Chapters 26- 29

Chapter 26- A man pulls Matt out of the goo. He asks Matt about his family and Matt doesn't have an answer. Matt thanks the Keepers. They say he is an aristocrat. They tell Matt that he will be headed to the plankton factory in St. Luis. He knows a little about water purification and he wants to go to St. Luis. He stays with the Keepers that night. When he meets the Lost Boys, Matt is bombarded with questions. The Keepers quieten everyone down and answer the questions. Raul takes Matt over to Chacho. Chacho talks back to Raul and gets in trouble. Raul soon leaves. Chacho explain that they will have to work before, during, and after their trip the next day. Fidelito and Chacho explain that everything there is hard but it's fair. Fidelito asks Matt about his parents and Matt explains. Fidelito tries to speak of his, but he chokes up. Chacho takes bad about the Keepers. Someone tells Chacho to quiet down and he says he'd love for them to hear.

Chapter 27- The Lost Boys that have never seen their parents, think they made if safely to the United States. At lunch, all the boys have to recite the Five Principles of Good Citizenship and the Four Attitudes Leading to Right- Mindfulness. Matt asks Chacho what he is making and he tells him that it's a guitar. He explains that his father taught him. After they shower, Raul comes to read them a bedtime story. The story is about individualism. If a horse has five legs, and one does whatever it wants while the other four are doing what they are supposed to, the fifth should be cut off. Matt suggests they turn it into an eejit. Raul gets mad that Matt is talking back to him. He calls him an aristocrat and left. All the Lost Boys congratulate Matt.

Chapter 28- At mid-morning, Raul gets the boys going to St. Luis ready. When they get on, Fidelito informs the other two that he gets airsick. They give him the bag of plastic. They soon enough arrive. The smell is awful and it looks dirty. Matt pulls Fidelito away and Chacho follows. The Keepers soon find them and ask about them. They make Chacho and Matt clean the hovercraft. After they clean, Carlos, the keeper, gives them a tour. He tells them all about plankton. They eat plankton for every meal, just in different ways. They see the Gulf of California. There are no longer whale there because it is so polluted. It explains where Opium's water comes from. Fidelito explains that a hurricane came to his village. When Carlos catches the three of them not working, they get in trouble for not working. Matt asks if Fidelito can ride with Carlos, and Carlos says everyone must walk. Matt points out that Carlos isn't walking and once again gets in trouble.

Chapter 29- Matt is curious as to why everyone is calling him the aristocrat. Chacho says it's because of his manners and the way he speaks. Jorge tells them a story about how a mind can get dirty. Jorge asks Matt a question and he gets told it's wrong. Ton-Ton, another Lost Boy, answers the question correctly. Everyone but Chacho and Fidelito insulted Matt after Jorge left. Matt begins to think about things that Maria, El Patron, Celia, and Tam Lin have said to him. They are all about how he is a real boy and they love him.

I read 34 pages.

Interesting Quotation- ""So if we work steadily and don't loaf," said Jorge, "our work doesn't have time to get dirty. But our minds can fill up with dust and germs too."" ~Page 290, Line 23- 25~ The Keepers want the boys constantly working. They can fill their minds with the one thought that all prisoners get-- escape. They have to have someone to "help". If they don't have anyone to help, they have no job. When the boys constantly work, they can't think about anything but work.