Paperboy

Victor goes on his paper route and thinks about the birth certificate he found. On Friday, Victor and his father plan to see a movie, but his father arrives late, saying that he was stuck in a meeting at work. On the way home, Victor asks if boys always look like their fathers, and his father drops him off at his paper route. On the route, he sees Big Sack and Ara T. Arriving at Mr. Spiro’s house, Victor pulls out a sheet of questions to talk to him about that he’d prepared. Mr. Spiro explains that many adults don’t treat Victor as human because they’re uncomfortable with themselves. Mr. Spiro invites Victor inside, and Victor goes, despite it being against the newspaper’s regulations. Inside, Victor discovers a room stacked from floor to ceiling with books. Mr. Spiro and Victor converse about literature, philosophy, and reading for a while, until Victor admits that he’s written a poem before. Victor reflects that he usually harms himself to attempt to stop himself from stuttering, but he doesn’t want to do that anymore. Unable to recite it for Mr. Spiro due to his stutter, Victor types it out, and the two of them recite it together.