Kathy H. Timeline & Summary

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This timeline is in chronological order—not the order in which events occur in the book. Think of it as a mini Kathy biography.

• Kathy becomes friends with Ruth at age seven while playing with imaginary horses. Soon after, Kathy joins the secret guard to protect Miss Geraldine. 
• As part of the girl group led by Ruth, Kathy takes part in an experiment to see if Madame is afraid of Hailsham students. She finds out the sad truth: Madame is very, very afraid of them.
• Kathy and Ruth have a number of arguments. One particularly silly tiff involves Kathy brooding for a whole month about the origins of Ruth's pencil case. 
• One day a sobbing Madame catches Kathy listening to her favorite song on her favorite cassette tape. Soon after, Kathy loses this tape and can't find it anywhere. 
• During Tommy's tantrum phase, Kathy tries to extend a helping hand. One of these times, she accidentally gets slapped by a flailing Tommy. 
• Kathy goes from accidental punching bag to confidante when she has an important chat with Tommy down by the pond. She learns that Miss Lucy doesn't think it's important to be creative. 
• Kathy becomes pretty obsessed with Miss Lucy. One day she sees Miss Lucy scribbling furiously while alone in a classroom. Kathy is simultaneously entranced and freaked out. 
• Alongside this obsession with Miss Lucy, Kathy also becomes fixated on losing her virginity. 
• Ruth recruits Kathy to serve as mediator when she and Tommy break up. 
• Kathy and her friends move to the Cottages. Kathy has one-night stands with a handful of veterans. She also gets in a lot of fights with Ruth. 
• On the road trip to Norfolk, Kathy finds her Judy Bridgewater cassette tape. Hooray.
• Kathy gets upset when Ruth tells Tommy that Kathy doesn't like Tommy's animal drawings. After a few more tiffs, Kathy decides that it's time to leave the Cottages and become a carer. 
• Kathy spends over eleven years as a carer, traveling between donor centers. She really likes her job. 
• After learning that Hailsham has closed down, Kathy decides to become Ruth's carer. Together with Tommy they take a road trip to see an abandoned boat.
• At Ruth's request, Kathy decides that she'll become Tommy's carer/girlfriend. She and Tommy visit Madame's house to ask her for a deferral. 
• After learning that deferrals don't exist and that Tommy will soon give his fourth donation, Kathy finds Tommy a new carer. 
• Kathy has received her summons to become a donor soon, and she's looking forward to it.