Alabama Moon

On the way to Mr. Gene’s office, Moon offers to sleep outside instead of Hal, but Mr. Carter says no. Moon tells Mr. Gene he wants to be on his way to Alaska and Mr. Gene explains that Moon will not be able to leave unless a relative can be found. He has Pap’s metal box, which prompts Moon to ask about his other possessions. Mr. Gene says Moon’s things are safe and his rifle is with the Livingston police, but he does not know about the wheelbarrow or clothes. He says Moon will be at Pinson until he is 14. He will then go to Hellenweiler, the “facility for older teenagers” (73). Mr. Gene says Moon can go with a foster family or relative if one exists, but that otherwise he will be “the property of the state” (73). Moon’s stomach hurts from overeating so he does not respond except to say, “Yessir.” Back in his bunk, Moon sees Hal glaring at him from outside, but Moon cares only about his missing possessions.

The boys and Kit return for bed. Kit says Hal promised to beat Moon. Moon does not care and is confident he can beat anyone three times his size. Kit and the other boys ask questions about living in the forest and Moon is happy to reply.

In the morning, Kit explains they must shower and dress. Moon is thrilled with the hot breakfast but tells Kit he plans to escape. Kit is enamored with all Moon’s descriptions of food and survival in the forest, and Moon offhandedly tells Kit he should come along on his escape. Moon sees Kit get medicine at breakfast, but Kit says he will not need it for much longer. After breakfast Mrs. Broomstead, the kitchen lady and cook, cuts Moon’s hair. While he sits for his haircut, Moon sees a delivery man get into the back door of the kitchen and knows that it will be a part of his plan to get out.

Mrs. Crutcher, the teacher for Moon’s age group, does not know who Moon is initially, but recognizes him once Kit explains. She asks Moon what he knows, and Moon explains that he can read and write, but cannot do more than add and subtract in math. Mrs. Crutcher asks him to read aloud, which he does. As soon as school lets out for the day, Moon sees Hal coming for him across the schoolyard. Hal approaches, says nothing, and swings. Moon ducks the swing and hits Hal in the crotch. Hal crumples onto the ground. Mr. Carter arrives and tells Hal he will sleep outside again.

Moon and Kit play Ping-Pong in the rec room a while, but Moon begins to feel anxious and trapped. He returns to his bunk to look out the window. He tells Kit more about living in the forest without “anybody tellin’ you what to do” (88). He tells Kit all about the sounds and images of the forest. Kit listens with rapt attention. Moon decides to take Hal his blanket and pillow, intending to trade places for the night. Moon explains that he does not feel well and that sleeping on the ground might make him feel better. Hal does not argue and runs inside. In the morning, Moon is up at dawn, and they switch back. At breakfast, Kit tells Moon the boys want Moon to be “president” of Pinson. Moon asks who the president is, and Kit says it is Hal. Moon says he is escaping that night and does not want to be president. Kit asks if he can still come and Moon says yes, telling Kit, “You’re the one that’s gonna let us out of here” (93).

In the school yard at lunch break, Moon and Kit get Hal alone. Moon tells Hal he is “bustin’ out” and needs Hal’s help. Hal argues that Kit can’t escape because he needs medicine, but Kit tells Hal to worry about himself. Moon asks if Hal can drive, and Hal says he used to drive his father’s truck “just around the clay pit” (95). That’s good enough for Moon. They plan to leave that night.

After dark, Moon detaches a flat fastener of metal from the rec room Ping-Pong table to use as a tool. He goes back to the bunk room to tell Kit and Hal to get dressed. Outside, Moon tells them they will use a piece of the sheet tin on the roof of the school trailer to make a bridge from the roof to the fence. Moon will detach the tin with the fastener, using it like a screwdriver, and move the sheet into place; then Kit will shimmy across it and over the fence. Kit will use the kitchen delivery door to get in, and Hal and Moon will break through the kitchen door to meet him. Then Hal will drive them away in whatever vehicle has keys. Hal is doubtful but willing to try. Kit is excited: “I’m ready, Moon” (97).

It takes a long time to remove all the screws, but finally Moon pulls a piece of sheet loose. He and Kit try to drop it quietly onto the fence, but a loud clanging noise rocks the silence. Moon tells Kit to flatten himself onto the roof. Mr. Gene wakes and turns a light on but does not come outside. Eventually he turns the light off. Kit crosses the sheet tin and jumps down. Back inside, Moon uses a shower rod through the dish return slot in the wire mesh of the kitchen “cage” to get the kitchen door open. They open the door to the back room, and Kit is there. Hal is surprised: “I can’t believe it […] We’re just gonna walk out of here” (100). Moon tells Hal to find a vehicle. Hal comes back with the bus, saying it was the only one with keys in it. Since everyone can fit on the bus, Moon decides to offer a way out to all the other boys. Hal and Kit think they should just flee while they can, but Moon thinks it “doesn’t seem fair” (103) to do so.

All the boys at Pinson board the bus with pillows and blankets. They are excited to live in the forest and dress, eat, and behave however they want thanks to Moon’s descriptions. Soon, the excitement wears off and they go to sleep. Hal drives over an hour into Talladega National Forest. Moon hangs out the door of the moving bus to sharpen the fastener from the Ping-Pong table into a knife by holding it against the asphalt. Hal points out it would have been easier to take one from the kitchen. Once they arrive, the younger boys are weepy, fearful, and cold. Moon invites them to come along but tells them they cannot cry. Or, he says, they can stay where they parked the bus, and “the law” will find them on the bus. All the boys stay except for Hal and Kit. Hal wants food, but Moon says they must hike awhile first.

Moon convinces Hal to climb a fire tower to look for authorities arriving while he and Kit go gather food. Moon soon finds a pond and wades in naked through the cold water to collect cattail roots. Back at the fire tower, the three eat the roots. Moon wants to “see the law” (111) arrive at the bus before they take off again. He tells Kit and Hal to nap while he goes up the tower to keep watch.

Close to eight in the morning, Moon sees a green truck and brown-uniformed man arrive at the school bus. Moon wakes Kit and Hal and moves the three of them out. They cross through some easy walking places and a thorny thicket. Then they hear a dog barking. Moon guesses it is following their scent. Hal goes up a tree and Moon tells Kit to go up a tree as well; he, Moon, will stand and fight the dog.

The dog turns out to be a friendly bloodhound who only wants to lick and play. The dog’s tag reads “Snapper. Davy Sanders. 34 Big Pine Road. Gainesville, Alabama” (117). He tells the others how mean and crazy Sanders is, and says it is no wonder that the dog wants to stay with them. They continue hiking. Snapper especially likes Hal, who could do without Snapper’s attention and slobber. They happen upon a hickory tree and eat nuts from the ground. Moon thinks they can rest a while, but they hear Sanders yelling and a gunshot. He curses Snapper and Moon, then threatens that he will return with another dog. Moon says he is going to “whip” Sanders, but Kit and Hal says he should not. They continue with Snapper.