The Fourth Stall

Mac waits for Staples to respond to his offer, but he is silent. Mac asks Staples why he sent Fred to Mac in the first place and risked being exposed. Staples says he figured Mac would eventually become trouble for his gambling operation, so he “struck first” (276). Vince calls to tell Mac that they found the evidence and the money. When Mac relays this to Staples, Staples grows furious and knocks the phone from Mac’s hand, destroying it. Mac tells Staples his friends will call the police and that Staples will go to prison because of his record—though he and Vince did not actually think a call to the police would be needed. Staples grabs Mac, who begs Fred to help. Fred is too afraid to assist. Mac gets loose and runs, but Staples catches Mac on the football field and forces him to the parking lot and into his red sports car.

Staples drives away with Mac in the car. He calls his henchman PJ and tells him to meet in the Yard, a rough, abandoned patch of land outside of town that is supposedly haunted and the popular spot for drinking parties and fights. PJ arrives with three other high school boys. They are surprised that Staples “kidnapped a little kid” (286) but agree to stay once Staples harasses and persuades them to do so. Staples nears Mac threateningly, cracking his knuckles and asking if he has any last words.

Mac is terrified about what might happen to him, but he suddenly sees six riders on bicycles arriving. It’s Vince and Joe, along with Fred and the three bullies. They each have a weapon of sorts, though none are particularly threatening: Vince holds a plastic snow shovel, Fred has a skinny branch, Joe has a foam noodle from a pool, and Kitten brings a metal rake for leaves. After Staples scoffs at Vince’s demand to let Mac go, Kitten takes the rake and drags it across PJ’s beloved car. He threatens to break the window as well. Staples says he doesn’t care, but when Kitten raises the rake in the air above the car, PJ yells for him to stop. He gives in and tells Staples he is leaving. The other high schoolers leave with him.

Staples grabs and holds Mac by an elbow around the throat. He calls the principal, threatening to give an anonymous tip about Mac’s office. Great White sprays Staples and the phone suddenly with the water gun he brought. Mac elbows his side; Staples drops him. He also drops the phone. Kitten runs in and kneecaps Staples with the handle of the rake. The bullies are ready to punish Staples, but Mac sees that Vince still sympathizes with him. Mac stops the bullies and tries to reason with Staples, saying he understands that Staples’s activities are for his father. Staples explains that he is trying to get his father cleaned up to regain custody of his little sister, who was taken into foster care years before.

Mac realizes he has great riches in his home and family life compared to Staples’s misfortunes, and he offers to help by working with Staples in a more fair and less bullying business operation in the school. Staples rejects Mac’s help. The bullies question why they can’t hurt Staples, and Mac explains that everyone needs a break now and then. He does, however, take Staple’s car keys, leaving Staples stranded. They leave him behind and head back on their bikes.

On the way back, Mac learns that Tyrell is guarding the evidence and money and that Fred told Vince, Joe, and the others that Staples “usually brought people who needed to be taught a lesson out to the Yard” (304). Mac thanks them all, then has Vince bike him over to Staples’s house, where he returns the car keys to the mailbox. Back at Mac’s house, they spar with Cubs trivia and attempt to decide whether the money should really be used for game tickets or if it should be saved for Vince’s families’ needs. They decide to watch the fourth game of the playoff series that night and decide right away if the Cubs win.

Mac’s business bounces back in the aftermath. He pays the bullies handsomely for their help and welcomes Fred to stick around, even putting him on the payroll as an official record keeper. Staples disappears, and the rumors of his “demise” (313) benefit Mac and Vince with new business. Mac apologizes to Brady for thinking he was the snitch. The Cubs lose their playoff series, so Mac and Vince do not have to decide whether or not to spend their savings on tickets. Mac ends his narrative by introducing a mysterious, nameless girl who arrives at his office one day. He indicates she will mean great trouble for him, then tells the reader, “But that’s probably a story better left for another day” (314).