Demon Copperhead

As summer vacation approaches, Demon is excited to be done with school for the year. He used to do well in school, but now he no longer puts in the effort. He doesn’t look forward to spending the entire summer sorting trash, but his job is a respite from the other students’ judgments. Demon reflects that the good thing about school is that one is always working toward finishing or starting something, unlike with his job.

The McCobbs’ car gets repossessed, forcing Mr. McCobb out of his latest job. Demon notes that it doesn’t make “sense for guys wanting money from you to come and take your car, so you can’t earn another dime. That’s the grown-up version I guess of teachers yelling at you for hating school” (169). The McCobbs argue about what they should do next.

At work, Swap-Out and Demon smoke marijuana and play with guns during their free hours. When Demon waits for his ride, he helps Mr. Golly around the market. Mr. Golly grew up in India; his name is actually Ghali, but he allows people to think it’s Golly, which implies a pleasant surprise.

The first social worker Demon met the night of his mother’s death, whom he called Baggy Eyes, takes over his case.