What’s going on with this kid in the pink backpack?
…in the blue tank top, wearing the pink backpack, from the episode “Cookie Monster”.
What’s going on with him? What’s he doing?
Here, let me inform you of the details of this conundrum with the aid of several images, gifs, and maps.
Cyrus Goodman walks into Jefferson Middle School at the east entrance where he is greeted by one TJ Kippen.
TJ is the captain of the boys’ basketball team. He was formerly mean and cold, but after meeting Cyrus, he gradually became nicer and more open. The two have grown very close. This is why Cyrus is happy to see TJ in Figure 1.1. This isn’t vital to the proceedings of this post. It’s just background information. And I like it. It’s a nice story.
Anyway, they begin walking westward down the hallway.
As they walk and talk, the kid in the blue tank top, wearing the pink backpack, henceforth to be referred to as “Pink Backpack”, or “PB” for short, passes by them in the background, also heading west as can be seen in Figure 1.2:
Here, for more clarification, is Figure 1.3:
TJ and Cyrus continue west down the hallway, discussing weekend plans, but this is the last we see of Pink Backpack in this scene.
Also, before you ask if I went and got satellite images of the actual school just for the purposes of this post… Yes. Yes, I did.
After the Cyrus/TJ scene ends, we go outside to the southern area of the school, where Jonah Beck is approached by Buffy Driscoll, as seen here in Figure 2.1:
At one point, Buffy was hinted at having a crush on Jonah, but that storyline seems to have been forgotten. This knowledge also isn’t vital to this post, but I have several friends who are very into Juffy and I feel like I’d be remiss to not at least mention that background information.
Anyway, they walk west towards the southern entrance of the school as can be seen in Figure 2.2:
As they walk and talk, something interesting happens. They are passed, much like Cyrus and TJ before them, by Pink Backpack, as seen in Figure 2.3:
This is truly a fascinating turn of events, as just moments ago, Pink Backpack was walking west in the north hallway, but now finds himself outside the building, walking west once again.
I’ve graphed his likely path on the map, as you can see here in Figure 3.1:
Now, is than an impossible distance to cover in just a minute or so? No. I don’t think so, not if he’s running. And he’s clearly not afraid of a quick pace, as seen by his constant passings of the main characters. So, no, I wouldn’t draw the conclusion that something supernatural is occurring here.
But it is puzzling. And it only gets stranger.
Jonah and Buffy continue on towards the southern entrance of the school where they are met by Dr. Metcalf, the school’s principal, who confiscates Buffy’s, formerly Jonah’s, skateboard, as seen in Figure 4.1:
This now puts the three near the doors to the school, as seen on the map in Figure 4.2:
By this point, Pink Backpack should have entered the school again, at the southern entrance. He’s had enough time.
And yet, as we see in Figure 4.3:
He’s still wandering around outside.
Buffy and Jonah continue their talk with Metcalf. We get a shot of Metcalf that lasts for several seconds.
Then we cut back to Buffy and Jonah, and lo and behold…
Pink Backpack is now walking in tiny circles.
Let’s take a larger look at the final map in Figure 5.1:
What conclusions can we draw from this behavior?
Well, I’d like to believe it informs his state of mind. You might think someone behaving this way would be panicked, frenzied, confused. School’s about to start and he can’t get to class.
But look at his demeanor in Figures 1.2, 2.3, 4.3, and 4.6. Other than his heightened pace, he seems calm, cool, and collected.
Is he lost? Or is he wandering with purpose? Is he at these places in and around the school at these specific moments by mistake? Or is he exactly where he means to be?
And if that’s the case, if he’s behaving like this by choice, then what’s the motive here?
I don’t want to rush to something sinister, but I ask you: what’s the innocent explanation?
I fear this is a mystery that may never be solved.
I’ve thought long and hard about it and have come up nearly empty. In the end, I’ve only been able to reach one true conclusion:
I spent way too long working on this.
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