Solomon has a brief conversation with his mom about Lisa, but he brushes it off. In the background of this conversation, more is revealed about Solomon’s condition. He has strict eating habits, a tendency to say his innermost thoughts aloud, and an insatiable ability to watch his father play video games for hours. A calming coping mechanism is water, so Solomon lies “in the bath for an hour or more, his eyes closed, focusing his attention on the whirring of the bathroom vent. And that blocked it all out, anything that could make him worse, any thoughts that could start looping around and around in his mind” (27). Solomon fantasizes about having a pool, because he’s not averse to the outdoors as long as there aren’t other people there. Yet, he is consumed by guilt when he thinks of the possibility that even if he wants to, he won’t be able to leave the house even for a backyard swimming pool. Solomon’s great fear is chaos and death, and he feels certain that the image of his swimming pool would actually be the image of his disappointed parents.

Contemplating the hypothetical desired but unused pool, Solomon falls into a panic attack: “So he lay there in the dark without them ever knowing he wasn’t okay.