One of the ILLC houseparents, Louie, severely mistreats Pierre, and Ricky finds out from Jimmie. Louie gave orders to Pierre, who refused, so Louie yelled and dragged him by the arm to the time out room. Ricky is upset and concerned for Pierre, so he goes up to visit him. Pierre is silent in the cold room. Ricky covers him with his jacket, and they sit in silence for “about an hour” (133). Later, Ricky tells Joanne everything while they are in bed together. Ricky didn’t want to leave Pierre unwatched, but only Jerry—who Ricky says is irresponsible and “leaves a trail of slime behind him when he walks” (137)—was on duty, so Ricky spoke with the nurse to keep an eye on Pierre. Joanne is listening while tenderly caressing Ricky, and they begin to grow more intimate.

Jimmie is tired and overworked. The ILLC is already short-staffed, but when another houseparent calls out sick, Jimmie sometimes has to perform the duties of more than one employee. When she gets home, she is physically in pain from the workday. She is disgruntled and feels exploited and wishes they’d hire more houseparents.

Jimmie thinks Yessenia is lying to her after an incident regarding another patient.