Lolly is hanging out in Vega’s room, listening to him play his violin. It has been a long time since Lolly has seen Vega; he practically forces his way in. Vega is extremely quiet, which is unlike him. He seems “lonely and dejected” (231).

Lolly tells Vega about Mr. Tuttle’s offer. Vega smiles weakly and asks Lolly to keep a secret: In a shoebox under his bed is a Glock pistol. Lolly pieces together why Vega has been so different since they were mugged. Vega got the Glock from Frito, and he intends to get his revenge on Harp and Gully with it. Lolly feels like the Glock is infecting him. The rock in his chest that had been fading is awake again. Vega tells Lolly that if they hit Harp and Gully, Frito and his crew will protect them. He thinks it will be easy.

Lolly tells Vega that Jermaine’s death was his fault. Just before Jermaine was killed, they didn’t speak for a whole week after a big argument. For days, Jermaine tried to get Lolly to join his crew, to do small things like run packages, but Lolly didn’t want to because he was worried about what his mom would think.