What is the importance of the Butt Room scene?

I don't have the book in front of me but I do recall the scene. The Butt Room is the smoking room the boys use in the basement. Gene follows another boy (Brinker?) down. Brinker makes a joke about how Gene has come to confess the murder of his room-mate. Gene attempts to play along but the whole thing hits too close to the truth. The importance of this scene is the tacit understanding amidst all the boys that there was more to Finny's accident. The whole role-play in the Butt room has a sickly quality about it. This is especially true for Gene who carries around his guilt like a massive albatross. (Did I just write albatross?)