How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
On the side of the box some big read letters said as clear as anything, URGENT: CONTAINS HUMAN BLOOD!!! Oh, man, here we go again! My heart started jumping around in my stomach. The only kind of people who would carry human blood around in a car were vampires! (10.80-82)
Poor Bud. He's always thinking there might be a vampire of some type lurking around. This is one time when Bud's fear makes him do something pretty silly and even dangerous. It's probably not a smart move to try to drive away in somebody else's car when you don't even know how to drive to begin with. This shows that Bud, like any scared kid, can sometimes make mistakes and do things that can get him hurt or in trouble.
Quote #8
All the eyes jumped over to Herman E. Calloway. He quit smiling and looked at me a lot harder, like he was really noticing me.
I knew if I was a regular kid I'd be crying buckets of tears now, I didn't want these men to think I was baby so I was real glad my eyes don't cry no more. My nose plugged up and a little growl came out of my mouth but I kept my finger pointed, cleared my throat and said, "I know it's you." (12.171-172)
Once again, Bud may be afraid of the judgment or actions of others, but he pulls through and pushes on, asserting himself and showing us that he's a pretty brave person. Even though he's scared, he doesn't run away.
Quote #9
These guys really thought I was dumb. I said, "Yes, sir. But isn't it just like my luck to come clean across the state to find my daddy and he turns out to be a mean old coot?" I slapped my hand over my mouth. I knew better than saying something like this out loud… (13.78-79)
This is the first time we've seen Bud scared of his own mistake. Maybe that shows that he's learning about the consequences of some of his actions. Even though he doesn't usually trust anybody, he goes ahead and admits his fear—in a humorous way—to the jazz band, possibly because they're always teasing each other, and he feels comfortable as long as what he says comes off as a joke.