Summary

Mrs. King waits with a freshly baked chocolate cake to greet Sade when she returns home from school. Femi is already watching television and does not speak to her. Mrs. King suggests that Sade go upstairs and work on her assigned homework before dinner. She goes upstairs and feels relieved to be alone for a moment. She decides, in spite of Marcia’s threat, that she is going to complete her homework.

That night, Sade has a terrible nightmare, reliving the moment her mother was killed although this time, Marcia is there and telling Sade that she meant to kill her instead. She is unable to go back to bed, thinking about her father’s words about how important it is to stand up to bullies but wondering “what happens when you stand up alone yet everyone else is too frightened?” (130)

Sade and...