Summary

In Chapter 5: Avalon, Raymond has finger paint all over his shirt when Deja picks him and Leda up from daycare. He tells Deja he was painting a monster. Deja says that Pop will shout “monster” when he sees him. This scares both Ray and Leda. Deja is immediately sorry she said it; she did not mean to scare them. She says that Pop does not hit, but, nonetheless, he is scary when angry. His anger can be caused by just about anything – cold coffee, too much rain, too little rain. Deja knows she will have to clean Raymond’s shirt. Her dad will not do it, and her mother will be tired from work.

Deja reaches into her pocket and pulls out the cookie that Sabeen gave her at lunch. Her brother and sister do not care that it is nothing...