1. How did Abel respond when the author told him what happened under the mulberry tree?
(a) He hunted down the boys who beat the author and he beat up their ring leader.
(b) He laughed at the author.
(c) He bought the author a new toy to cheer him up.
(d) He told the author to go defend himself.

2. What happened when the author tried to show his friend how to burn his name into pieces of wood?
(a) The author and his friend started a moderately successful wood furnishing business.
(b) They accidentally burned down the author's friend's house.
(c) They wrote their names in the side of the house and got in trouble.
(d) His friend wrote a bad word and blamed it on the author.

3. Why did the police officer help the author secure legal counsel?
(a) The officer did it by mistake.
(b) The officer would get a kickback for giving the lawyer a client.
(c) The officer did it because it was the right thing to do.
(d) The officer did it because it was his legal duty.

4. How did poverty make it harder for the author to dress attractively during grade 9?
(a) He had plenty of money but he did not want to make his poorer classmates jealous so he wore cheap clothes to make them feel better.
(b) His mother bought him extra-baggy clothing so he would not outgrow it too quickly.
(c) The school had special, unsightly uniforms for children who could not afford their own.
(d) At the time, you needed to pay for a special license to wear nice clothes in South Africa.

5. How does the author explain his remark that he and his mother "weren't just mother and son" (70)?
(a) "We were a team."
(b) "We never got along at all."
(c) "She was like my boss."
(d) "I was like her savior."