Jenny Luu Professor Gleason
English 103
May 29, 2013
Extra Credit-Their dogs came with them
“One hour. Ben never went shopping by himself. As his father had slipped out the five-dollar bill from the wrinkled lips of his wallet, Ben wanted to confess his inexperience”(99). Ben is a child his mother has abandoned his dad, sister, and him. He seems to be suffering from severe anxiety. His dad gives him 5 bucks to buy new shoes and leaves him at the store. He orders Ben to buy shoes on his own because he's old enough (11) and he will be back in 1 hour. Ben wanders around and even hides in the restroom, he sums up the courage to ask for the shoe department where he meets a little boy (4) the boy holds his hand and they both run off together. They run outside and go the opposite direction of Bens dads car. The kid falls, Ben carries him into the street still running, and a cement truck hits them. Ben’s leg is damaged for life and has severe migraines.
A butcher saw the accident but thought Ben was trying to rescue the little kid, he told a reporter who put it in the newspaper that Ben was a hero, truthfully, the boy died and it was Bens fault. He hallucinates seeing Renata Valenzuela visiting him (a girl from his school that has been missing) while in the hospital and learns about anatomy from books.
Ben returns to his apartment from the church. He writes a story about the homeless woman and seems to intertwine his mom leaving with the fictional life of the homeless
