Chapter Three

The theme of chapter three is fitting in. Here are five quotes that support this theme:

"But Justin and I were the only two who actually went all the way across town to attend a predominantly white private school." (Moore 49)

This entire section is about Wes trying and failing to fit in, both with his Riverdale friends and his neighborhood friends. This shows one big reason that he doesn't fit in with his neighborhood friends: he goes to Riverdale.

"For my friends, I decided to juice the story up a little. Or a lot." (Moore 50)

This quote is in reference to a story Wes told to his neighborhood friends about his suspension from Riverdale. He was desperately trying to fit in with them by sounding tough, when in reality he was suspended for a play fight resulting in a small cut.

"We tried to keep a bop in our step, tried to keep it cool," (Moore 52)

This is Wes walking home with Justin. They are rushing home because they are terrified of the crime that comes out after dark. However, even with this motive, they try hard to fit in by playing it cool.

"I would rotate their order, mixing and matching so that each day I had on a fresh combination." (Moore 52)

Here, Moore is referring to his clothes. This time, he is trying to impress his Riverdale friends by using a pattern to make it seem as if he has a lot of clothes, wanting to appear rich.

"I was becoming too 'rich' for the kids from the neighborhood and too 'poor' for the kids at school." (Moore 53)

This quote is a perfect summary of the whole section. He was spending all of his time trying to fit in with two polar opposites, and he ended up fitting in no where. To close out this section, Moore describes how his dedication to fitting in eventually led to a derailment of his life, such as letting his grades slip.