The Truth about Zachary

From Adventures in Odyssey Wiki

[edit] General Information

Theme: Friendship, Encouragement

Scripture: Romans 15:1-3 See more with this reference

[edit] Summary

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz tries to make friends with a new boy, Zachary Sellers, and they both face their troubles.

[edit] Plot

Zachary Sellers is the new kid in town. He’s unusual, in more ways than one. The most obvious characteristic about Zach is that he’s in a wheelchair. But Zachary is also very intelligent. He’s able to fix the electric train when even Eugene can’t repair it. Unfortunately, Zachary is so bitter about being crippled that he treats everyone around him with rudeness and, sometimes, cruelty.

Lucy wants to get to know him, but she mistakenly tries to get Zach to open up in front of their entire class. Zach embarrasses himself and everyone in the class. He marks Lucy down as one of his enemies. This makes Lucy’s next assignment for the Odyssey Owl, interviewing the newest kid in school, Zachary Sellers, all the more difficult.

Unfortunately, Zach is insulted by Lucy’s natural curiosity about how Zach became crippled. He rightly tells Lucy that it’s none of her business. He even turns the tables on her by demanding to know why she has two last names: Cunningham-Schultz. But Lucy ignores his question. She continues to press Zach until he finally blurts out the truth: A drunk driver hit their family car. It killed Zach’s dad and crippled Zach.

Later, Jack Allen tells Lucy she needs to come up with a way to show Zach that she’s his friend. The next day, Lucy visits Zach. He is still cold to her, until Lucy explains why she has two last names. Her dad was also killed in a car accident, and her mom remarried. Zach warms up to Lucy, and the two of them talk about their fathers.

[edit] Discussion Questions

1. Why was Zach so bitter?
2. Should Lucy have suggested that Zach tell the class about himself?
   1. Why or why not?
3. What should you do when someone you’re trying to make friends with treats you badly?

[edit] Cast

Characters	Actors
Lucy Cunningham-Schultz	Genni Long
Zachary Sellers	Chris Castile
Jack Allen	Alan Young
Connie Kendall	Katie Leigh

[edit] Notes

• The real reason Lucy has two last names is because. . . the writers goofed!

• In this episode, Connie says she took Zach upstairs in the elevator. It was never mentioned before or again.

• Lucy says her dad worked for the Odyssey Times but on Our Best Vacation Ever it was made known that George Barclay worked with her dad. But later George lost his job and went to the Times but got turned down. He would not be looking for a job there since he lost his job there. Possibly her dad had two jobs, but still...

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[edit] Quotes

[edit] Resources

The Truth about Zachary on whitsend.org

The Truth about Zachary on aiohq.com

The Truth about Zachary on aiosoda.com