How It All Goes Down
- Daniel is prepping for a college interview at Yale, which his mother calls Second-Best School.
- He's also trying to write a poem about heartbreak, even though he's never had his heart broken.
- He's expecting his mom to lecture him about taking his grades seriously, but instead she says, "Don't be like your brother" (28).
- The aforementioned brother walks into the kitchen at that exact moment. Bad timing.
- Daniel feels bad for Charlie, who's been working at their parents' black hair care supply store, called "Black Hair Care." Such creativity.
- Charlie downs a glass of tap water to spite his mom and leaves for work.
- Daniel's mom asks him what happened to Charlie. She thinks America made them soft, and Daniel points out they were born in America.
- Mom tells Daniel to get his haircut before his college interview, and gives him deposit slips to bring to his dad.
- Daniel goes upstairs and stops to admire his mom's paintings. Daniel's dad got her painting supplies for her birthday because he remembered she used to be really good—something neither of her children knew.
- Daniel gets dressed, tells Mom he'll get a haircut, and heads out the door.
- It's his last day of freedom before his future starts speeding toward Doctor Daniel Jae Ho Bae station, and he's going to do whatever he wants.