Ed's Doughnut House serves as a crucial liminal space that exists at the intersection of innocence and corruption, functioning as both sanctuary and site of tragedy within the novel's geography of institutional failure.

As a commercial establishment run by Asian immigrants who only understand limited English, the doughnut shop represents a space outside Seabrook's direct control. However, it becomes contaminated by the school's toxic dynamics when Carl and Barry use it as a base for their drug operations and subject the employees to racist abuse.

The shop's association with childhood pleasure—doughnuts as treats, the innocent competition between Skippy and Ruprecht—makes it a particularly poignant location for...