1. Chapter 3

2. Who is Patty? How does she behave when Rusty James comes to visit her? Why is Patty crying? What does Rusty James know about Patty’s feelings for him? Why did Patty fight Judy McGee? How does Rusty James feel about fighting? Describe. How does Smokey feel about fights? Who is the number one tough cat in the neighborhood? Who is number two? What do you think Rusty James means by saying that “a gang really meant something back then”? What did Rusty James learn from Motorcycle Boy in terms of fights? How does Rusty James feel during a fight? Why does Rusty James say “I hate fighting hopped-up people”? Explain. How does Rusty James feel about drugs? How often was Rusty James in a fight? When was the last time that he lost a fight? What did Biff use during the fight? Why? Why did that make Rusty James angry? How does Rusty James fight? What does Rusty James mean at the end of the fight by “the red tinge… went away”? Who is the person who appears all of a sudden at the end of the fight? What happens as a result of this interruption? Who controls and almost wins the fight? How does the fight end: who wins?

3. Why does Rusty James say about the Motorcycle Boy on page 28 that he is like a shadow? Rusty James says about Steve that he is a good kid “even if he reads too much”. What does he mean by this? Why is Rusty James’ brother called the Motorcycle Boy? Where was the Motorcycle Boy for the last 2 weeks? What does the Motorcycle Boy mean by “kid, I never got past the river”? Why do you think Rusty James cannot understand what the Motorcycle Boy says, even if he wants to? What did the Motorcycle Boy do about Rusty James’ cut? On page 33 the Motorcycle Boy is presented as absent minded, not paying attention to things around him and he is compared to a two-way mirror. What does this mean? Why does the Motorcycle Boy go deaf sometimes? Why did he get expelled from school? What does it mean when the Motorcycle Boy tells Rusty James “since when do you expect anything to be fair?” Explain. How old is Motorcycle Boy? How old does he look? What is the difference between the two brothers? What was the only thing that Rusty James was afraid of? What is one thing that Motorcycle Boy likes to do, but Rusty James does not? What does it mean “homesick”? Do you think that this is the real reason why the Motorcycle Boy came back? Explain. Who are the people that Rusty James likes a lot? Who are the people that Rusty James can count on? What does Rusty James want the most in his life?