King and the Dragonflies

King recalls when Khalid used to talk in his sleep. King would write down Khalid’s musings about life and the universe in his journal. Khalid once told him, […] We’re all one soul. The stars are in us” (115).

King arrives home from school late after stopping by the bayou to see the dragonflies. When he goes to his tent in the backyard, he discovers Sandy is gone. Sandy calls out King’s name from the brush where he is hiding. Sandy tells King that he was almost caught when he went in the house for food. King’s father came home unexpectedly and heard Sandy making noise in the kitchen. Sandy ran out of the house and hid in the brush. Sandy says King’s father searched for him outside and came within a foot of him. Sandy decides he can’t stay in King’s backyard tent anymore.

King takes Sandy to an abandoned old shack in the swampland. The shack has a refrigerator, a stove, and cabinets. Sandy says it’s a perfect hiding place.

In the shack, Sandy tells King he’s sorry that members of the Sanders family have hurt people in the town: “My granddad was a racist. My dad—he says a lot of things he shouldn’t.