Tears of a Tiger Chapter 34 Summary

Private Pain

  • Andy's mom asks him how the talent show was, but he says not sure why she cares, since she never cares about anything in his life.
  • His mom is a little hurt. Why would he say that?
  • Andy says sorry. He just got in a fight with Keisha and is on edge, but his mom tells him she hopes things work out—she's noticed Keisha has been really supportive over the past few months.
  • Yep, and now he's lost her. Life is just perfect.
  • Andy's mom tells him to stop dwelling on the "unfortunate incident" (read: car accident) and get on with his life.
  • That's it—Andy snaps. Why does she call it that? Why doesn't she get that it changed his life?
  • Andy's mom says she didn't mean to get him upset. She calls it that because it's a sad thing and she doesn't want to deal with the pain.
  • They talk about when they used to go on vacation in South Carolina—one time Andy's mom even went swimming and messed up her hair. This is the only time she didn't look perfect, Andy points out.
  • He tells her about playing with a young boy up there and sneaking out of the cabin to go swimming.
  • One night, he was under water and couldn't see; he tried to scream, but his lungs filled with water instead of air. The kid saved him from drowning and made him promise not to tell anyone.
  • Andy says this is how he feels now: He can't breathe and he's not sure which way is up.
  • His mom says that it will get better with time. He survived almost drowning as a kid, and he'll survive this, too. Her headache is getting worse so she says goodnight.
  • Andy's not so sure he will survive this.