School begins, and Demon enjoys the freedom of riding the bus, reuniting with Maggot, and slipping back into their mischief at school. After classes, they delay returning to Demon’s house to avoid Stoner’s ban, but Demon eventually goes home alone, eats, and waits for his parents.

When Stoner arrives, he explodes over muddy tracks. He rejects mopping and forces Demon to scrub the kitchen floor on his knees with bleach, while Mom stands by, glazed and silent. Stoner then demands the living room carpet be cleaned; Demon scrubs with StainZaway and bleach, gets sick on the fumes, and the confrontation escalates until Demon, panicking and furious, bites Stoner’s hand.

Stoner retaliates by barricading Demon in his bedroom with free weights. Demon cries, pukes, and plots escape but has no viable plan. He is kept home at least a day, then allowed back to school but locked down at home, passing time with drawings and banging a bat while hearing his mother and Stoner argue.

Late one evening, Stoner opens Demon’s door, saying Mom wants to see him. Demon finds the kitchen littered and a gin bottle empty, then discovers his mother passed out on the bed with pill bottles nearby. After checking that she’s breathing and seeing the pills aren’t all gone, Demon orders Stoner to call 911, recognizing that their life as it was has just shattered.