The Leavers

Daniel is set to play a big show, but he is still torn about whether to go to Carlough College like his adoptive parents want or continue playing with Roland, who thinks Daniel is “never going to get anywhere if [he] keeps on doing what [his parents] want” (234). Finding Daniel unreliable, Roland replaces him with another guitarist. Daniel is angry at Roland, but “he didn’t know what he wanted, and he didn’t know how to figure it out” (236).

The next morning, he goes to Vivian and asks to stay the night there. Daniel and Vivian talk about Daniel’s mother. Daniel mentions not knowing how she ended up in China. Vivian tells him that his mother’s nail salon was raided by Immigration. Vivian doesn’t know if Polly was detained, but Vivian wouldn’t have paid Polly’s debt if she thought Polly would return. When Michael comes home from school, he and Daniel go to play pool. Michael mentions admiring Daniel, but Daniel confesses that he isn’t someone he should admire since Daniel had been expelled from school and dropped from the band. He tells Michael his adoptive parents want him to study and that he feels obligated to do so, regardless of what he wants.