Demon is dropped off by Miss Barks at Mr. Crickson’s farm, where the kitchen is filthy and Crickson’s manner is threatening. As Miss Barks finishes her inspection and leaves, Crickson makes clear he has been told Demon is a “biter,” implying DSS or Stoner has spread that story. Alone with Crickson, Demon realizes he has no control over the placement and braces for how the other foster boys will treat him.

Crickson puts Demon to work immediately on farm chores—feeding pregnant heifers, hauling hay, walking fence lines, and learning tools Demon isn’t ready for. Demon is exhausted and hungry, worrying about the Peggots and how long he must endure this placement while his mother is in rehab. Lunch (called “dinner”) is bacon-and-tomato sandwiches, and Demon notes that food is at least plentiful.

After school, two foster boys return: Tommy Waddell and “Swap-Out,” a smaller boy Demon recognizes from elementary school. Tommy explains that Crickson regularly takes in an extra foster boy around tax-bill seasons, suggesting the farm uses placements for money and labor. Tommy is unexpectedly kind, teaching Demon the routines, explaining the cattle operation, and helping him wash up, while Swap-Out remains mostly silent and odd, doing chores and posturing at Demon.

The household’s power center arrives when the older foster teen Sterling Ford—nicknamed Fast Forward—comes home from football practice. The other boys idolize him, and even Crickson becomes talkative around him. Fast Forward’s status is reinforced by privileges: his own room, access to keys (including the gun cabinet and locked medicines), and a pickup truck; Demon also learns Fast Forward and Crickson secretly split the monthly foster-care check.

That night, Fast Forward stages a “drill” as leader of their self-made “Hillbilly Squadron,” demanding the boys hand over candy and cash so he can “keep valuables safe.” He intimidates Swap-Out into surrendering lunch money and then pressures Demon, who insists he has nothing—until he discovers forgotten money and snacks in his pockets and gives up the cash. After Fast Forward leaves, Demon chooses the top bunk, unsettled by the farm’s dangers and the new social order.

Demon ends by reflecting on the word “hillbilly,” remembering how Bonnie once mocked him and Maggot for laughing at The Beverly Hillbillies, and how Mr. Peg explained that “hillbilly” functions like a slur used by outsiders. Demon concludes that reclaiming such words can turn them into armor, a form of pride and protection against contempt.