Summary

In “Fireman’s Ball, 1981,” Rachel has been treated badly since the town discovered she betrayed Laverna the year before. She refuses to dissect a fetal pig in biology class, but when she opens her locker after class, she discovers the other girls have dumped fetal pigs and formaldehyde all over her purse. As she walks down the hall, the other girls scream, “Murderer!” and “Slut!” at her and throw pig hearts in her hair (171). She is still determined to go dancing that night. She rides the bus home, studying her SAT words all the while. After Laverna had kicked her out, Rachel showed up at her father Frank’s trailer. He left for the woods soon after, leaving Rachel there alone. Black Mabel delivers Rachel’s allowance each week; she has “some sort of arrangement with her” (173). In the trailer, Rachel tries to...