Small Steps

Unsure of what to do after the concert, Ginny and Armpit start to leave, only to be stopped by David, who takes them to Kaira’s room. They find Kaira being scolded by Jerome; he is upset about their spontaneous second encore. In Kaira’s tiny dressing room Kaira, Ginny, and Armpit share ice cream and get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere. Ginny tells Kaira about Armpit’s time in Camp Green Lake and threatens to share his nickname. Instead, she just hints, “it was a p-part of the b-body” (134). Cotton knocks on the door. When Kaira introduces him as her drummer, he says “not anymore” (131). Jerome fired him for doing the Joplin song and, Kaira believes, because she confided in him. Kaira shares that she is lonely, watching TV and playing video games all day by herself. Kaira doesn’t get along with her mother and despises her stepfather/manager. Kaira also tells Armpit and Ginny that “[i]t’s so great that you can be such good friends, when, you know, you’re so different” (133). They happily chat until David brings back Armpit and Ginny’s freshly washed shirts before they head home.