- When Matt wakes up, the day is already a downer thanks to Attean. Matt wracks his brain trying to think of a way to teach him the alphabet.
- He remembers an old religious primer (called The New England Primer) his mom used on him that he totally hated.
- Then he thinks of his sister's primer book, with letters representing objects, and he starts looking around for objects to represent letters for Attean.
- Attean shows up with a rabbit, and Matt sits next to him in a stool. Attean is super unhappy to be here, and Matt can tell he does not like having a white kid so close to him.
- Attean smells pretty awful himself with mosquito-repellent grease all over him.
- Matt teaches the first letter: "A. A for arm." Then he picks up Robinson Crusoe and asks Attean to find the letter A. Attean does, so Matt asks him to find another, but Attean has had it.
- "White man's book foolish," he says, "Write arm, arm, arm all over paper" (7.15).
- Oops—Attean thinks all As re for arm. Matt tries to re-explain.
- Attean asks him how long it's going to take for him to learn to read, and when he hears that it could be as long as a year, he's done—he tosses the book off the table flies the coop.
- Matt is pretty cheerful when he figures that Attean won't be coming back.