Chapter 8, Fruit Compote Summary

The next day, school is the same boring, frustrating routine, except now Joey is lost in daydreams of his love. Time goes on, and Joey is trapped, no longer wishing to escape life as a schoolboy. Syphon kills himself, unable to recover from Kneadus's initiation, and Kneadus's face remains stuck in horrible grimaces. He is still after the housemaid, who does have a farmhand for her brother, but she won't accept him.

Mrs. Youngblood realizes that Joey is attracted to her daughter, and she takes pleasure in Joey's admiration. The family holds intellectual conversations at meals, and they tease Joey for his lack of modernity. Pimko comes to visit, and when he does he seems overly old and old-fashioned. Joey is jealous of the schoolgirl's relationship with Pimko. The opposites seem to fulfill each other. Because Joey's love is...