Skinnybones

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying. 

Alex wonders why he still plays baseball. He dislikes the uniforms, he’s bad at throwing, and he hates right field. He decides that he persists with baseball for the caps, as baseball caps always make someone look like a real ballplayer. Alex recalls when he put a baseball cap on his grandmother to test this theory and she ripped the cap off immediately. That’s when Alex noticed that she had a bald spot, but she was not happy when he pointed this out. Alex still doesn’t understand her anger, as his barber gives him bald spots all the time. Alex’s barber, Mr. Peoples, once made Alex completely bald. Alex could tell that Mr. Peoples was already in a bad mood when he walked in, and his attempts to cheer Mr. Peoples up only resulted in further annoyance. 

Alex commented on Mr. Peoples’s bad mood, worried that he would get a bad haircut, and this comment only depleted the barber’s patience. During the haircut, Mr. Peoples was more aggressive with the clippers. He slipped and left a huge bald patch above Alex’s ear, and to even it out, he shaved Alex’s entire head.