Demon describes how, living with Coach, summer briefly feels like childhood again because the adults handle bills and logistics. Even while saying thank you to Coach, Mattie Kate, and Angus, Demon privately resents having to ask permission and stays focused on hiding his dope and dodging responsibilities.

Determined to earn his own money and independence, Demon pushes back until Coach helps him land a legal job at the Farm Supply in Pennington Gap. Demon starts right after school ends, making seven dollars an hour and saving for a car, which Demon sees as the dividing line between being a child and being free.

The Farm Supply job is steady and comparatively safe: Demon handles heavy loading, tends plants and chicks, and deals with customers who recognize him and talk football. Donnamarie trains Demon at the register area, while the store’s owner remains an unspoken mystery after a heart attack.

One day Demon hears a familiar voice and realizes Fast Forward has come into the store. Demon loads Fast Forward’s truck, and they reconnect immediately, joking in the old language of their foster-care past. Fast Forward says he has seen Demon play football and treats Demon like part of the Generals legacy, leaving Demon thrilled and unsettled by the attention.

Fast Forward keeps seeking Demon out on later visits and finally invites Demon to go out cruising on Saturday night to meet former Generals. Demon tells U-Haul not to pick him up from work, and Fast Forward takes Demon to drag Main in Pennington with Big Bear Howe and a sharp-edged girl, Rose Dartell. Demon is introduced repeatedly as Fast Forward’s “diamond in the raw,” watches Rose and Fast Forward’s tense dynamic, and joins the group’s small-time partying as a joint gets passed through the truck, leaving Demon intoxicated on both the weed and the feeling of belonging.