Demon and Jane Ellen wait in a Walmart parking lot for Coach Winfield, with Demon anxious and Jane Ellen calmly doing homework. A strange, pale, long-limbed man arrives and unnerves them, but identifies Betsy Woodall by name and explains Coach Winfield is tied up at practice. He introduces himself as assistant coach Ryan Pyles, nicknamed “U-Haul,” because he hauls football equipment.

Jane Ellen refuses to hand Demon over without verification and makes Ryan Pyles call the school. A secretary confirms the arrangement, so Demon reluctantly goes with Ryan Pyles. They drive to Coach Winfield’s huge, mansion-like house on a hill overlooking Jonesville, and Demon panics about not fitting in.

Inside, the house looks grand but is cluttered with sports gear and junk. Demon notices a photo of a young woman on the mantel and assumes she is Coach Winfield’s dead wife. A scrawny kid with the same face as the photo appears and introduces himself as Angus, Coach Winfield’s eighth-grade child, watching Demon closely and guardedly.

Coach Winfield finally comes downstairs loud and energetic, apologizes for practice, and sizes Demon up. Demon says he is almost twelve, and Coach Winfield seems pleased, calling Demon linebacker material, which makes Demon feel hope about finally being wanted for something.

At dinner, a housekeeper named Mattie Kate serves meat loaf and coleslaw, then leaves. Coach Winfield asks polite questions, Angus stays mostly silent and observant, and Demon tries to read the household rules while noting how strange it is that Angus is not on the JV football team.

Coach Winfield has Angus show Demon to his own upstairs bedroom, an unusually nice room with multiple windows and a private bathroom. Demon and Angus trade uneasy jokes and comments about football and the house; Demon mentions Betsy as his grandmother, and Angus says Angus’s mother used to take Angus to see her. When Angus returns in night clothes without the jacket, hat, and boots, Demon realizes Angus is a girl presenting as a boy, and Demon lies awake replaying the earlier things Demon said and cringing at how badly Demon misread everything.