Surviving the Applewhites

A week later, Jake stands in the bathroom of Wisteria Cottage. He looks in the mirror as he styles his hair with gel and realizes he’s getting tired of doing this every day. Destiny is the only one in the Applewhite family who is fascinated by his hair, and even tried to copy it with wheat paste, which took hours to get out of his hair. Then Destiny experimented with painting his hair green and rainbow-colored. Jake reflects that his own hair is getting too long and finds his black clothes too hot in the summer heat—he doesn’t feel like himself anymore. At Wit’s End, he can’t even unwind like he used to, watching TV or smoking. He went to the meadow a few days ago with one of his last cigarettes but instead found himself stuck in the mud. By the time he got unstuck, he had two ticks in the back of his neck. He reflects that “the ordeal had wrecked the whole idea of sneaking off for a relaxing smoke” (72). To top it off, Winston, the dog, is always by his side, snoring and drooling on his pillow. Jake wishes for some space.