Summary

Chapter 5

Sia and Carol settle into a routine. They go to the soup kitchen for breakfast and supper each day. They collect soda cans to sell at the recycling center. One day they go into a public restroom where Carol urges Sia to use paper towels to wash herself. Carol says they’ll have more luck picking up odd jobs if they’re cleaner. Sia is immediately on guard, worried that the work Carol has in mind is something like Bill suggested but Carol assures her it’s nothing like that. Sia tries to comb her hair into order but finds it’s too tangled. She dunks her head under a faucet and uses hand soap as shampoo. She’s just finished when a woman and two small girls enter. The woman is horrified and ushers the girls out, saying they’ll go...