61 pages • 2 hours read
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Mia’s narrative begins as she awakens to one of the night workers, Jerry, sexually molesting her. Jerry mounts her and touches her, stuffing her mouth with a towel so she can’t cry out. She pleads for him to stop, but he doesn’t pay attention to her. When he is finished, he tells her not to tell anyone, and out of fear, she obeys. The next day, Jimmie helps her clean up for the day. There is vomit and blood, and Jimmie kindly offers assistance and asks if Mia is on her period. Mia doesn’t tell Jimmie what happened, although she mentions that she likes Jimmie, even though she is new there. Later that night, Jerry returns, and Mia feels petrified. She has to endure another night of sexual molestation, and the next day, she feels ashamed, sick, and isolated. She leaves the table.
Mrs. Phoebe—the program director—assigns Joanne to backlogging 10 years worth of data for the patients at ILLC. It’s grueling and disorganized work, but Joanne is efficient and professional. She mentions how comfortable her wheelchair is and how much capabilities it has—something the children at ILLC do not have. She takes a break to use the restroom but comments how there are “no accessible stalls” for employees (65).
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