Silver Sparrow

Dana Lynn makes friends with a bald-headed girl named Ronalda Harris, whom she finds to be “fascinating” but Marcus finds to be “weird.” Ronalda is Marcus’s neighbor, and she sometimes comes to his parties and keeps Dana Lynn company.

One time, Dana Lynn goes to Ronalda’s house to tutor her. Ronalda recently moved to a new school with a much more advanced curriculum than the one she is used to. After studying, the girls get drunk off wine coolers in Ronalda’s furnished basement. For a moment, Dana Lynn is startled by a pornographic photo of an African American woman on the wall that says “Think About It” at the bottom. It makes her think about what type of woman James might hang up in his home. Ronalda and Dana Lynn then go on to talk about their mothers and their boyfriends. Dana Lynn reveals that her father has another family, and in response Ronalda reveals that she was abandoned by her mother. They agree to keep each other’s secrets. 

Gwen eventually gives up giftwrapping and gets a job as a nurse. The job has many benefits, such as providing health insurance and giving Gwen daily access to doctors. Gwen plies the doctors for information about how they raise their children and makes notes on her break, hoping to raise Dana Lynn as if she were a doctor’s child. The job often requires odd hours, though, and in those odd hours Dana Lynn sneaks off with Marcus. One night while Dana Lynn is at home waiting for Marcus, a drunk James and Raleigh show up. James tells Dana Lynn they need to talk, saying he does not care for her promiscuous outfit or makeup. He reaches for her, and she flinches, something she also does when Marcus touches her. James then accuses of her being afraid of him, but she insists she feels no fear. Raleigh tries to calm James, all the while focusing on his photography hobby and taking photos of them as well. James tells him to stop and starts asking who Dana Lynn’s boyfriend is, and though she at first resists, she ends up revealing his name. James and Raleigh immediately realize that Dana is dating a known “pervert” and “loser” (95).

Marcus pulls up in the driveway and starts honking for Dana Lynn to come out. Although Dana Lynn knows that Marcus is bad news, having previously slapped her and embarrassed her, she tells James he is “a nice guy” (96). She turns to leave despite James’s insistence that she stay put and that he is going to “kill” Marcus. Dana Lynn challenges this threat by pointing out that injuring Marcus would expose his affair with Gwen. James realizes Dana Lynn is right and remains inside while she defiantly leaves with Marcus. 

Marcus gives his class ring to another girl, which upsets Dana Lynn, but she decides to “wait him out” (97). She confronts him in the school parking lot, where he smooth-talks her and said it’s nothing to worry about. Afterwards, Dana Lynn goes over to Ronalda’s, and Ronalda smokes a joint with her while trying to talk her out of pursuing Marcus.

When Dana Lynn gets back home, James and Gwen are waiting for her on the couch. Gwen asks her where she was, if she was smoking marijuana, and if she is dating a “delinquent.” They also demand to see what is in her paper bag. She tells them to trust her and says James should leave her alone. When they refuse to stop prodding, she dumps the contents of the paper bag onto the floor, revealing candy Ronalda gave her. She then tells James he should pay attention to Chaurisse, not her, because Chaurisse looks like “a streetwalker” (105). Gwen responds to this by sending Dana Lynn to her room and James home.

Later on, Gwen approaches Dana Lynn and asks her to be truthful about Marcus. Dana Lynn lies to her, saying he is “good” to her and that he had “never raised a hand” to her (107). Gwen sees through the lies and says so, telling Dana Lynn she deserves better. She threatens to report Marcus to the police if Dana Lynn is ever caught seeing him again.