Later that evening, dad comes in to Danny’s room to ask him if it’s true that he was at the hospital in the same room as Andy. Danny thinks about lying but says that he has to come clean about it.
Dad is absolutely furious when he learns that Danny and Sarah have been hanging out together. He asks him how he thinks mum would feel if she ran into her. Danny, trying to be smart, tells dad that that was a poor choice of words. Danny’s father is getting angrier and angrier.
Danny, getting angry himself says that he is sick of Andy and says he wishes to would just get it over with and die, at which point, his dad slaps him across the face. Both Danny and his father are stunned by what has happened and when his dad leaves the room, he says he doesn’t want to live in his house anymore.
Later that night, Sarah calls to Danny’s house, much to the annoyance of dad, who tells Sarah that she is not welcome in the house. He is quite rude to her but explains that it is not a good idea for her and Danny to be friends.
Danny’s evening gets worse when he sees Sarah talking with Luke and eventually getting on his bike with him. This is the last straw for Danny who says he feels a knot of jealousy in his stomach. He makes a plan to run away. He waits until everyone is in bed and sneaks out and heads off on his bike, adamant that he’s never coming back.
Questions:
- Why had the police been to Danny’s house?
- Why was his father surprised when Danny mentioned Sarah?
- How did he react when he heard Sarah had come to their house?
- Why did he slap Danny in the face?
- Why did Sarah call to the house that night? What did Danny see from his bedroom window?
- Why do you think he decided to run away?
- What did he bring with him?
Activity:
Imagine you are Danny, write a letter to Pete, explaining why you ran away and filling him in on what has happened and what your plans are for the future.
Enda's English Notes 