Chapter 127 Summary

Christopher goes home after school and retires to the living room to watch videos about deep-sea creatures that live at tremendous depths along the venting chimneys of volcanoes. He overlooks the fact that he left his novel on the kitchen table. When he returns home, Father greets his son with a friendly, “Howdy partner,” and then returns quite upset after he finds the novel in the kitchen. He confronts Christopher, who affirms that Mrs. Alexander told him the things he wrote about. His father is angry and a scuffle ensues. Because Christopher cannot stand to be touched, he hits his father when his father grabs him.

In reflection, Christopher recalls that his mother had a quicker temper than Father and that she would sometimes hit him when she was angry. This is the first time Father has ever grabbed him like this, though...