Fall 1987 - Spring 1988, Chapter 9 Summary

This chapter begins with Pharoah burying the two goldfish his mother gave him as a Christmas present. He uses an ice cream stick to dig their shallow grave outside his building. He blesses the fish and prays they'll go to heaven instead of hell. It is another small shadow of death in a turbulent winter. The Rivers' home overflows as LaJoe's oldest daughter LaShawn and her two children, boyfriend, and boyfriend's brother move in. Thirteen people occupy the apartment if Paul, the father, shows up. Pharoah has trouble concentrating on school work, but feels safer as there would be witnesses if someone tried to snatch him. The chaos eats at LaJoe. She becomes increasingly short-tempered and has occasional explosive outbursts. The stress takes its toll physically with sleepless nights, colds, and headaches. In these times she fantasizes...