Although the term "chronotope" may be unfamiliar, the meaning and significance of the construct resonate with many ELA teachers. Chronotope (Bakhtin,) captures how people come to make sense of stories and the characters that inhabit those stories. In this longitudinal case study, chronotope is used to explore what school literacy experiences offer, allow, and reject in terms of identity construction, providing students with possibilities for change, malleable sequences, connections to the world beyond school, and opportunities for critique. This analysis reveals how school policies and expectations carry meanings about who Jermaine is as a student and as a reader. Chronotopic motifs related to schooling and literacy characterize Jermaine as a particular type of student and invoke probable school trajectories. The article closes with implications for teachers designed to support students, like Jermaine, who struggle to meet the expectations imposed by schools. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)