Virgil in Seedfolks

Virgil

The Virgil rundown:

• He hails from Haiti.
• He just finished fifth grade.
• His dad drives a taxi in Cleveland and wants to grow lettuce in the community garden.

Oh, and the big one:

• This kid sure doesn't want to work during his summer break.

The way Virgil figures, summer is a time for relaxing--not lettuce-growing. But even so, Virgil gets up early and helps out his dad. Yep, this kid may be young, but he sure is loyal to his father. Check out how Virgil talks about taking care of the new plants:

That lettuce was like having a new baby in the family. And I was like its mother. I watered it in the morning if my father was still out driving. (7.15)

Now that's some dedication. Virgil's still a kid, but here he acts like a parent. And over the course of his story, he goes from reluctant young'un to hard-working son.