Dave wakes up and he has to do his morning chores in a limited amount of time or he won’t get any food (scraps that a dog won’t eat). When he is done (usually not in time) he has to run to school because he is not considered a “son” but a “slave”. His mother drives his brothers to school. When he gets to school he would steal food from other kid’s lunches because his mom never gave him food for school. Eventually the principle found out and called his mom who gave him a beating. Dave was a smart student he just didn’t think like one. When he got home his mother would make him puke to check to see if he ate any food. Then she would smack him as hard as she can even if he didn’t eat any food. Then she would go back to her liquor and television show. Every day he had to play his moms unpredictable games like mixing Ammonia and Clorox and locking him in a bathroom to clean. (that mixture makes a terrible gas/smell). Here are several other ways his mother abused him:

• Slapping him
• Kicking him
• Burning his hand
• Neglect (scraps of food, torn-up rags as clothes)
• Emotional Abuse

Although his mother was very abusive his father was what Dave called him his protector. This was because father always tried to help, protect, and always promised they would leave the house someday. His father was a fireman and often worked a 24 hour shift and whenever he came home mother would shout and curse him; as a result father often came home drunk. At the end of the story father was leaving home. Dave was cursing father under his breath because father didn’t care anymore and that father had promised numerous amount of times that they would get out of his hell. Then, Dave was even more scared for his life because he was alone with mother.