As Daniel says in Chapter 3 of the text, “some numbers are good, and some are not” (29). The number nine is awful for Daniel, and he cannot even bear to write it down. This means that math is a difficult subject for him. Numbers are also a central aspect of his nighttime routine. He has to brush his teeth, take steps to the toilet, wash his hands, and flick his light switch on and off a certain number of times according to “good numbers,” or multiples of five. If he gets these numbers “wrong,” he feels intense anxiety and must repeat the routine from the beginning.

Numbers relating to football serve a positive role later in the book. Football is dominated by numbers in the following ways: the overall score is made of numbers that indicate who has won or lost; each player is identified by a unique number; and there are multiple references to the “15,” “25,” or “35” yard kicks that Daniel must attempt—which is beneficial to Daniel because his “good numbers” are multiples of five. This suggests that a fixation with numbers can potentially be redirected into less harmful games and sports. It is also telling that as Daniel starts to accept his condition, numbers come to feature less prominently in his consciousness.