Part One, The Boy Next Door: Then, 1989 and Now, November 1997 Summary

1989. Chris and Emily are making crank phone calls. Chris dares Emily to call his mother and pretend to be the secretary at their school, claiming Chris is in trouble. Emily does because she cannot turn down a dare and appear to be a chicken. The children get in trouble after Gus goes down to the school and confronts the principal. Both are grounded and spend their punishment communicating through Morse code with flashlights from their bedroom windows. Later, Chris steals the Joy of Sex from the library, and he and Emily take a look at the pictures, finding most of them physically impossible. Chris again gets caught, causing Gus some concern about his curiosity at such a young age. Chris is not the only one...