How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I told Mam I tripped over a curb trying to get home before dark. I didn't like to Mam very often because I knew she would catch me quicker than most grown-ups. (3.124)
Victor doesn't want to tell anyone about how he passed out from trying to talk to Mr. Spiro—not even Mam. He has enough people in his life hovering over him without bringing in another cause for concern.
Quote #2
Mam usually let me finish my sentences no matter how long it took me, but she was ready to get on to me but good.
You know you're not supposed to be hanging 'round that man.
s-s-s-s-I ran in-s-s-s-s-to him in s-s-s-s-alley and -
Don't you be running into him. You hear me? You best be running the other way. (4.20-23)
Yikes. How is Victor ever going to tell Mam that Ara T took his knife? She'll obviously be pretty ticked off when she finds out, especially since he's promised her a thousand times over that he won't go anywhere near the junkman.
Quote #3
The first thing Mam would do if anything went missing in the neighborhood was to say she was going to check out Ara T and his junk cart. The reason I have my new Schwinn Black Phantom is because my old one with the big shiny headlight on the handlebars was stolen one night when I forgot to roll it in the garage. A while later Ara T showed up with a pushcart with new wheels on it. (4.27)
It's pretty obvious that Mam doesn't trust Ara T at all. Whenever something is stolen or lost, she just assumes he's the culprit—and a lot of the time, she's right. Even Victor's fallen victim to Ara T's thieving ways in the past.