108 pages • 3 hours read
Barbara Haworth-AttardTheories of Relativity
Barbara Haworth-AttardFiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
Dylan wakes to Brad touching his leg. Brad explains that he thought Dylan was OK with it because he came with Twitch. Enraged, Dylan kicks Twitch awake and curses at him. Groggy, Twitch asks what’s going on and, after a moment, realizes why Dylan is angry. Twitch insists it’s not so bad, saying, “you were warm here, right?” (27). Dylan leaves, still angry. It’s early morning and still dark outside. He contemplates the ethics of letting someone have access to your body in exchange for a warm night.
Dylan sees a school bus and remembers that he never cleaned out his locker. It’s been four weeks since he last attended school. Jenna shows up, looking run-down from the party. She complains that Vulture went off with Amber, so she got really drunk. Pleased that Jenna is mad at Vulture, Dylan invites her to help him clean out his locker. Despite hesitating, Jenna decides to go with Dylan, saying, “Let that other girl make his money for him today” (28).
To get bus fare, Jenna turns on her charms, and people on the street give her enough money to pay for the fare as well as breakfast. On the bus, they sit in the back. Jenna laughs at Dylan’s jokes, and Dylan enjoys her closeness and touch. It reminds him that he hasn’t been physically close to someone in a while. His mom never really hugged him, but he often comforted his youngest brother, Micha, when he had nightmares. Dylan wonders who comforts Micha now that he’s gone.
They get off the bus to stop at a café for breakfast. Over coffee and muffins, Jenna asks Dylan what he’s thinking about. Dylan tells her about Micha, and Micha’s father, who was a Jamaican man. Dylan has fond memories of Micha’s father, Harley, because he was relaxed and didn’t resort to violence to solve conflicts. Dylan’s mom kicked Harley out when his presence threatened the family’s welfare assistance.
Jenna asks if Dylan has another father now. Dylan says he might because his mom was bringing a new guy around. Through narration, Dylan reveals why he was kicked out of the house. His mother brought the new guy, Dan, home to meet the boys on Dylan’s 16th birthday. She’d told them to lie and say they all had the same father, but Dylan laughed at this idea because Micha is Black. In a rage, Dylan’s mom kicked him out.
Chapter 5 Summary
Dylan and Jenna walk through Dylan’s school. No one pays attention because Dylan was still new to the school before leaving. His family moves often, whenever they get kicked out of their house for not paying rent. Dylan worries about Jordan and Micha now, concerned he won’t be able to find them if they change schools again.
The computer teacher, Mr. Crowe, emerges from his classroom and intercepts Dylan, asking where he’s been and saying the phone was disconnected when he tried to call Dylan’s house. Dylan lies about his family moving, but Mr. Crowe doesn’t appear to buy it. Dylan’s locker is empty, and Mr. Crowe directs Dylan to the office for his stuff. Mr. Crowe asks about Dylan’s bag, sleeping bag, and four-week absence, and if he needs help. Dylan is upset that Mr. Crowe can read his situation but continues to lie.
In the office, Dylan sorts through a box of his locker’s contents. He takes a pen, a holey towel, and an old cereal bar, leaving the rest. Mr. Crowe presses him for his new school’s information, but Dylan lies again and ushers Jenna out quickly.
On their way out, Dylan complains about how awful school is, but Jenna disagrees. She liked school; it was her parents she couldn’t stand. Her dad was a control freak with lots of rules, and her mom was useless. Outside, Jenna says she needs to get back because Vulture is likely looking for her. Dylan asks if Vulture has rules for her, too, but Jenna doesn’t seem to hear him. Dylan says he’s going to his brothers’ school instead. As they part ways, Dylan asks if Jenna has any siblings. Upset, Jenna says she has a 12-year-old sister.
On the way to his brothers’ school, Dylan spends his bus fare money on candy for Micha and Jordan. Outside the school, he sees a social worker. He worries she might be there for Micha and Jordan. Dylan recalls how he would stage the house and his brothers to look well-fed and taken care of ahead of social worker visits. He has a theory that social workers only do that job to make themselves feel better.
When recess lets out, Dylan catches up with Micha and Jordan. Micha thinks Dylan has been camping because of the sleeping bag. Dylan gives them candy and asks about home, noticing that they are well-washed. Micha tells Dylan that Dan is going to marry their mom. Worried about Jordan’s behavior, Dylan warns Jordan that he has eyes and ears everywhere and will know if Jordan steps out of line. It’s a bluff, but Dylan doesn’t want Jordan to end up in a bad place.
A teacher approaches them and tells Dylan he’ll have to sign in or leave. Dylan says goodbye to his brothers and leaves. Micha cries out for him, begging him to stay.
Chapter 6 Summary
The next day, Dylan sits excitedly at the library. He had a terrible night, haunted by Micha’s cries, but awoke to the coffee shop with a “Help Wanted” sign in the window. Dylan feels this is the closest he’s been to a job.
He looks through the same Einstein book from before, but he cannot focus. Twitch lurks nearby, having followed Dylan to the library. Dylan is annoyed and finally approaches Twitch, assuring him that he’s not mad. Realizing that talking to Twitch is like talking to Micha, Dylan resolves to treat Twitch the same way he would treat Micha. He tells Twitch that he has a job interview, and that if Twitch doesn’t follow him to the bathroom, he’ll let Twitch follow him to the coffee shop.
Dylan washes up in the library bathroom. Despite his best efforts, his hair is still matted and dirty, and his clothes are still ragged. Dylan and Twitch head to the coffee shop. On the way, Twitch tells Dylan that his relationship with Brad isn’t about sex and clarifies that he isn’t gay. Dylan understands, having seen sex workers doing what they can to get by. He asks about Jenna, and Twitch warns him that Vulture is mad at Jenna for going with Dylan to his school. He warns Dylan, “You better watch out” (47). Before Dylan enters the coffee shop, Twitch gives him the Einstein book from the library, saying he thought Dylan would like it.
Inside the shop, Dylan speaks with the manager, who asks Dylan a few questions but ultimately tells him to return after getting a permanent address and cleaning himself up. As he leaves, Dylan spots Vulture sitting in the corner, watching him.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
Chapter 4 reveals a lot about Dylan’s situation and has a strong focus on theme of family. The reader learns that Dylan is 16, that he has been on the streets for four weeks, and that he was kicked out for mocking his mom’s attempts to lie to her new boyfriend. Dylan’s mom is characterized through Dylan’s references to his previous home life, his memories of being kicked out, and his concern for his brothers. When recalling Micha’s dad, Harley, being kicked out, Dylan says of his mom, “That’s how she deals with problems. Out of sight, out of mind” (31). His mom sees others as disposable. When Jordan’s father became abusive, she kicked him out. When Harley’s presence threatened their welfare assistance, she kicked him out. When Dylan indicated he might hurt her chances of lying to Dan, she kicked him out as well.
Dylan’s mom also sees homes as disposable. He describes their unstable living situation, moving homes every 10 months, or “about the same time it took the landlord to figure out we weren’t paying rent” (33). Each time, Dylan and his brothers must change schools and start their lives over. Dylan’s mom doesn’t seem concerned about how her decisions affect her children, which is shown both through her disregard for stability and her absence in Dylan’s memory of impressing the social workers. Dylan’s mom is not mentioned when Dylan describes bathing Micha and Jordan, running to the store for bread, or cleaning the house so the social worker would think all three boys were taken care of.
Through all these memories of uncertain times, it becomes apparent why Dylan is so concerned about his brothers. Dylan fears that without his influence, Jordan will fall in with the wrong crowd, which is why Dylan bluffs about knowing what Jordan is doing at all times. Dylan’s approach with Micha is more tender. Dylan knows Micha thinks the world of him, and he wants to comfort Micha in these scary times. This approach is first seen when Dylan omits the scary details of his reality while speaking with Micha. Micha asks if Dylan is “having a good time” (40), if he has been camping, and if Micha can join him, but Dylan steers the conversation back to Micha instead of revealing the truth about his situation.
Dylan parallels this approach when dealing with Twitch, whose behavior and desire to be near Dylan mirrors Micha’s. Dylan extends kindness to Twitch in a way that Twitch doesn’t often experience. Though Dylan isn’t always thrilled to have Twitch around, he realizes that this kindness is why Twitch is fond of him, and he resolves to treat Twitch better. Though it isn’t explicitly stated, Twitch’s childlike demeanor is likely a result of his drug use or the medical condition that Dylan speculates he has.
Childhood is an overarching theme of these chapters. The stark contrast between Dylan’s circumstances and those of normal teenagers is highlighted on his trip to school. Using a simile, Dylan compares his bus ride with Jenna to a field trip. On the bus, they are transported to a place of innocence, acting like children when they haven’t felt like children in a while. When they exit the bus, however, their situation becomes real again, and Dylan recalls his 16th birthday when his mom kicked him out. This theme of childhood is also reflected in Dylan’s interactions and memories with Micha and Jordan, and it persists through his interactions with Twitch as well.
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