Elliot wonders how the reader feels about him at this point in the story. He warns that the story will get stranger and that, in the end, the reader may not like him. He says that what comes next is hard to read about and is worse than what has happened so far. Before he continues, he wants to tell the reader about his childhood so that he might be better understood.

Like the writer Christopher Isherwood, Elliot decides to write about his younger self in the third person because it allows distance and perspective. He refers to himself as “the kid.”

The kid’s childhood is lonely—his parents are abusive and addicted to alcohol. He is bullied at school and otherwise ignored. The high point of his adolescence is his first time in a play. The kid basks in the applause but sees his bullies in the crowd and knows he will pay for being happy. The next day, they force him to drink rotten milk. Now, Elliot is angry thinking about it, especially in light of the fact that he was trained by his parents to take the abuse.

The kid begins going to the movies and skipping school.