. She thinks about how dismissive Caleb has been and how engaged SN always is. Scarlett says she thinks SN is Liam, given what else is going on. Jessie smiles. She doesn’t want SN to be Liam, but she’s happy for this confirmation that Scarlett has been listening. She messages SN that she’d love to meet.
Given everything that’s happened, SN now realizes that he needs to be more open with Jessie and move their relationship into the open. Just as Jessie had to recognize that she wasn’t being a great friend to Scarlett, SN has to acknowledge the skewed power dynamic in his relationship with Jessie and take steps to fix that. This suggests that a major part of being a friend—or a romantic partner—is being willing to make changes when one learns that something is hurting someone else. Without that willingness to change, friendships and relationships will simply die.
Themes
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