CHARACTER
Counting by 7sby Holly Goldberg Sloan

Dell Duke

Dell Duke

Quick Facts

  • Role: Disorganized, underperforming school counselor unexpectedly drawn into a makeshift family
  • First appearance: Assigned to counsel Willow Chance after her alleged testing violation
  • Key relationships: Conscripted into a housing scheme with Pattie Nguyen, Mai Nguyen, and Quang-ha Nguyen; reluctant caretaker of his cat, Cheddar

Who They Are

At his core, Dell Duke is a man hiding from his own life. He camouflages apathy with fake systems and dead-end routines, using his student typologies to avoid real connection. The tragedy that engulfs Willow cracks his shell: he stumbles into responsibility, then—awkwardly, imperfectly—chooses it. His evolution from comic mess to earnest surrogate father anchors the novel’s portrait of a chosen household and the healing power of Found Family and Community.

Personality & Traits

Dell starts as a walking shrug—sweaty, rumpled, and chronically avoidant—and gradually reveals an unused core of tenderness. His early laziness and judgment mask insecurity; when confronted by forceful people or real need, he panics, stammers, or flees. Yet small acts of care accumulate until they become a new identity.

  • Unmotivated and lazy: He invents “The Four Groups of the Strange” specifically to short-circuit any real counseling and spends hours zoning out in front of screens with students like Quang-ha. The system is less a tool than a shield.
  • Disorganized to the point of self-sabotage: His apartment is a museum of avoidance—junk piles, towers of unwashed microwave trays, even a “wall of underwear.” His sweat-soaked, rumpled clothes externalize the same chaos.
  • Insecure around authority: Pattie’s decisiveness reduces him to babble. He complies because he’s intimidated, then resents it because he feels exposed.
  • Judgmental (initially): Labeling kids as Misfits, Oddballs, Lone Wolves, and Weirdos lets him flatten complexity and absolve himself of responsibility.
  • Caring (ultimately): He rescues Cheddar, shows up in court, and advocates for Willow—acts that cost him comfort but build his character. Compassion becomes a practice, not just a trait.

Character Journey

Dell’s arc embodies Growth and Renewal. His first session with Willow punctures his smug taxonomy; he has to invent a new category—“Genius”—because she refuses to fit his lazy grid. When Willow’s parents die, he offers spectacularly bad comfort, proof that he’s unprepared for real grief. But being pulled into Pattie’s world—and physically into his own reclaimed apartment—forces engagement. As Pattie cleans his space, Dell begins cleaning his life: he runs, loses weight, takes on the “Building Representative” role, and chooses responsibility for Cheddar. The more order that appears around him, the more he risks care. By the end, he renames himself “Mutant,” choosing blue—his favorite color—for the label. It’s not a joke at his expense; it’s self-recognition that change, once unimaginable, has become his identity.

Key Relationships

  • Willow Chance: Willow is his mirror and his measure. Her brilliance exposes the poverty of his “system,” and her vulnerability calls him to act. What begins as bafflement becomes devotion: his clumsy presence steadies her, and her trust dignifies him.
  • Pattie Nguyen: Pattie’s competence steamrolls Dell’s inertia. She commandeers his apartment, orchestrates the social-services ruse, and refuses to let him drift. He bristles at her control, but her structure is the scaffolding he needs to build a real life.
  • Quang-ha Nguyen: Their bond starts as shared slacking—two couch critics escaping pressure. Quietly, Dell gives Quang-ha a nonjudgmental male space; in return, Quang-ha offers Dell uncomplicated companionship that makes growth feel possible.
  • Cheddar: Cheddar is Dell’s moral litmus test. Abandoning the cat reveals his avoidance; rescuing the mangy, injured animal—and following through with vet care—marks the moment he stops flinching from obligation.

Defining Moments

Dell’s story turns on small choices that reshape his habits—and therefore his character. Each misstep or embarrassment becomes a hinge toward accountability.

  • The first counseling session with Willow: Facing a mind he can’t file away, Dell coins “Genius.” Why it matters: it’s the first crack in his system and the first honest thing he admits about a student—and himself.
  • The “home visitation” ruse: Pattie transforms his apartment into a plausible family home. Why it matters: surrendering control of his space forces Dell into community; order outside nudges order inside.
  • Rescuing Cheddar: He finds the abandoned cat thin and scarred and takes him to the vet. Why it matters: it’s accountability in action, proof that Dell can repair—not just regret—his failures.
  • The court hearing (and the ripped pants): His exuberant, ill-timed victory split is ridiculous and sincere. Why it matters: Dell’s joy is unguarded; embarrassment no longer trumps belonging.

Essential Quotes

He placed all of the kids he saw into four groups of THE STRANGE. First, there were the MISFITS. Then the ODDBALLS. Next were the LONE WOLVES. And finally, the WEIRDOS.

This taxonomy is Dell’s shortcut and shield—an attempt to control complexity with labels that keep him from having to get close. The rigid categories reveal more about his fear of involvement than about any student. The novel will dismantle this grid, one relationship at a time.

“It’s not much consolation, but you’ll probably never have any loss this big again.” Dell continued, unable to stop himself. “So that’s kind of comforting—knowing that the worst thing in life is already behind you. I mean, once it actually is behind you. Which it won’t be for a while, obviously.”

Dell’s well-meant but tone-deaf reassurance shows how unprepared he is for real grief. He reaches for logic where empathy is required, exposing the gap between professional title and human skill. This failure becomes the starting line for his growth.

Because Dell Duke believed he had discovered a new category of the Strange: GENIUS.

Willow breaks his reductive system from the inside, forcing him to recognize excellence rather than pathologize difference. Naming “Genius” is an intellectual concession—and the first step toward emotional humility.

He clicked on the screen, and the Dell Duke System of the Strange appeared. He needed to add a new category. Dell’s fingers slid across the keys and he typed in: MUTANT. Color code: blue. His favorite color. Next to MUTANT he typed the word: ME.

“Mutant” is a self-authored identity, not a label imposed on others. Choosing blue personalizes the transformation; it’s change he owns and even likes. In claiming the category, Dell abandons detachment and embraces a life he’s actively shaping.