Tears Of A Tiger by Sharon Draper After a basketball game, four children, Andrew Jackson, Tyrone Mills, Robert Washington and BJ Carson, celebrate a victory by going out drinking and driving . Andrew lost control of his car and crashed into a retaining wall on I-75. Andy, Tyrone and BJ ran away from the four-door Chevy immediately after the accident. The young basketball star and Hazelwood team captain sat on the passenger side with his feet on the dashboard. When the accident occurred, his feet smashed through the windshield and he was unable to escape. The gas tank then exploded and burned Robbie alive as the three unharmed boys tried to save him. Andy returns to school and talks to his basketball coach about how he feels about Rob's death and how his friends and family feel about the accident. Also, they discuss Andy's sentencing because Andy continues to punish himself for Rob's death. Everyone at school cried during Rob's memorial service. The center's grief counselors come to the school to try to get kids to share their feelings. At the next basketball practice, Andy arrives late and the coach tells him to get ready for warmups. In the next game, the Hazelwood Tigers trail late in the fourth quarter. Andy hits a 3-pointer for the win with five seconds left in the game. After the game, the coach announces Andy Rob's position as the starting center and team captain. Andy goes to see a psychologist, Dr. Carrothers, to discuss his depression over Rob's death. He doesn't think he needs to be there because he's doing well at school and he's doing well at home. Andy explains why the accident is his fault. He realizes he needs help with his depression and wants to come back for another visit to discuss what's going on... middle of the paper... together hoping they'll forgive him. He says that he will always treasure those moments and that even if they don't forgive him, they will be able to remember them without much pain. During English lessons they begin to study Shakespeare's play Macbeth. They talk about how he was noble and willing to sacrifice himself for the king, but now he is a miserable, depraved, corrupt murderer. Mrs. Blackwell explains that Macbeth is dead inside, but lives only because of his refusal to surrender to Macduff and the forces of good. It was Mary Alice's idea for Macbeth to kill the king. He can't bear the guilt, so he kills himself. BJ says Shakespeare is saying, "Life is short and then you die. And beyond that, life means nothing anyway." BJ thinks that Macbeth is depressed because he has killed so many people that he can find nothing else to live for. Andy becomes depressed and leaves class.