Plot Overview The protagonist, Alfred Brooks is hanging out with his best friend, James, and James's friends Major and Hollis. The three of them want to break into the Epsteins' grocery store where Alfred works. Although Alfred does not go with them, he forgets about the new alarm system that the Epsteins just installed. James gets caught by the police, and later that night, Major and Hollis beat Alfred up. A man from the neighborhood, …showed first 75 words of 1516 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1516 total…that James has tried to break into the Epsteins' store again. Aunt Pearl tells him that the police are looking for James and will probably find him, because James cut himself and was bleeding badly. Alfred finds James in their old hideout in Central Park and convinces James to go to the hospital. He assures James that together, they will beat his drug addiction, find him a job, and help him get back on track.