Demon introduces Tommy Waddles, a longtime foster kid whose parents died young and who has no stable family to take him in. Tommy copes by reading and constantly “doodling,” especially when he is hurt or shamed, and Demon notices Tommy repeatedly drawing tiny skeletons.

Demon and Tommy endure exhausting daily travel from Mr. Crickson’s isolated “Creaky Farm”: pre-dawn mornings, long bus rides, and transfers before reaching their different schools. Demon learns harsh lessons from older students’ behavior on the buses and resents that Fast Forward gets extra sleep by driving himself.

At school, Demon reunites with Maggot, who keeps Demon connected to home by sneaking into Demon’s old place with Mr. Peggot’s keys and delivering Demon’s belongings in pillowcases. School becomes Demon’s only piece of normal life while the farm feels like a prison on both ends of the day.

Demon’s first weekend is dominated by promised hay work: mowing, constant baler breakdowns, and then hauling and stacking heavy square bales. Tommy struggles physically, Swap-Out disrupts the work, and Demon ends the weekend filthy, itchy, and exhausted, unable to shower because Fast Forward monopolizes the bathroom.

Fast Forward fulfills another promise by throwing a “Hillbilly Squadron” party in his room. He offers candy, cigarettes, and “special” cookies that get the boys high, then assigns secret squadron names: Tommy becomes Bones, Swap-Out becomes Wild Man, and Demon is named Diamond. The night escalates into a “pharm party” when Fast Forward produces a hat full of mixed pills, and Demon takes an unknown pill and sinks into intoxicated warmth, reflecting on how neglected kids mistake dangerous rituals for safety and belonging.