The Stars Beneath Our Feet

Lolly’s Lego castle, named House of Moneekrom, has taken up the entire living room. Working on the castle makes Lolly feel better than talking to Mr. Ali, but his mom says he has to tear it down because she’s tired of tripping over it. Lolly makes up stories about the House of Moneekrom: It was passed down generations of the alien Moneekroms over thousands of years. Lolly adds a new wing to the castle every time a new Moneekrom is crowned.

Lolly’s dad visits and brings him a Christmas present for “Late Christmas” (50)—a computer tablet with a wireless mouse. Lolly is disappointed to see it, even though he likes it. People say Lolly looks like his dad, who is a very handsome, nearly 40-year-old man who is muscular because his job in construction keeps him in shape. On weekends, Daddy Rachpaul performs as Rocky the Clown. Lolly remembers going to one of the children’s parties he worked at last year and being irritated that his dad acted fun and silly there because he never did anything like that with him and Jermaine.

His dad calls Lolly “Sir Wallace” and tells his mom to stop calling him “Lolly” because it sounds like a girl’s name, unlike Wallace, “a solid man’s style” name (54).