Summary

After the sermon, Six thinks about the earlier days of his boyhood. His father, August, was always fairly distant towards all of his children. Six was often teased and bullied at school due to his physical infirmities. Six often joined in on bullying a short, effeminate boy named Avery, in order to deflect the bullying away from himself. In the morning, Grist compliments Six on the sermon and asks if Six wants to be a preacher. Six says that he is unsure. The narrative reveals to the reader that Six has severe burn scars on 50 percent of his body. At the age of nine, he accidentally fell into a tub of boiling water prepared by his sisters Bell and Cassie and almost died. Cassie and Bell both still feel deeply guilty about the accident and blame themselves.

The narrative then returns to Six in...