Al Capone Does My Homework

After leaving #2E, the kids decide to reconvene their meeting at Jimmy’s apartment since his parents are out, but Moose goes off by himself, desperate for some time alone. With his apartment torched and now officially off-limits, he has no place on the island that he can really call his. Finally, he goes to the parade grounds and sits on a swing, where he is joined by Annie, who asks if he wants to talk. Miserably, he confesses to her that he was asleep when the fire started and worries that Natalie might be guilty, just as the Trixles have been saying. She tells him that falling asleep is nothing to be ashamed of and suggests that he talk to his parents, but he adamantly refuses. Still, he feels grateful for all her help, thinking that “there’s never been a better friend than Annie” (58).

When Moose and Annie finally arrive at the Mattamans’ apartment for the meeting, Piper, seemingly jealous, testily asks them where they’ve been. Jimmy tries to return their focus to the mystery of the pixie house, speculating that Janet might have snuck into #2E to have a “pixie cookout” in the Flanagans’ kitchen, using the burner to toast marshmallows. Theresa, who is close to Janet’s age, volunteers to ask her about it, and Moose is elected to help her. While Theresa fetches Janet, Annie and Piper leave the apartment to give the questioners some privacy. Janet, Moose reflects, is a bit “wacky”: No one knows if she really believes in her pixies or if it is just an act. His and Theresa’s questioning of her goes nowhere because she will not (or cannot) explain how her pixie house might have gotten into Moose’s kitchen. She just repeats her parents’ allegations that Natalie started the fire and finally leaves, clutching her half-burned hatbox. Moose and Theresa sadly concede that they will have to rely on Jimmy’s strange plan to question the convicts via cockroach.

The Flanagans spend Monday night in the large but bare rooms of the Chudley house, and Natalie tosses and turns all night; her parents, who take turns watching her, look “ragged” by the next morning. Preparing to go to school, Moose worries that his teacher will force him to rewrite his paper on President Roosevelt, which was lost in the fire. He asks if he can stay home to “help” with Natalie, but his father tells him to go to school.

On the dock, Moose meets Piper and Theresa. Donny Caconi, who is also waiting for the ferry, approaches him with his usual friendliness. He says he has heard about Moose’s skill at baseball and would like a few “pointers” about pitching. Flattered, Moose guesses that Donny feels bad for him because of the fire and is trying to cheer him up. Not having a baseball, Donny pulls bottle caps from his pocket and suggests they compete to see who can throw one the farthest. Donny offers Moose two dollars if he can either match or beat Donny’s throw; if Moose comes up short, however, he will have to pay Donny two dollars. Moose feels uneasy with this proposition, especially since two dollars is a lot of money and he has only a nickel, but Donny smoothly talks Piper and Theresa into putting their own money in the pot. Piper, who has been flashing a lot of money lately, volunteers a dollar, and Theresa throws in 10 cents. Donny stakes twice their money (two dollars and 30 cents); and, after much modest self-deprecation, wins the bottle-cap throw by five feet. After offering to go double or nothing, which Moose refuses, Donny says he will not keep the kids’ money. However, he does not keep his word: When his ferry arrives, he gets on without looking back, shocking Moose.

Arriving at school, Moose finds out that everyone has heard about the loss of his apartment, mainly through Piper, who has wildly exaggerated the fire, even hinting that Al Capone had something to do with it. Moose’s teacher, though sorry for him, says that he must rewrite his lost Roosevelt paper to get credit. Jimmy seems amazed that Donny managed to beat Moose in a throwing game, but Moose changes the subject, asking him about the cockroach plan. Jimmy says it will have to wait until Saturday since on weekdays he works at Bea Trixle’s grocery.

Moose feels increasingly anxious to move back into #2E since he dislikes living so close to the convicts and so far away from his friends, but his father says it will be at least two weeks before the task force and carpenters finish with the place. Until then, Moose will have to keep carrying supplies and cooking tools up the long switchback to the Chudley house like a “pack animal.” One of the biggest problems with the new lodgings is Natalie’s inability to sleep, which causes stress for the whole family.

Visiting the Trixles’ grocery store on a shopping run, Moose hears Bea tell Mrs. Bomini that Natalie started the fire in #2E, thereby causing the injury to Mr. Bomini’s hand. She says that Natalie’s school should be warned about her; Natalie goes to a school for children with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Moose accuses her of “spreading lies,” and Annie tries to calm him, whispering to him that Bea is just “plain mean” and is looking for a scapegoat. Her own parents, she adds, do not think Natalie set the fire. Moose says, hopefully, that the task force will soon clear Natalie’s name, but deep down, he is not so sure.

After leaving the grocery, Moose picks a daisy from a nearby garden and brings it to Piper’s house as a gift. She is not at home, but her mother thanks him warmly, presuming that he is the “secret admirer” who has been giving Piper gifts. Moose wonders who this admirer is; at the same time, he tells himself that he is not jealous since he has only kissed Piper once—one and a half times, technically.

Back at the Chudleys’, Moose notices how worn out his mother looks, mainly from staying up with Natalie, who still has not adjusted to her new surroundings. That night, Natalie spends much of her time rocking from one foot to the other, refusing to lie down. Moose tries to distract her with counting games and other puzzles, but nothing he does helps her to relax. Darby Trixle, noticing the house’s lights are on, “checks up” on them; after he leaves, Mrs. Flanagan says angrily that Darby is “hoping” for a problem.

The next morning, after another sleepless night for Natalie, the family is exhausted and dispirited. Hoping to find something that might help her sleep, Moose returns to #2E, which has been partly cleaned out and repaired. He is surprised to find his school notebook, which he had thought was lost in the fire, sitting out in the open as if waiting for him. Relieved at not having to write his Roosevelt polio essay all over again, he flips through it and notices something odd: On the first page, someone has written the words “State problem.” He recognizes the handwriting as that of Al Capone, who has sent him notes before; he guesses that one of the cons repairing the apartment found the notebook and passed it on to the mobster. On the last page is a longer comment, arguing that a better subject for his paper would be Capone himself, who may have not had polio but who worked very hard for his money, unlike Roosevelt, who was born rich. Mystified that the notorious gangster would critique his homework, Moose erases the comments, which luckily are in pencil.

Friday morning, Mrs. Flanagan receives a call from the Esther P. Marinoff School informing her that Natalie has temporarily been put on probation, pending the task force report. For this, Mrs. Flanagan blames Bea Trixle, who threatened to warn the school about Natalie. Mrs. Kelly, Natalie’s private tutor, arrives by the three o’clock ferry and tries to think of ways to help Natalie sleep. The family has already tried dozens of things, but none has worked. Their old apartment will not be ready for another two or three weeks, which, Mrs. Kelly notes, is a long time to go without sleep. Remembering Natalie’s obsession with buttons, Moose reminds his father of the silver four-hole button Natalie gave him as a good luck charm on his first day of work as warden. Acting on this, Mrs. Kelly and the family dream up a solemn ritual of returning the button to Natalie before bed every night, as a sort of sleep charm. However, Natalie insists that the button be placed in her room—in #2E, not in the Chudleys’. Moose suggests that he take Natalie back to her old room every night to sleep since it has already been partly repaired. His mother agrees, knowing that Bea Trixle will likely have a conniption, but, as she says, “When you pitch a fit, it puts you one down, no matter who you are. Better Bea Trixle than Natalie” (90). That night, they bring Natalie, along with blankets, pillows, and the button, to her old bed in #2E, and she falls right to sleep.