Nine-year-old Vernell LaQuan Banks Jr., also known as Quan, decides to run away from home after he “made sure Dasia and Gabe,” his half-siblings, “were safe in the closet” (17). He hides out in a playground rocket ship, where he meets 10-year-old Justyce McAllister. Quan, embarrassed to be caught crying, is initially rude to Justyce. Justyce shares that he is made fun of at school for being smart and confesses that his father hasn’t been the same since coming home from Afghanistan. Quan talks about his mother’s boyfriend, Dwight, explaining, “Every time he come around, he mad about somethin’, and he takes it out on my mom” (22), and that he feels responsible for protecting Dasia and Gabe from their father’s wrath. The boys share a moment of understanding, then part ways.

Quan recalls the day that his father was arrested and taken away for selling drugs. In his recollection, Quan is sleeping at his father’s house when police burst in and throw Quan to the ground. Quan is terrified and goes into shock: He “lost all control of his body and surroundings and couldn’t even make a sound” (28). The trauma of the event causes Quan to wet his pants.