Arleen and her sons settle into the downstairs apartment she rented from Sherrena in the dilapidated house on Thirteenth Street. The previous tenants left some furniture and a refrigerator behind, and she uses paint found in the basement to repaint the interior. Jori, her oldest son, makes new friends, but Jafaris, who has asthma, displays behavioral and learning issues. Still, they make the best of it and even get a cat, Little, who the boys love to watch kill mice.

Arleen has six kids with three different men, but only the two youngest live with her. She never graduated high school and has been relegated to off-and-on employment before getting on welfare. When she was younger, she briefly lived in public housing, which means her rent was only 30% of her income, but she moved out and now almost all her money is spent on rent. To return to public housing now, however, would require years on a waiting list and paying financial penalties to the Housing Authority. Plus, she now has evictions on her record, which would count against her application.

Although the upstairs apartment was empty when they moved in, a new tenant, Trisha, soon arrives.