Tight

Back in the apartment, Bryan’s feelings of peace and tranquility are shattered when he hears his parents arguing loudly in the next room. His father, who has been relatively calm and amicable since his parole, is now reverting back to his usual angry self, and Bryan’s mother is exasperated, saying that all he does is “fight,” whether in the streets or at home. She blames this pattern partly on the influence of his shady new friend, Alex. Pa retorts that all she does is criticize him, and he dares her to call his parole officer and get him thrown back in jail. Finally, he storms out of the apartment.

The next morning, when Bryan’s father still has not returned, Bryan tries to share his worries with Ava, who is still in bed, but she shouts at him to leave her alone. At breakfast, however, she opens up to him a little and admits that she was disturbed by their parents’ fight, too. She reassures Bryan that Pa will be fine and will soon come home. On his way to school, Bryan takes the route past the bodega corner and sees his father with some of his friends, looking “grungy” from his night away but otherwise fine. He nods to Bryan, hands him some money, and says that he is always “here” if Bryan needs anything. Bryan wants to tell his father that he needs him, not money, but he cannot find the words to express this. His father, too, looks as if he would like to say much more but cannot quite bring himself to do so.

At school, Bryan bumps into Mike in the hall, and they immediately pick up their running debate about the relative merits of their favorite superheroes. Then, instead of going to his classroom, Mike pushes open the door to the teachers’ parking lot and gestures for Bryan to follow. When Bryan protests, Mike claims that they won’t get caught and says he plays hooky all the time. Finally, Mike gives Bryan a ”disappointed look” and tells him to go to class.

After school, the two of them pass the bodega corner and see Bryan’s father hanging out with the “snake,” Alex, which gives Bryan a sinking feeling. In the video arcade by the bodega, Bryan demonstrates his skill at Ms. Pac-Man, beating Mike by over 2,000 points. But as he plays, Bryan catches Mike glaring at him with a weird “fake smile,” like the smarmy “Steve Harvey” smirk of his father’s disreputable friend Alex. After Mike leaves the arcade, another boy from their school, Big Will, comes in. Like Bryan, Big Will is in the sixth grade, but he is very muscular and mature-looking for his age. He praises Bryan’s skill at Ms. Pac-Man, and his admiration seems genuine, unlike Mike’s. Soon, Bryan’s father comes into the arcade and says he’s “going home.” This is unusual, so Bryan guesses that he wants to come in the door with Bryan so that Ma will let him in.

As usual, Pa does not speak to him as they walk together; he seems to be comfortable only talking to his friends. Bryan thinks again of Mike’s fake smile, which continues to nag at him, and tells himself that he will have to watch his new friend more closely. As they enter the apartment, his father exchanges a look with his mother and then disappears into the bedroom. Ma and Ava look at Bryan’s eyes, ask if he has been to the arcade, and laugh. They say that they can always tell when he has been playing arcade games because his eyes always look “kray” afterward, like his father’s. This statement disturbs Bryan because he knows it is true; he hates feeling “hyped” like his father gets sometimes.

Peace seems to have been restored to the household, and his family eats dinner without quarreling. Later, Mike appears below his window and shouts for him to come down, but Bryan lies to him, saying that he has chores to do. Enjoying the “chill” of his solitude and peace that evening, Bryan is proud that he chose not to go out with Mike.

The next day in school, Mike greets Bryan in a friendly way and shares candy with him. Warming to him again, Bryan asks him about cutting school, since he finds some of his classes boring, but he worries about getting caught. Mike shows him a note that he forged in his mother’s handwriting; the note excuses him from school for the day. He tells Bryan that he works extra hard to get good grades just so the adults in his life won’t suspect that he breaks the rules. Bryan finds both Mike’s dishonesty and his boasting to be troubling, and his wariness increases when he sees Mike bully a harmless boy only minutes later. Melanie, the girl he saw at the bodega, also witnesses this, and her look of disgust at them both embarrasses Bryan. He remembers thinking not long ago that Mike was the answer to his prayers for a brother. Now, he is not so sure.

The next Monday after school, Bryan and Mike bond again over a handball game, and Mike offers to show him something “fun.” Leading Bryan into the elevator of a random building in their projects, Mike takes him up to the roof, which Bryan finds exciting but scary, especially when Mike dangles his feet over the ledge. When Mike teases him for being “chicken,” Bryan finally does the same and feels almost paralyzed by the terrifying view. Without warning, Mike throws a small stone over the edge, then yells at him to duck out of sight, calling him “stupid.” The stone causes a car to swerve, and Bryan is shocked and angry. However, he hides his feelings and continues to follow Mike, who has a careful routine for getting out of the building without getting caught. Back at home, Bryan’s mother notices his mood and asks if he wants to talk, but he demurs, not wanting to cause her any stress, since she seems so happy about his new friendship. He does hint to Ava about his feelings, but she mocks him and calls him “soft” for questioning Mike’s coolness. He thinks to himself that she may be right, that Mike’s shady behavior is just normal “guy fun.”

In the early hours of the morning, Bryan’s family receives the news that Pa has been arrested for fighting again, this time for coming to the defense of his shady friend, Alex, who provoked some strangers in a passing car. Since Pa is on probation, this means that he will return to jail. Bryan goes back to bed but cannot sleep. Crying, and terrified for his father, he wishes that he were “unbreakable,” like the superhero Luke Cage. He tells himself that Mike was “smart” to choose Luke Cage’s super-strength as the best power to have.

The next day in school, Bryan is both exhausted and full of nervous energy. Everything seems “dead” to him, and he wishes that someone would try to pick on him so he could release his stress and anger in a fight. Meeting up with Mike after school, Bryan ignores the other boy’s questions about his father’s arrest and demands that they go up on the roof as before. He cannot “think straight,” and Mike says he looks “wild,” like his father. On the roof, Bryan wants to throw gravel at a passing car, but before he can do so, someone on the street spots them, and Mike yanks him away from the edge. Mike, angry that Bryan was slow to duck out of sight, calls him “crazy.” Bryan says he is “hyped up” about his father’s arrest and wanted the “release” of throwing a rock. Mike agrees that it is a great feeling, like “getting back at the world,” (68) but counters that getting arrested would ruin the fun of it.

Once they are off the roof, Mike tells Bryan that his own father has been in and out of jail, too, but he refuses to provide any details; the way he “shuts down” when asked strikes Bryan as “weird.” As they pass the bodega corner, his father’s friends greet Bryan and remark on his resemblance to his father, calling him Pa’s “mini-me.” Now, with his father in jail, Bryan feels almost proud that his eyes sometimes get his father’s “hyped” stare, because it makes him feel strong and powerful, like he can “handle anything.” Back at home, Mike suggests cutting class together, and with his coaching, Bryan practices forging his mother’s handwriting. That night, Bryan has trouble sleeping again and tries to manage his many conflicting feelings, which include both pride and guilt at copying his mother’s handwriting so well.