The Jacket

Despite his mother telling him to forget about thinking he’s prejudiced, Phil thinks about it all through dinner. On the bus the next morning, he notices there are no Black kids and wonders what it’s like on Daniel’s bus, thinking, “you can figure out a lot just from looking around a bus” (46).

At school, Daniel is absent, and the jacket is hanging up in the principal’s office. After avoiding the hallway with the windows into the office all day, Phil finally realizes he can’t just leave the jacket there. Right before school lets out, he goes to the office and stuffs the jacket in his bag.

Phil gets up early Saturday morning because he can’t sleep, and his dad makes breakfast, asking Phil about the school basketball team. Phil tells him about a Black kid who will probably start as center because he’s an amazing player. His dad gets annoyed, and Phil notices “something in the tone” of his voice (59), but he doesn’t identify it. What follows is a conversation with his dad, who says all anyone seems to care about is Black players, and it would “‘[b]e nice if some other folks got some game too’” (60).