Crenshaw

Jackson has trouble sleeping that night, nagged by the question, “Why did things have to be this way?” (223). He recalls his fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Malone, teaching the class about vampire bats. When the bats return to their caves after a night of hunting, they share with the bats who did not find anything to eat. Scientists disagree over whether this means that “bats are altruists,” who share to help other bats, “even if it’s a risk” (224). Jackson notes that “[s]cientists love to disagree about things” (224). Ms. Malone wondered if bats “are better human beings than human beings are” (225).

A nightmare wakes Jackson. In tears, he explains to Crenshaw that in his nightmare, he was calling for help but nobody would listen. Crenshaw says he will listen and help. Jackson reveals that he does not want to go with his family or live in the minivan. He is tired of worrying all the time. He decides to ask Marisol if he can stay with her and writes a letter to his parents explaining “the facts”—that he is tired of the uncertainty, hates “living this way,” will stay with Marisol, and may join his parents when they “figure things out” (229, italics in original).