Summary

Dan Kane is proud of Ryan for doing “nine months for me, little man,” and so takes him out to dinner (221). Ryan appreciates the ability to tell Dan Kane just how bad prison was, while he felt the need to hide the truth of the experience from Tony. Dan tells Ryan that his experiences will stay with him forever, because prison is meant “to break you down. And it works. Believe me” (224).

Later, at the Cusack home, Ryan decides to leave home and work for Dan Kane again. Tony tries to emphasize Ryan’s youth to get him to stay.

Ryan also decides not to go back to school. He worries about going back to school “as his girlfriend danced through university,” and adamantly argues that the school system has nothing to teach him besides “how to deal with awkward problems: lock them...