Four Eyes

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying.

Rex Ogle and his best friend Drew race their bikes up to the top of the hill and look out over the city. Drew dreads starting middle school next week, but Rex is looking forward to it. Drew invites Rex over for one last sleepover before the new school year, and Rex enthusiastically agrees. They race down the hill with wide smiles on their faces.

Rex wakes up excited for his first day of middle school and eager to go, until his mother mentions everything that might go wrong. Over breakfast, Sam’s stepfather, Sam, and half-brother, Ford, talk to Rex about his upcoming day. Rex’s facial expression changes from joy to irritation as Sam (who has a stutter) mentions that Rex can call him “Dad” if he wants to. Rex refuses to do so, clarifying that Sam is not his father and that Ford is his half-brother. Rex’s mother reminds him that not everything has to be about technicalities.

At school, Rex can’t find anyone he knows in a sea of unfamiliar faces. When he finally spots a girl from fifth grade, she explains that the district lines changed over the summer so many of their former peers went to a different school. Rex worries that Drew won’t be there with him. Inside, Rex can’t open his locker and gets reprimanded for banging on it. Drew finally appears, to Rex’s relief, and they do their secret handshake before going to class.

In social studies, Rex can’t read the dates on the board, and the teacher looks at his notes and corrects him while implying that he isn’t paying attention. Rex looks forward to physical education but then struggles to do the required push-ups. Over lunch, a boy teases Rex for being in the free lunch program. Rex finds Drew sitting with a new group of kids, one of whom is named Victor. Victor insults the cafeteria food and then brags about everywhere he traveled over the summer. Rex admits that he didn’t go anywhere but did watch the solar eclipse—without the special glasses. When a boy walks by wearing glasses, Victor mocks him and then throws one of Rex’s tater tots at his head. Drew laughs and tells Rex to do the same, but Rex thinks that Victor is a bully.

In the afternoon, Rex can’t see the board no matter how close to the front of the classroom he sits. He goes home with a huge headache and collapses on the couch. The next day, Rex approaches Drew and the others, but Victor starts mocking a boy nearby for reading comics. He then starts teasing Rex for liking science fiction movies. Rex replies that Drew likes them too, but Drew denies it. By the end of the week, Rex is exhausted, but a call from his abuela (grandmother) helps. She promises to send him money if he does well in school, but Rex’s mother overhears and disapproves. Rex then gets a call from his dad, who offers to do the same, and that’s when Rex’s mother comes in to halt his attempts.

Sam and Ford wake Rex up after he falls asleep on the couch again because they want to watch a Ninja Turtles movie. Rex starts watching the television and mentions that it’s blurry, which alerts his mother to the possibility that something is wrong with his eyes. Rex denies it, but when his mother pauses the movie, Ford angrily runs into the kitchen past Rex. He grabs a knife, but Rex can’t see well and doesn’t recognize that. Rex’s mother sees Ford with the knife, and Sam bribes him to put it down. This works to an extent, but Ford throws the knife in the air, almost hurting someone. When Rex’s mother asks why he didn’t stop Ford, Rex thinks about it and suddenly realizes that he really can’t see. He tries on his mother’s glasses and they help, so he has no choice but to admit that he needs glasses too.

Rex and his mother go to the optometrist clinic, and Rex sees the boy that Victor was teasing the other day. He suddenly dreads getting glasses again, but his mother reminds him that they’re necessary. Rex is nervous about the eye exam at first, but it’s painless and straightforward. He’s tested for color vision issues, how clearly he can see, and eye diseases. Rex doesn’t admit at first that he stared at the sun over the summer, but when the optometrist mentions that it can be harmful, Rex looks anxious. The optometrist says Rex needs glasses, possibly for the rest of his life.

Rex and his mother head over to the frame store next, where Rex has fun trying on all kinds of frames and personalities. He settles on a pair with a color called “gunmetal.” However, the bill comes to over five hundred dollars, and Rex’s mother can’t afford to pay it up front while she waits for Rex’s father to send money. Rex panics because it was the only pair he felt suited him. The clerk suggests an affordable pair of plain brown frames, and Rex crosses his arms as he begrudgingly agrees to take them.

At home, Rex and his mother argue about the glasses, and she urges him to call his father right away. Rex does so, but his father doesn’t answer. His mother makes an offhand comment about Rex’s father, which upsets Rex, and he accuses his mother of not giving him anything. As he lies crying on his bed, his mother comes in and admits that she feels guilty for not being able to give Rex more. She cries as she explains that she and Sam work hard but it often still isn’t enough. Rex apologizes and tells his mom he’s happy with any pair of glasses as he hugs her.

Rex has to wait for his glasses to come in the mail, so in class the next day he still can’t see. He leans forward, knocking his desk over, and the other students laugh. Drew no longer wants to do their secret handshake and laughs at Rex at lunch when Victor pushes his face into his meatloaf. Rex gets angry at Drew, but Drew just tells him to grow up. The following day, Rex wakes up early to look great for his school photo. He’s unaware of a ketchup stain on his shirt until someone points it out after the photo. He comes home exhausted again.

Rex’s glasses arrive, and his mother is excited to see him try them on. Rex puts them on, and even his mother can barely fake a compliment. When Rex looks in the mirror, he’s horrified at how thick his lenses are, and Sam teases him about it over dinner. Later, Rex’s father calls to confirm that he needs to pay for Rex’s glasses. He tells Rex he must have got his mother’s vision genes, and adds that Ogles are never short, wondering when Rex is going to grow. After hanging up, Rex asks his mother why she married his father, and she answers that “he was handsome and fun” (69). She tells Rex his father isn’t all bad, and adds that she’s happy to have Rex.

When Rex goes into class with his glasses the next day, people laugh at him. At lunch, Victor mocks Rex and calls him a mutant, so Rex responds by calling Victor stupid. Victor tells Rex that his presence at the lunch table was only ever due to pity and tells him to leave. Drew doesn’t stick up for Rex, and Rex goes to sit by himself. In the distance, the boy who was reading comics days before (Scott) looks at Rex with concern.