Chapters 4 through 8 Summary

Chapter 4: The narrator's mother, "Mama", asks about D, fearful that her daughter is associating with the wrong type of person. The narrator assures her D is a good person. Mama expresses dislike for the narrator saying "ain't", a habit she picked up from D. Mama questions the narrator about where D came from and what her family is like, but the narrator doesn't know. The narrator doesn't know who her own father is, either. Mama expresses regret for the narrator not having a father. Some days Mama looks sadly out the window, and the narrator can tell she's thinking of what could have been.

Chapter 5: On the Friday before Thanksgiving, Neeka and the narrator are outside trying to teach the littler kids to jump rope. They give up when the kids don't do as they say, figuring everyone has to learn...