Summary

In Chapter 5 of King and the Dragonflies, King thinks deeply about his parents’ reaction to Sandy going missing, thinking that his father would not have expressed such regret if he had known Sandy was gay. King’s father, after all, believes being gay is “something that should fill a man with shame” (56). At school the next day, King sees that Jasmine has been crying over Sandy’s absence, while rumors run rampant throughout the school about whether he was kidnapped or ran away. An impromptu search party begins after school, with King and his friends joining in – even Darrell and Camille, who had mocked Sandy earlier – though King carries the guilt of knowing he was probably the last to see Sandy. Leading the search is Sandy’s father, Sheriff Sanders, who expresses his worry at his son’s absence and is emotional in front...