The climax of the story comes when the fifth graders are away at nature camp. Auggie and Jack are accosted in the woods one night by some big seventh-graders looking for trouble, and Auggie is verbally and physically assaulted for no reason other than his appearance. A few other boys from Auggie's class circle back to see what's going on, but when they step in to help, the situation explodes into a scuffle. Sweatshirts are ripped, elbows get scraped, and most painfully, Auggie's expensive hearing aids are lost in the night.