Kiyoshi (Kiyo) Oyama is spending the summer before fourth grade swimming, surfing and spearfishing with his friends, Mit and Skats. An older boy named Makot recruits the younger boys for his “gang,” but Kiyo’s parents object. His parents are reluctant to explain their objections directly, so Kiyo ignores their complaints. When he tells his mother that he has been eating lunch at Makot’s house, his mother tells him he will bring shame on his family, as people will suspect they are too poor to feed him. This does not make sense to Kiyo, because his mother doesn’t object when he eats at the homes of Mit and Skats. When Kiyo counters his mother’s arguments, she loses her patience, and says, “Nemmind! You’ll catch a sickness if you go there too often” (3). 

Kiyo’s mother elicits her husband’s help in trying to dissuade Kiyo from going to Makot’s house. At dinner, Kiyo’s father tells him that he can no longer eat at Makot’s house. When Kiyo questions him, his father gets angry, and threatens to crack is head. Even though Kiyo is scared, his father rarely hits him. He saves his violence for Kiyo’s older brother, Tosh. 

Tosh also objects to Kiyo spending time with Makot and suggests he tell Makot to play with kids his own age. When Tosh finds out that Makot has been taking the younger boys past the breakers, he turns to their mom and says in “pidgin Japanese,” “Mama, you better tell Kyo not to go outside the breakers. By-‘n’-by he drown. By-‘n’-by the shark eat um up” (5). They speak four languages in the Oyama household, “good English in school, pidgin English among ourselves, good or pidgin Japanese to our parents and the other old folks” (5).

Kiyo continues to be a part of Makot’s gang, and they spend their days trying to raise money for a .22 rifle. At first, the gang steals coconuts to sell at the local bakeries. When that doesn’t turn out to be profitable, they switch to harvesting mangoes. Kiyo’s father hears about Kiyo’s schemes and forbids his son from playing with Makot. When Kiyo asks why, his father responds, “Because his home is bad. His father is bad. His mother is bad.” (9)

Neither parent will explain what makes Makot and his parents “bad.” Kiyo knows that he has to obey his father, but he also feels that he owes Makot an explanation as to why he will no longer be playing with him. That night, telling his parents that he is going to Mit’s house, Kiyo sneaks off to Filipino Camp. When he gets there, he notices five men beside the house. They are dressed like tourists and “smelled of expensive pomade” (10).

Makot’s mother comes out onto the porch, and Kiyo takes the opportunity to thank her for all of the times he had lunch at her house in her absence. At this comment, Makot’s mother laughs hysterically, and Makot appears. He tells his mother to “shut up” and pushes her back into the house. 

Makot invites Kiyo to the movies, and Kiyo tells him that he can’t play with him anymore and admits that his parents mentioned Makot’s mother and father. Makot looks as though he may cry and tells Kiyo “so long.”