Summary

In a Roxbury pool hall, Malcolm meets a man named Shorty, who is about 25 years old. Shorty gets Malcolm a job shining shoes at the Roseland Ballroom, a popular dance club. He is told that he will also be responsible for selling marijuana to the patrons. Though Malcolm's first night at the Roseland is a whites-only night, he is entranced witnessing the jazz music and the dancing.

Shorty, an aspiring jazz musician, educates Malcolm about the ways of the streets, including the numbers game, an informal cash lottery system that all of Roxbury's residents play. He gives Malcolm the nickname "Red" (103) and takes him to buy a zoot suit on credit, and to parties, where Malcolm starts drinking and smoking marijuana. Shorty and his cousin give Malcolm a “conk” (126) – a straightened hairstyle popular with the Roxbury hipsters. Ella disapproves of Malcolm's new image...